JGG

The big adventure for Sunday was Blue Earth. They have a very large statue of the Jolly Green Giant. They also have two rest stops on I-90, with a connecting trail that goes under the interstate. This trail was important because it is paved (hence not muddy) and because it wasn’t actually raining while we were there. That gave us an opportunity to get out of the car and stretch our legs a little bit. Blue Earth’s main claim to fame is that the two crews working on I-90, one going east and one going west, met up at Blue Earth and put a strip of gold-colored cement to mark the completion of the road. The gold-colored cement is either long gone or buried under a more recent layer of paving, but the mosaic at the East-bound Blue Earth rest stop lives on.

Blue Earth Golden Spike

It’s about 30 minutes from Blue Earth to the South Dakota border. I gave Danita the keys and took a rest. When we stopped, the sun was out, the temperature was warm(er), and the speed limit was up from 70 to 80. Life is better in SD.

Danita lifting a car

We spent two nights in Sioux Falls. That was a good decision because Sioux Falls is a very nice place to be. We were lucky to have a very pleasant morning. The afternoon got a little windy, cool, and cloudy; but the forecasted rain didn’t start until we were back at the hotel.

We started with a tour of sculpture in downtown, We saw a lot of art. Some of it was interesting, fun, and/or beautiful. Some of it was funky. (I’m being as kind as possible here). But it was all fun.

We kept on walking after we got to the end of the sculptures and walked on into the Sioux Falls waterfall. When the town was first getting started, the falls was the focal point of local industry. The most ambitious effort was large flour mill that went bust in just a few years. New owners tried again a few years later, only to have it go bust again. It seems there wasn’t enough wheat or enough water to meet the break-even point the large investment required.

The Falls at Sioux Falls

There was a lot of information about how this beautiful place was trashed by the mill, hydroelectric plant, and railroad. Today, there are beautiful tree-lined streets everywhere. In 1900, there were no trees in the area except for a few near the falls that got destroyed. However, the addition of trees in Sioux Falls doesn’t fit into the story of reckless misuse of resources “they” want to tell, so it isn’t mentioned.

Pettigrew’s Window

The local hero is Pettigrew. We learned a lot of stories about him in visiting museums and his house. But there’s one story that lays his character bare. When the US was entering WW I, Pettigrew was so outspoken about staying out of the war that he was indicted. Years later, charges were dropped. He had the formal indictment mounted on the wall next to the Declaration of Independence, which he said was a symbol of his freedom of speech. Of course he had a house with all the modern conveniences, including the small stained glass window towards the left in the picture above. It is visible only from the outside of the house. On the other side is a fireplace in his formal reception area. When he wanted to accept visitors, he had a fire built in the fireplace. People saw the window lit up and knew they could visit.

After all this, we still had time to visit a small but delightful aquarium and indoor butterfly garden. I’ve never seen so many butterflies at once.