15/16JUL07 - Pierre, SD

After a very restful evening for all, got on the road slightly later than normal. Very relaxing drive heading almost due north on US 83. As we approached the Nebraska/South Dakota border, Dan noticed a very large building in the middle of nowhere, with about a hundred cars in the parking lot on a Sunday afternoon. Can you say Indian Casino? A half an hour later, and donating $10 to the Sioux cause, we were back on the road.

South Dakota has interesting way to encourage tourists to stop in different areas. They have green signs resembling a movie directors clipboard(?) with any and all movies that had any portion of movie filmed in local area. For example, “Traveling Through Rosebud” was shot in 1972 near the Rosebud Casino we visited. And somewhere in South Dakota is a sign noting where Kevin Costner filmed “Dancing with Wolves”.

While stopping for lunch, it was decided to check out one of the Army Corps camp areas, or State Recreational Areas around Pierre (pronounced pier, not pee-air), SD. We like these areas because they are often located in scenic areas (or historical), have good recreational facilities, and are cheaper than commercial RV parks. They do have some drawbacks – sometimes no water at site, no laundromat, no cable/internet, and maybe several miles from nearest town. We decided on Farm Island Recreational Area.

www.sdgfp.info/parks/regions/oahesharpe/farmisland.htm

Turned out to be a good choice. Nice location, not too far from town, and good facilities. We got a spot right on the lake and even Gumbo got a chance to swim. Park also had paved bike trails connecting back to town. Dan did quick bike tour of park and discovered small visitor center dedicated to Lewis and Clark’s travel through this area. Dinner that night was at Jake’s Place, a sports bar, followed by a Wally Mart run.

The next day we slept late and awoke to small white flowers that had bloomed overnight, took a long walk around the park, before heading into Pierre to walk around and mail some post cards. We happened upon a hardware store called Hanks, advertising Hank’s Soda. Dan tried a Birch Beer. Turns out Hank’s Soda has nothing to do with Hanks Hardware and contained no birch ingredients. The soda is a premium soda made back east and sold nation wide.

http://www.hanksbeverages.com/

Upon returning to the park it was decided to stay one more day and not get back on the road until Tuesday. After paying for another day, Dan took off for long bike ride through the nature area of Farm Island. Farm Island was connected to the “mainland” by a causeway constructed by the CCC. The CCC then established a CCC camp on the island that was used by the CCC for many years. After the CCC abandoned the site, it was allowed to return to nature. All that is left now are foundations and hiking trails.

Trivia: 1) What state had more young men by percentage in the CCC (think 40%)? 2) What is unique about Pierre’s location as opposed to any other state capitol (think the 4th dimension – time)? 3) What CLASSIC movie is Rosebud a key part of?