US/Canada Road Trip Fall 2017

South Dakota I: Sioux Falls (11/2/17)

msushkov

After a lovely time in Minnesota I headed West to South Dakota. My first stop was in Sioux Falls: South Dakota’s largest city with a population of 187,000, and Money magazine’s “best place to live in America” in 1992.

Sioux Falls is named after a waterfall on the Big Sioux River, which also happens to be one of 2 main attractions in this scenic and quaint town. The other is the drinking water, which, according to a recent report, is the cleanest among the 200 largest US cities. Impressive!

Some highlights:

  • Sioux Falls
  • Tap water
  • Statue of David

Downtown Sioux Falls

I started my day off with a trip to the downtown area where I came across some awesome sculptures on SculptureWalk, a year-round outdoor exhibit.

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Downtown Sioux Falls aka DTSF.

My favorite sculpture was the warrior ready for battle:

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“During conflict, the warrior chosen to carry the bow lance was one of the bravest, vowing to lead in battle and never retreat.” By Jerry McKellar.

Fawick Park

I then stopped by the nearby Fawick Park to admire a full-sized replica of Michelangelo’s David. The statue was a gift to the city from Thomas Fawick, a local inventor and entrepreneur.

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When David was unveiled in 1973 a local minister wrote to the city newspaper calling the statue “not art but sin.” Despite some debate, David’s private parts were ultimately left uncovered.

Falls Park

Next I drove to Falls Park to see the city’s namesake falls on the Big Sioux River. They were no less magnificent than advertised!

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Sioux Falls, hope she’s ok!
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Queen Bee Mill (remains in the back) was a state-of-the-art mill built in 1881. Unfortunately it closed 2 years later due to inadequate water power and low supply of wheat. Unbeelievable 😦

Falls Park also had some cool sculptures:

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American Farmer by Sondra Jonson.
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Monarch of the Plains, the first sculpture in Falls Park by Darold E. Bailey.
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Sioux Falls again.

After a wonderful half-day exploring Sioux Falls it was time to continue West. Next stop: Rapid City!

 

 

 

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Published by msushkov

1 thought on “South Dakota I: Sioux Falls (11/2/17)”

  1. Очень интересно! Водопады, скульптуры. Особенно понравилась скульптура индейского вождя. Там наверное много чего интересного осталось с тех времён: какой-нибудь музей связанный с историей индейцев удалось посетить?

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