Pilvi posted some lovely spring photos in her blog and that got me thinking I should post some happy photos from a previous trip to get the fall gloom out of my head. So here are some photos from the most amazing roadtrip to South and North Dakota, on which I went with two of my friends (one of them is now my husband!) back in the summer of 2009. The roadtrip took us through the Dakotas via the Native American Scenic Byway. We went to Corn Palace, Chamberlain, Crow Creek reservation, Lower Brule reservation, Pierre, Standing Rock reservation, Cheyenne River reservation, and visited the Akta Lakota Museum. It was a budget trip, so we stayed at cheap motels and had lots of fun :)
After a 4hr drive we got to Sioux Falls
We drove past Mitchell, SD and passed by the Corn Palace, which husband said he had visited as a child with his family. My other friend and I had never been there and it's free, so we agreed we'd check it out :)
It's a multi-use arena, which is redecorated every year with new corn, grain and grass to showcase a new theme. This is what it looked like in 2009.
Some of the corn murals inside. They had a bunch of vendors there when we visited, but they host concerts and games (basketball at least it seems :) in the arena.
Driving in Chamberlain, SD.
The Chamberlain Bridge ahead was built in 1925 and was designed by the same engineer who designed the Golden Gate Bridge.
Barger Park in Chamberlain
My fellow travelers at the Spirit of the Circle Monument at Crow Creek reservation. Below is the stone in the middle of the monument:
Fort Thompson was established as a prison camp for exiled Dakota and Winnebago.
Kul Wicasa Oyate (Lower Brule Sioux Tribe)
Lower Brule reservation, the photo does not do the scenery justice, it was breathtaking
Lower Brule reservation
The Buffalo Interpretive Center at the Lower Brule reservation
The blogger herself at the South Dakota state capitol building in Pierre, SD
Inside the South Dakota state capitol building
and another inside shot of the South Dakota state capitol building
Lewis and Clark monument
Cattle near the Dakotas border
Standing Rock reservation
Standing Rock Administrative building in Fort Yates, ND
Blogger herself next to the sacred stone
Inyan Woslata Eyapaha (Standing Rock Sioux Tribe)
Tatanka Iyotake's (Sitting Bull) original grave site in Fort Yates, ND
His memorial in Mobridge, SD
The plate next to the memorial
Sakakawea Monument in Mobridge
Sakakawea plate
Monument on the Cheyenne River reservation, SD, in memory of deceased chiefs of the Cheyenne River Sioux Tribe of Indians and men of that tribe who died in service of the United States in the World War I
After seeing all those amazing reservations and impressive memorials, we went to enjoy a night out at the Silver Dollar Bar in Chamberlain, SD, where we made a bunch of new friends :)
We stayed at Bel Aire Motel in Chamberlain and our imaginary friends stayed for free!
Leaving the motel the next day in my friend's handsome Cadillac :)
But didn't head home before visiting the Akta Lakota Museum in Chamberlain
Where the silly blogger went to a tipi :)
Anyone else driven the Native American Scenic Byway?
If not, I highly recommend it, it was such a relaxing drive with lots to see.
2 comments:
Here's hoping the pictures helped with your fall gloom! To add to your hopefully uplifted mood, I was really excited to see these! We took a road trip to South Dakota and Montana almost exactly a year ago and shared a bit of the trip with you, it must be, because we also pictured the bull head at Sioux Falls and visited Corn Palace! Even better, I was at the Chicago Botanical Gardens today, and their model railway with American Landmarks also featured a miniature Corn Palace! Yes, this many exclamation marks! :)
Glad you liked them! I do remember you posting a photo of Corn Palace, seems like a popular place ;) And yup, posting the photos did uplift my mood. It was a nice trip down the memory lane, because back in the day husband and I had no idea we'd someday get married! Or maybe husband had a hunch of the sorts, and it was just me who was completely oblivious :-)
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