2018 07 30 - 08 02 Pierre, South Dakota Area

Pierre, South Dakota - 30 July 2018

La Framboise Island along the Missouri River. Thankfully there was a breeze blowing because they don't believe in trees around these parts. The occasional tall bush now and then is about it along the river. There was another path into the center of this "island" but it was so stuffy and bug laden that we abandoned our trek and opted for the open air path. 

Both dogs are taking to the water with barely any prompting. Dakota wades in and lays down in the water while Tori actually went out far enough to swim. 

More than 50 White pelicans flew in past the island to the railroad train trestle and took a float trip back down the river. It was funny to see them floating along with the current, some facing backwards. 

Downtown, Pierre, South Dakota

Guess I should note that the state capitol is not pronounced like the French man's name. Around here it is "peer". This is the 3rd capitol building and was chosen because this is the geographic center of the state. 

The Veterans' Memorial on the Capitol grounds. 

Behind me inside the short walls is an artesian well fountain which contains natural gas and is called the "Flaming Fountain" though we did not see any flames per se. The springs are a constant temperature of about 92 degrees so the man-made lake extending in front of the Memorial is the only one in the state which does not freeze during the winters allowing water fowl to congregate during the harsh winters. 

The World War II Memorial is a tribute to the 65,000 South Dakotans involved in the war.

The "Fighting Stallions" statue is a bronze reproduction of a 1935 mahogany sculpture and is a memorial for then Governor George S. Mickelson and 7 civic leaders who were killed in a plane crash near Dubuque, Iowa in 1993. The artist is Korczak Ziolkowski who also designed the Crazy Horse Memorial and had been hired as an assistant by Gutzon Borglum on the Mount Rushmore project (1939).

Casey Tibbs Rodeo Center, Fort Pierre, South Dakota - 1 August 2018

Dedicated to rodeo greats and the official State Sport of South Dakota. Casey Tibbs was born in Fort Pierre on his parents ranch and began breaking horses by the age of 10. At 14, over his father's objections, he started riding in rodeos. He was the youngest national winner of saddle bronc-riding at the age of 19 and won a total of 6 Professional Rodeo Cowboys Association saddle-bronc riding championships and one bareback-riding championship. 

On the left is a statue of Casey Tibbs riding The Old Grey Mare. On the right is a statue of 5-time World Champion Billy Etbauer.

Bob tried out the "Virtual Reality Bronc Ride". Surrounded by video screens the "ride" part does not really do anything unless you work at it and use your imagination. 

Casey Tibbs' traditional purple and white rodeo outfit with several of the belt buckles and saddles he won during his time on the circuit. A documentary about his life was created and released in 2017 called "Floating Horses - The Life of Casey Tibbs". We never saw any explanation of that title. I assume the reference to floating horses is the pictures taking of his on broncs who seem to be floating in the air. 

A 1920s horse trailer along with artifacts of many rodeo world champions and trick riders. 

A view of downtown Pierre across the Missouri river from Fort Pierre. 

South Dakota State Capitol Building, Pierre, South Dakota - 1 August 2018

Across the man-made lake from the artesian well. Around the Capitol Complex are statues of all the Governors. The copper outside cover of the dome, which was replaced in 1961, stands pitch black against the blue South Dakota sky. 

Constructed between 1905 and 1910 of native field stone, Indiana limestone, and Vermont and Italian marble. Featuring hundreds of hand-crafted materials including carved woodwork and marble, special cast brass and hand laid stone. This is actually the 2nd floor which is a combination of American-laid prism glass and Italian terrazzo tile. Prism glass was used in order to allow light flow through the floor to the 1st level. The columns are made of Scagliola, a man-made marble surrounding a steel I-beam. Sixty-six Italian artists were hired to lay the terrazzo tile flooring. Instead of leaving their signatures since this was impossible, each artist was given a special blue stone for him to place somewhere in the Capitol floor. Only 55 of them have ever been found. 

The rotunda dome is 96 feet off the floor. From the top of the Rotunda to the ball on top of the copper outer dome is an additional 65 feet. Greek, Roman and Celtic architecture are the primary symbolic design features used in the construction. 

The Senate Chamber on the 3rd floor - decorated in green tones, scagliola columns, Vermont White Cloud marble, cherry wood rolltop desks and African mahogany podium. The light fixtures are exact duplicates of the 1910 fixtures, including the chandeliers, each constructed of 750 pounds of solid brass. 

The ceiling in the Senate is Victorian leaded stained glass.

The House of Representatives is decorated in earth-tone colors, decorative plaster and solid oak wood accent wainscoting and oak desks. Brass light fixtures and lamps are exact duplicates of the 1910 versions. Chandeliers were removed from the original Federal Court Room. Backlit Victorian leaded stained glass adorns the ceiling. 

In the hallway out the back of the House chamber is this lovely stained glass fan window (detail, above). It can also be seen from the Senate side of the Rotunda but has not additional lighting so it's not very impressive. 

An interesting oddity is the upside down baluster in the grand staircase. Many artists believe that only God can be perfect so they purposefully create imperfection.

Along the walkway around the capitol we found three Ohio Buckeye trees. Already laden with "fruit" I did not pick this one. I found it on the ground. The nut is on the inside. It is called a buckeye because Native Americans believed it resembled the eye of a buck. But this fruit is not for eating as it is slightly poisonous to human. O-H-I-O! Go Buckeyes.