Vacation Wrap Up: Sioux Falls

Our final stop on our trip to Laura Ingalls's homeland included a visit to "The Falls" at Sioux Fall and a walk around their downtown. It was a hot and steamy day in South Dakota, but that didn't stop us from traversing over the rocks to enjoy the sounds of the roaring water.
 

I realize in relation to Niagara Falls this is a tiny little fall with very little water, but for the middle of the Midwest its a great little scenic view.  The Falls Park is clean, accessible, and a wide open space to wander and explore.

Plus, its entirely free.  Even the observation tower that allows you both a great view of the falls and of the city itself is open to the public.  What a treat.

Downtown Sioux Fall or DSF as they call it had some adorable shops, a fun little cafe we had lunch, and a great used bookstore where we found almost all of the Laura Ingalls books for a fraction of the cost.  Miss A and Miss M now own all but Farmer Boy for the low cost of $19.00.  Miss M has already started on reading every book.  Miss A and I have decided that we'll start from the beginning of the series and read the books aloud this fall.

An enjoyable afternoon in Sioux Falls was the perfect wrap up to our trip to South Dakota, plus it was the capstone of our "water tour" as we saw Gavins Dam on the front end of the trip and the Falls on the back end.

Finally, we got to witness the flooding that the Missouri has caused all the rest of the way home.  Amazing.  Entire farms are underwater and on more than one occasion we were driving on the interstate between sand bags and with rushing water just feet away.  Wow! 

We had a fabulous trip, but were thrilled to get back home and make the most of our final days of summer.