Dakota Sunset Campground, Salem, South Dakota - 11 July 2020
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| Home for the next month is a corner site giving us a huge "front yard" with several shade trees. We are staying for this extended period because Bob began having some dental issues. It was determined that he needed a root canal in one tooth and an extraction in the neighboring tooth. Both went well but the extraction needed to be well healed before we ventured on in our travels. So for now, here we are, exploring the local area about 40 miles west of Sioux Falls. |
Lake Vermillion State Recreation Area - 13 July 2020
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| Lake Vermillion State Recreation Area is south east of Salem. There are two campgrounds available. We wanted to check out if the sites might be able to handle our rig so we have options for a short stay if needed. Without a sewer connection, we are limited to the number of days we can camp. Avoiding the campgrounds near the boat ramp, we took the dogs for a nice walk along the lake shore, chatting with the Camp Hosts and deciding there are several sites which could accommodate us. Maybe some time for fishing the Northern Pike. |
Porter Sculpture Park, Montrose, South Dakota - 13 July 2020
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| Out of the way, local artist, Wayne Porter, has provided some outdoor art for those trying to social distance but have cabin fever. |
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| Art you can touch or just play or pose with. Situated on 18 acres of prairie, all outdoor exhibits are larger than life and can be seen from Highway 90, west of Sioux Falls. |
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| A cracked fishbowl, girls looking west and an enterprising wasp taking on the summer bugs. |
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| The neighboring cows and the new horse installation. Wayne has no art background except for the blacksmithing skills he learned from his father. |
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A Jack-in-the-Box, red robed monks (?) and Wayne's first oversized sculpture, the 60-foot, 25 ton bull's head guarded by the halberd wielding skeleton.
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| Wayne likes to write what he calls "poetry" for what we call "no apparent reason". |
Sculpture Walk, Downtown Sioux Falls - 16 July 2020
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| "Dendron" - A tree, remade and reimagined. |
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| "All The World" - The little girl looks for her own paths through life. "Rook Roost" - Ravens are creatures of portent, both bad and good omens. They are harbingers of doom, subjects of poetry, keepers of wisdom and are arguably the most intelligent of birds. |
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"Wind Spirit" - One of the four winds, the West wind along with the South manage the rain, wind and lightning throughout the summer and fall. "Wind Caller" - Dressed as a raven, the finder of lost things calls on the wind to return lost items, lost opportunities and lost loves.
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| "Confluence" - The heron rookery became the metaphor of coming together to build a strong community. "In the Mystic Forest" - "Reaching out to grasp, to comprehend, to discover and be one with the hidden nature of the wood." |
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| "Stalking Fox" - A red fox in stealth mode before launching after its prey. " "Bing" - Dragons are protectors and guardian spirits in Chinese mythology. |
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| "Jake on Bass" - The artist's dog Jake gave 15 years of companionship and joy. "Fallen Stars" - Created shortly after the passing of Tom Petty and dedicated to all favorite musicians who leave our world too soon. "Flute Player" - the artist explains this as "Sight of Sound". Feel free to interpret however you chose. |
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| "High Five" - Iconic greeting or reaching for something of interest, maybe your bird feeder. "Eggciting News" - "That feeling when you receive great news". "Kit Fox" - Playful and engaging fox. "Bolt From the Blue" - Peregrine falcon combine aerial agility with extreme velocity make it the fastest animal on the planet. |
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| The Sioux Falls Coliseum, the Multi-Cultural Center was built in 1917. We like to look at the early 20th century facades. |
Prairie Arboretum, Freeman, SD - 20 July 2020
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| South of our campgrounds is this local neighborhood park with three sprawling ponds loaded with fish, a mile long walking path that passes through gardens, native trees and grasses, over bridges, around an amphitheater and an island with a gazebo. Lyle Preheim, a Freeman farmer said, "By paying attention to the land and listening to the land, it told us what to put where", the guiding principal for planting over 300 trees. |
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| A bridge over to the arboretum and amphitheater. |
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| Tori checks over the edge of the walkway. Bob was following and saw a Plains Garter snake in a crack on the bridge just inches away from where Carol and Tori walked. |
Sunset at Dakota Sunset Campground - 20 July 2020
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| Many evenings were ended with beautiful sunsets among the trees surrounding our site, sinking into the corn fields. |
Morning at Dakota Sunset Campground - 21 July 2020
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| Clouds arise with the sun next morning. |
Japanese Gardens, Sioux Falls, South Dakota - 21 July 2020
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| We were so hoping to have a wonderful time walking through the Japanese Gardens, just like we used to do in St. Louis and Columbus. We were so disappointed by the lack of care and upkeep. |
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| Few things even seemed to be related whether structural or plantings. This was not one of our favorite things. |
Cathedral of St. Joseph, Sioux Falls, South Dakota - 21 July 2020
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| While driving to the Japanese Gardens, we had seen the spires rising high above the large treetops of the neighborhood. This is the mother church for the diocese, the bishop's church, a parish community and and architectural treasure. Situated on a hill above downtown with twin 185 foot towers, it replaced St. Michael's Church which had been founded in 1881. |
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| The tranquil Mothers' Garden, dedicated to Mary and all mothers. A Childrens' Garden and the bronze statue of St. Joseph in front of the Cathedral doors. |
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| The first Mass was in late 1918. The cathedral has recently completed a bottom to top preservation, restoration and beautification effort, The new High Altar was installed during an interior restoration of 1970-74. |
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| The Christ the King rose window and a Kilgen pipe organ. Construction on the organ, designed and built specifically for the Cathedral, began in 1989 and includes some pipes and woodwork from the previous instrument which has been installed in 1937. There are 3,292 pipes, ranging in size from a few inches long, weighing a few ounces, to 18 feet long, weighing more than 100 pounds. |
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| The frosted glass windows were replaced with French stenciled stained glass windows in 1947. |
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| The Stations of the Cross were restored and repainted by hand. Kateri Tekakwitha, an Algonquin-Mohawk laywoman is the fourth Native American venerated by the Catholic Church and the first to be canonized in 2012. |
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| In memory of my mother, who we lost on 14 July 2020, I lit a candle in the south transept which is dedicated to St. Mary |
