Water, water, water...

  Souix Falls, South Dakota, United States
Tuesday, August 21, 2007

Didnt sleep all that well last night.  Turns out theres a train that runs along the edge of Palisades.  Woke me up a few times.  Plus, I realized I forgot to pack a pad for under my sleeping bag.  Luckily for me, today we'll be driving by the largest Cabelas store in the world.  At least according to the info we received.  So Ill have the chance to pick up a new one.

We started the day with cereal, then drove across the park to the shower facilities.  Even though we'd only been on the road for a day, we figured its a better idea to shower when we can, where we can.  You never know whats gonna happen.  The facilities were pretty nice, and after a quick wash we decided to explore the park.  Leaving the car where it was, with our towels hanging out to dry, we headed for a nearby trail head.  It soon lead us down to the creek that runs through Palisades.  It was a pretty little creek, fairly wide, and as we headed farther downstream, we came to a good sized tressle bridge.

Bridge over the Palisades Creek

We crossed over, read the historical plaques on the other side, took a few pictures, and then headed back across.  From there we decided to take a little trail that ran along the creek, along the cliffs that give Palisades St Park its name.  There were some neat rock formations, made of Sioux Quartzite, which is a red, pink, and white rock.

Captain of the Palisades

  A bit down the creek we came across a chimney formation, which I climbed up to pose as Captain Morgan.  From there, we decided to head back to the car and get on the road.

After leaving Palisades, I decided that we had to go visit a site called Devils Gultch.  I'd seen it on the map a few days before, Googled it, and discovered its a gultch that Jesse James allegedly jumped on a horse while fleeing from the law.

Jesse's Imfamous Leap

  We took the scenic hike at the park where Devils Gultch is located.  It was a pretty park, although Im a bit skeptical that anyone could jump the gorge on a horse.  Maybe erosion has worn away the edges and made it wider than in the past.  Also, according to the man in the visitors center, the creek beneath the bridge over the gultch has no bottom.  Or at least not a reachable bottom.  Not sure I entirely believe that either.  If I ever learn to scuba dive, I may be back to check it out.

From Devils Gultch, we drove west to Sioux Falls.  I was pretty pleasantly surprised by the city.  I guess I hadnt really expected Sioux Falls to have actual falls.  But it did, and the park surrounding them was great.  Jerry was asking the staff there if anyone ever ran the rapids in a kayak, and they said one guy came every year to do it. 

The Falls of Sioux Falls

But I dont think its something they like to have done.  We ate lunch downtown at a place called Skellys Pub, after cruising around for a while.  I had a club sandwich that was HUGE!  And at a reasonable price too.  I always love when I get a lot of food for not a lot of money.  Had some fries and a couple beers to go along with it.  Anyway, from the city we headed west again to Mitchell, and the the worlds largest Cabelas.  And I gotta say, it wasnt really that big.  Sure it had a lot of stuff, but really, I feel like I've seen bigger camping, fishing, and hunting stores.  But I did find a sleeping pad, and a new bulb for my flashlight.  So even if it isnt the biggest, it still served its purpose.

After Cabellas we drove south and a bit west, to a point on the Missouri river.  We found a campsite at Buryanch State Recreation Area, on the west bank.  There were hardly any other campers there, and we were able to find a great little site right on the water.  Unfortunately, the firewood bin was empty, so we were out of luck in that regard.  I went for a swim in the Missouri, which is really wide by the way, then took a walk up river, looking at the different rocks that had been washed up on shore, and watching the sun drop lower and lower.  Jerry decided to get his kayak out, and took it out on the river.  We had a bit too much wind however, and he was battling waves the whole way.  But I think he really enjoyed just getting out there.

Kayak on the Missouri

  Neither of us was hungry after the lunch we had at Skellys, so we just sat around having a few beers and listening to the river until the bugs were too much to bear.  The whole night had perfect weather though, so I was able to leave the rain fly off my tent.  Thats the best way to camp in the tent that I have now.  Its entirely a screen mesh when the fly is off, so you can look up at the stars all night.  Which I did...