Snowy Range Pass

Snowy Range Pass

Tuesday, September 21, 2010

In travel mode


















One of the things that make this lifestyle so interesting is the way things can change on a daily basis. After the cold and snow in Medora, ND, we had two long (for us) days of driving. We headed east on I-94 across North Dakota and then south on I 29 to Sioux City, IA. The first day was cold and very windy, with a stop along the road in Casselton, ND, followed by a slightly warmer start on the second day that turned into heavy fog followed by high winds that pushed us and other big rig trucks around quite a bit. At a rest stop, Halley, managed to get tangled up with a small snake that made that stop more exciting than we certainly had planned on. Then we had to stop for fuel twice in one day, another first, as our fuel mileage was suffering from the 30-40 mile headwinds.

Finally, as we neared our destination and sorted out the three Sioux cities in the same area, but located in three states that meet at the Missouri River, we noticed a rapid rise in temperature. So before setting up, I had to change out of heavy jeans into shorts to accommodate the 50 plus degree change to 92.

We are camped in a city park in South Sioux City, NE right on the Missouri river and look across at Sioux City, IA at a casino river boat. We visited a very interesting Lewis and Clark Interpretative center along with a visitor center onboard a retired Army Corp towboat. The Lewis and Clark expedition stopped here on both outbound and return journeys.

As part of the local Lewis and Clark experience, we also visited the Sgt Floyd monument on a hill just south of the city. Sgt Floyd was a member of the expedition that took ill in the area and died just after landing ashore. He was the first U S soldier to die west of the Mississippi River. Some years later, after his journals were published, interest in his life and death resulted in a 100 foot monument being built near where he was originally buried and his remains interned in the base.

Our last visit was to a locally well known Christian site in Trinity Heights. Here a number of statutes are placed in a garden setting, including what is referred to as an outdoor cathedral, that attract visitors and devotees year around.

3 comments:

Margie M. said...

After a cool start in the morning, it looked like things warmed up nicely. Looked like a great day, except for the whole little snake thing! Yikes! I hate snakes.

Katie said...

I'm guessing from the lack of mention of how the snack encounter turned out, Halley made it out ok :) I hope!

Rick and Orinda said...

I can understand these climate changes -- the northern plains are very unpredictable. My wife said she was GLAD she did not see the snake in person!