Rapid City, Devils Tower and on to Billings

July 30 -- Today was a perfect touring day. The weather was bright, sunny and warm but not humid.

I liked where I was in downtown Rapid City. It had lots of cafes and shops of various types and also had various presidents standing around. The city uses the tag line "City of Presidents" evidently because many presidents have stayed there. Also, they have statues of various presidents decorating various street corners in the area. There were other Native American sculptures as well.







After having breakfast I walked down to the City Hall (again, the hotel was conveniently placed). I struck out with getting a zoning map to take with me. However, they did have a huge map (something like 5ft x 5ft) on the wall that they've been updating for years (colors of some of the areas were faded). They let me take a picture, so I can show you the type of maps I'm collecting. It's beginning to look like the days of paper zoning maps are numbered. They are moving online, but sometimes not in a very user-friendly form.

Finally, for Rapid City, I ran into this sign on a storefront. It's for a gun shop named "First Stop Guns". Being previously from California, I thought this was actually a protest sign at first. Understandable with a slight change in punctuation - "First, Stop Guns!"




Here's a slideshow of the photos from my time in Rapid City, South Dakota.






After about two hours and a stop for directions I made it to Devil's Tower. At first I was concerned because the parking was a bit crowded. However, once I got on the trail around the tower the number of people was quite reasonable - only a handful at a time were visible. I took the short loop around the tower which is about 1.3 miles. It took about 45 minutes which wasn't bad given that the trail was up and down plus there were information signs all around, as well as stopping to take pictures. I wanted to make a 360 degree view of the tower, but that will take a bit long, so I picked one of the best from the bunch of pictures I have for this post.

On the way out I stopped a few times to get some "arrival" shots of the tower (most people were stopping for these shots as they arrived). However, one stop was to tell people about pairiedogs. There were lots of rules about don't feed, don't approach, etc. seemingly to prevent the critters from getting too friendly and walking onto the road and getting squashed. Unfortunately, the ones I saw seemed to be very comfortable around people and cars, which I don't think was the result conservationists were after.

After going around the tower and getting some things at the gift shop I headed out of the monument and had a late lunch. Although I had a bottle of water for my walk, I should have had something to eat before I started the expadition. After that it was off to Billings. Flat plains are long gone, but no big mountains either, although a couple of the descents did pop my ears.

I probably won't post on Friday as I will won't have an internet connection. I'll try to post over the weekend, but I should be back on Monday evening at the latest.



Here's a slideshow of the photos from my time at Devils Tower.

TTFN

Ted

Sioux Falls and across South Dakota

July 29: Post 2 -- My first stop in Sioux Falls was the USS South Dakota memorial. I had read about this in the guidebooks and was curious what they had done. The ship was decommissioned after WW2 and eventually scrapped. Various parts of the ship were stored at military sites all over the place. I gather that one of the commanders of the ship had retired to Sioux Falls and was involved in obtaining these various parts. Rather than just displaying the parts in a random order, the parts will placed generally in their relative position in an outline of the ship (made of concrete it looked like). There was a central building which had some other equipment from the ship and also some models. On the outside of the building were plaques for the various battles in which the ship was involved. For a relatively small city, it was a fairly impressive effort.


Getting downtown was fairly easy. When I found the zoning/planning office, they were very helpful in getting me a map (my first big one). An engineer even took me to an annex where the GIS department had just been set up.









The printing was going to take a bit so I left my number and wandered down the the historic courthouse to have a look. It actually was several museums in one (I recall quilting an visual arts). I did see the balcony and the main courtroom (very empty). Before I could get much further, I got a call that the map was ready, so I splashed my way back to City Hall. After some confusion on where the map was, I paid for it and left.



Here's a slideshow of the photos from my time in Sioux Falls, South Dakota.



My next stop was Rapid City, North Dakota. The distance was estimated at 340 miles. This is when I realized my vacation plans were a bit much. I'd already spent 3 or 4 hours getting to Sioux Falls. Now I had a trip equivalent to my drives from Los Angeles to San Jose and it was closing in on 3 PM. Plus, the rain didn't look like it was going away. On my list of things for next time is to plan less ambitiously. This was less ambitious in the number of cities visited in a day, but the distances are larger than before. Probably I should plan to alternate between driving days and sightseeing days.

