On The Road Again-Minnesota to Rapid City, South Dakota

It's a good thing we didn't know the weather report for southern Minnesota or we would have been reluctant to leave Rockford, IL, yesterday; we drove all day through a storm that was described on the radio as a "once in fifty years" storm. Sadly, many families had to vacate their homes due to flooding and the threat of flooding.

When we finally made Sioux Falls after a harrowing eight hours on the road, we stopped at a Starbucks for a few minutes to decompress. Then, we headed to the home of a family which participates, as we do, in the Evergreen Travel Club. After dinner, our hosts drove us around the older parts of the City (at pop. 150,000, it is the largest city in South Dakota).


                                          Sioux River Falls, Sioux Falls, SD

                         
After a delicious breakfast of oatmeal brûlée, we took to the road across the state to Rapid City, SD. We had a close call as we are getting less gas mileage than usual, due to the bikes and our increased speed. We suddenly realized that we were down to a half gallon with no exit from the interstate far as we could see; yet within five miles, we rounded a bend and came to a lone service station on the prairie.
                                          South Dakota Prairie Scenes

We arrived in Rapid City. Under a blazing sun, we set out with our bikes along Rapid Creek and around Canyon Lake Park for an hour and a half.

                                          Couple fishing at Canyon Lake                   

                                           Janet at Canyon Lake, Rapid City, SD, 9/24/10

Then off to the Firehouse Brewing Company in the restored historic part of the city we went for a comfort meal and some locally brewed ale.