Good morning! And good it is! The sun is streaming in the windows and while it is only 40 degrees there is a promise of a high of 65 and absolutely NO RAIN! We are at a beautiful state park in Ft. Pierre surrounded by lots of beautiful trees and wide expanses of very green grass,
parked around a circle that is so wide we can just see glimpses of each other.
And just a short walk to the end of the road reveals this beautiful view of the Missouri River.
Most of us had our GPSs tell us we had crossed into the Mountain Time Zone but our phones and watches presently still are giving us Central Time which is what we are living on at the present. Apparently the time zone line skims the area - at least it appears to do that on the map. (Our guide today told us we are in the Mountain Time Zone BUT the people in this town work in the capital city next door, Pierre, so prefer to remain in the same time zone as it is.
Today a bus tour took us over the Oahe Dam which now controls the Missouri River in this area and uses its power to create electricity for the area. This camping area is the first thing below the dam so it is very close by.
From there we drove into the city to the South Dakota State Capital Building for a tour.
The building is basically a copy of the Montana capital as back when they were going to build it Montana offered its architectural plans for a very low price which saved them alot of money. But because they used some different techniques they have been able to preserve things like the glass floor inside while Montana had to remove theirs. This is what the front entry way looks like
The center dome is absolutely awesome
Along one hall there was a series of showcases with miniatures of formal outfits worn by each of the Governor's wives
One of their governor's, George Mickelson, was killed in a plane crash along with several government officials. This Fighting Stallions memorial was put up in their honor on the mall area surrounding the capital.
Looking down the lagoon in front of this memorial you can see this beautifully done WWII memorial that now has special walls also honoring those who fought in the Korean and Vietnam Wars.
I stood behind the statues representing each of the armed forces to shoot toward the flaming fountain in front of the walls memorializing those who died in the Korean and Vietnam conflicts
And here is Ken by the eagle between the two walls
The bus then took us a few blocks to the Cultural Heritage Center for a self guided tour. The museum covered everything from early American Indian cultures to the arrival of white settlers, river boats and railroads and life in the area. A peek into a full size teepee on display showed some of the items we'd seen at the Lakota Museum the day before including decorated boxes and "chairs".
We've seen lots of these tobacco twists before but I've never shared a picture. This is the way it was carried by the men and how it was traded with the Indians
There was a small sod house which you could go in and listen to memories of people who had lived in them. They were typically 8 X 10 and might house a very large family. They leaked alot and snakes were known to come crawling out of the walls or ceiling. I'm sure glad I never had to live in one!!!
There were displays telling of the growth of ranching with this picture of a sheep herders home on wheels. He would need to move every six weeks while taking care of the sheep and moving them from one pasture to another. It doesn't look quite as comfortable as our home on wheels.
I was intrigued with this granite post outside of the museum. It is a sample of the posts set every half mile along the border between North and South Dakota.
After lunch on our own in town, a step on guide joined us to take us to a couple of interesting spots in the town. The first was in Lilly Park where the Bad River and Missouri River join. It is here that Lewis and Clark had their first encounter with the Teton Lakota Chiefs. It came close to being a disaster as the meeting took place before their interpreters could join them. (The Bad River is flowing in from the left of this picture--note the muddy water)
This is our group gathered to listen to what Geraldine was telling us
She then took us up to the Verendrye Monument on a hill overlooking this spot where we are standing. It is here that the French buried a metal claiming this land for France back in the 1700's. It was found by a couple of teenagers recently. They were going to recycle the metal for cash when someone found out about it - it is now in the museum.
From this point we could better see the full length of LaFamboise Island in the Missouri and how the water flowed on each side of it.
Looking up river you can see the tip of the island on the left. This shot also gives a feel for how "lumpy" the hills are in this area. It tends to look like mounds bumping into mounds.
We returned to the campground where she continued to tell us about the bad flood of 2011 when the whole area was under water. She pointed out the trees with their white marks showing where the water came to. Luckily it didn't kill them. They feel it is because the water was moving so rapidly that it actually brought oxygen to the roots. Usually it is a lack of oxygen from being in standing water that kills the trees.
We then had a travel meeting
Then we joined our friends Bob and Glenda Christian for supper at the local marina where we watched lots of fishing and pleasure boats coming in for the night and getting loaded on trailers as well as the variety of people coming for the wedding reception on the patio in the back. It sure provided lots of local color!!!
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