Anyway, I headed down the I90 west with rain and overcast as far as I could see. After a grace period with no construction, they started popping up again, including one that was 20 miles long. Eventually the rain became less and less and the sun finally broke out. By the time I got to Rapid City the sun was becoming a bit of a problem - I was heading West and it was getting late. On the plus side, I picked up an hour, so I wasn't as late as I thought.

Finally, I have to admit that I was taken by some roadside advertising. Somewhere on my drive, I started noticing small billboards for Wall Drugs. They were almost all unique and often amusing. I don't recall how long they had been showing up, but after seeing them for quite a while, there was a sign saying "Only 150 miles to go". My guess is they were out at least 200 miles before the exit.




I got so curious about the place I decided to stop off for dinner (Wall is a town about 50 miles East of Rapid City). The place was in some ways a tourist trap. There wasn't anything there to see except the store, which was more like a small department store than a drug store/diner. The food was cafeteria style and OK. Most of the stuff that I saw for sale was rather kitschy western in one way or another. Still, my expectations weren't high; I was just curious. Once satisfied I headed on to Rapid City and made it there a little after 8 PM (Mountain Time).

More tomorrow.

Ted

Omaha, Sioux Falls to Rapid City, SD

July 29: Post 1 -- By staying in downtown Omaha last night, I was able to walk to City Hall from the hotel. This is very convenient.

I got up there sometime after 9 AM and got into line for the metal detector, which seems to be normal for larger City Halls. However, in this case, the security was just for a particular courtroom. Since I wasn't going to court, I had to duck back out of line. I was able to get a Zoning map for Omaha -- my first one this trip. I also got a website reference to check the map online.





Once done with the map, I went outside and took some pictures of City Hall and the County Courthouse which was next door. It was nice and sunny out today, which was a switch from yesterday. I also noticed that this was the third city where downtown did not seem very busy in the middle of the day. It could be because it's summer or the economy is bad or something else. I just don't remember Sacramento or some of the larger cities in California being this quiet.



Here's a slideshow of the photos from my time in Omaha, Nebraska.


I was on the road up to Sioux Falls, South Dakota around 10:30 or so. If you are wondering why I chose to visit Sioux Falls rather than Sioux City, which is bigger, there are a couple of reasons. First, I wanted to get a range of cities during my vacation, not just the biggest ones. Second, Sioux Falls is right at the junction of I29 and I90 which is where I was going to change my route from North to West. It seemed natural to stop off there. During my trip up to Sioux Falls there were a lot more of the moves of both north and south flow onto one roadway. I realized that in some cases, the repair work wasn't just resurfacing the highway, but completely rebuilding it - new dirt, new gravel and then a new surface. I started wondering if any of this work was funded by stimulus money (from what I understand, it's unlikely). I also saw more fields of corn, wheat and other things I wasn't sure about. I got a picture of one of the fields when I pulled of the road to rest for a while.

Anyway, the weather remained sunny until right before Sioux Falls. In fact all of the pictures in Sioux Falls were taken while it was raining. I'm sensing a pattern:) I put on my raincoat, but realized what I should have brought was my fall jacket. For the most part, the rain wasn't so hard it would have soaked the jacket and it would have been much more comfortable to wear. More in my next post.

Tuesday July 28, 2009 Post 2

Kansas City


My time in Kansas City, Kansas was brief. I found the Rosedale Arch, a Veterans Memorial right off the freeway. Although there was a road right up to the monument, I got confused on a turn and ended up at a school just up the road, so I parked and walked to the Arch. This is a replica of the famous French arch, set away from any major traffic or other noise, at least while I was there. It did suffer from being near a school. There were signs of graffiti that had been mostly removed. Some of the stonework in the park area had broken off and the blue trash buckets really didn't fit the rest of the area. But it was still effective, if hidden away.

Downtown was very simple to get to from there. Just straight up 17. I went through what
looked like a manufacturing area on the way to downtown and also on the way out. City Hall
is right next to the County Courthouse (this one isn't called Historical), another building called the Soldiers and Sailors Memorial (I couldn't get in, so I'm not sure if it's an office building or a museum), and a Catholic Church. Then there was the gambling joint opposite the City Hall. Plus, the walk light on one intersection didn't work and on another, the "Don't Walk" sign was so old the center letters were mostly gone and the read light behind them was quite visible.



City Hall - I didn't check the year, but it looks like a function 1980s building. Other than the odd gambling place next door, this looked like a civic center.



County Courthouse - I think this covers a large area, maybe including KC, Missouri. Nice old-style architecture.



Soldiers and Sailors Memorial - I really wanted to get in here. Either it had closed by the time I got there (about 4 PM) or isn't generally open.



Catholic Church - The sign says Saint Mary Saint Anthony Catholic Church. I didn't know a church could be named after more than one person.



Here's a slideshow of the photos from my time in Kansas City, Kansas.

TTFN,

Ted

Tuesday July 28, 2009 Post 1

Wichita, Kansas City and Omaha

Tuesday morning I left the hotel at about 9 AM and, after refueling, headed to the museum area north and west of city center. I made it to two places - Botanica and Keeper of the Plains.


Botanica - Hidden at the end of Museum Road (and up against a golf course) is a peaceful series of gardens. It's sort of a sanctuary for people, but also for birds and butterflies. Among the different gardens are places to sit and relax, a few fountains and several statues. I also liked an odd contraption (it's in the sample image) that looks like it has a couple of microscopes on some flowers. In fact, if you look in the lens, you see a kaleidoscope effect.

Since I was there around 9:15, I was one of the first guests. There was one tour of kids (that I kept away from) and one or two dozen workers cleanup of the gardens. I suspect many are volunteers, but it was kind of nice just to be walking around with mostly just the workers.

The gardens weren't the best I've seen, but they were nice. The place was opened in 1986 or so and has probably been growing gradually.


Keeper of the Plains - This actually refers to a large statue at joining of the Arkansas and Little Arkansas Rivers. There is a little park around the statue set up, I think, by the Mid-American All-Indian Center which is just next the park. What I thought was very neat were the two bridges that allowed you to cross from the banks opposite the statue over to the park area. I realized after reading some signs that there had been a show at 9 PM Monday night at the park (some sort of lights and fire show). I remember reading this but didn't not it down on my list of activities. Oh well.

After spending time at the park and walking back it was about 10:45 AM which was a little ahead of schedule. I headed out of Wichita and on toward Kansas City. I had a bit of trouble leaving the city. The exit I planned to take to the interstate was closed. Fortunately, there were people out directing drivers to get where they needed to go. I basically went back on the street I was on and got on the next entrance a few miles up the road.



Here's a slideshow of the photos from my second day in Wichita.

The trip to Kansas Citywas uneventful until about an hour before the city. It had been overcast all day but hadn't rained. However, as I got closer to Kansas City, the clouds were getting darker and darker. When the rain finally started, it came down very hard -- the windshield wipers were on ultra-fast and I could only see about one or two cars ahead of me. As I mentioned yesterday, this made me a bit nervous since I haven't dealt with much rain in the past 20 or so years and certainly nothing this driving in a long time. The rain did ease up as I got in the city and did stop for a little bit, although never when I was taking pictures. Due to time and other factors (according to the guide books most of the interesting stuff was on the Missouri side of Kansas City) I only stopped at two places. Sample photos are in my next post.

Heading out of the city, my next stop was Omaha Nebraska. What I didn't realize was that all of my driving would be in Missouri and Iowa rather than Kansas and Nebraska. It turns out I didn't follow the exact directions I had printed out (I used a simpler route), so my distances were off. I also didn't realize that Council Bluffs, Iowa is right across the river from Omaha.


Somewhere in Missouri I realized I was definitely in Corn Country, seeing field after field of corn in various stages of growth. I also noticed several road signs that appeared to be blown down (sorry no pictures). I also noticed an odd Missouri road sign convention where they use a couple of letters to mean something - I have no idea what. I assume it's in the owners manual when you come to live in Missouri.


Moving into Iowa there was still lots of corn. However, I witnessed something I don't think I've seen since I moved to California. There was construction happening which caused the two directions to be moved all to one side or the other of the freeway (yes, I have seen this many times). What surprised me was that there weren't any cement barriers between the two streams of traffic. I assumed that since these had come into use, everyone used them. The last time I remember dealing with that was driving from San Jose to Santa Cruz and that had barriers put about a decade ago. I guess it's good to get out once in a while and see the rest of the world.

Finally, after consulting some other maps, I made it to Omaha without getting lost. The getting lost part happened when I tried to get into Omaha. The exit I was supposed to take was blocked off for construction. The detour actually just turned me around and I entered going south rather then north. Then I took the wrong exit off the highway and got turned around. Plus, downtown is primarily one-way streets. I wasted a good fifteen minutes trying to get to the hotel. I ended up parking nearby and walking to the hotel.

Once checked in everything was good. I walked down to Old Towne and had a nice Italian dinner.

Wichita Photos

Monday July 27, 2009 Post 3

Here are descriptions of the photos I got downtown:

City Hall - Large black and shiny. They hid the directory of services in the elevator, so I had to ask. I guess it points out the out-of-towners.











City Courthouse - Looks like any other office building. I guess some legal stuff goes on inside, but it didn't look that official.











Federal Courthouse - This looks more like a courthouse. I didn't get too close so I'm not sure when it was built, but the style is distinct.







The Historic Count Courthouse (got that from a sign) - This was the most interesting. It looks like an official building complete with monument outside (not sure for what). I did go inside hoping there was a tour or explanatory markers. It turns out it's actually a working courthouse, so I mostly got glares from people. Other than the nice marble stairs and walls, there wasn't much to see.



St Mary's Cathedral - Got a picture because it was near by.













Here's a slideshow of the photos from my first day in Wichita.

TTFN,

Ted

Beautiful Downtown Wichita

Monday July 27, 2009 Post 2

I finally made it to downtown Wichita, my first stop, at about 4:20 PM. That means it took me about 7 hours to go 350 miles - 50 miles an hour on average. That's typical for me due to rest stops, meals and such. Rain and road maintenance didn't help.

My first stop was the Planning/Zoning office in City Hall. I should explain that something I've done for many years is collect zoning maps. It's strange, but I've been doing it for years. I just like them. Anyway, the woman at the desk gave me a strange look then called someone and gave me a website. It seems they've gone digital. It turns out the site does have the information I want but not nearly in such a clean concise form as a printed image (the graphics aren't that good either).

After that, I took some pictures of City Hall and some other interesting buildings (next post) and then found my hotel. Tomorrow I'm aiming for a statue by the local river. Hopefully it won't be to rainy and foggy.

TTFN

Ted

The Journey Begins - with Rain

Monday July 27, 2009: Post 1 (note, I'm doing this as several posts, because I don't know how to arrange photos the way I want).

My vacation started with rain. It varied between light and heavy from the start at 9:20 AM until about 3 PM when I saw my first direct sunlight. The photo shows a typical scene. I guess this was a surprise because it's summer and when I've taken a vacation in summer in the last few years, rain was hardly ever an issue. OK, I suppose the fact that I lived in LA and mostly traveled the Southwest probably set those expectations.


Somewhere in Oklahoma I came across a BMX track/pit (at least that's what I think it is) made out of Red dirt. I'm not sure what geology makes this possible, but it looked interesting. It did seem to make a mess. A shopkeeper was scraping it off the entrance when I went in. Now it's on my floor mat.

As my first post, in order to get started, here's my home base. I live in a suburb of Dallas, Texas. I used to live in California, which allowed me to travel most of the southwest. Over the next few year I hope to explore the Midwest and the South.

With any luck, I'll have time to post some of my trips of the Southwest (exciting reading).

Ted