Sioux Falls to Rapid City, South Dakota

On Monday, we spent the day driving. We drove from Sioux Falls, which is in the southeast corner of South Dakota, to the Rapid City area, which is in the southwest corner of the state. We did not take the shortest route (which would be along I-90). Instead, we went a little farther north and took a highway which gave us the opportunity to see a little of the countryside of South Dakota. 

In Iowa and other places farther east, we experienced temperatures in the 90s, with high humidity. We had some rain off and on. In South Dakota, as we traveled west, we experienced drier weather, lots of sunshine, and pleasant temperatures in the 70s and 80s with very low humidity. We really feel like we're in the west now, with wide open spaces, and the landscape is starting to look a lot like the west. The countryside of South Dakota consists of hills and prairies. There are lots of cornfields. As we traveled further west, the cornfields turned to grasslands. We also were climbing in elevation as we traveled west. 

At one point, we crossed the Missouri River, with some nice views of the river and surrounding areas.



As we neared Rapid City and the southwest part of South Dakota, the Black Hills came into view.



We spent the night at a campground in Sturgis, South Dakota. As we traveled in this part of the state, we saw many, many campgrounds. Most of the campgrounds were almost empty, with maybe one or two campers in a place that had maybe hundreds of sites. We learned that Sturgis is a big place for motorcyclists, and there are motorcycle rallies held here. The next one is in a couple of weeks, and everyone is gearing up for it. When a motorcycle rally is taking place, it is near impossible to get a campsite without a prior reservation. Our camping neighbor is one such biker. He unloaded two motorcycles, one for him and one for his wife, from his "toy hauler" recreational vehicle. They have been on the road since February and won't be home for a couple of more months, going from one biker rally to another. (And I thought we took long trips!) 

So far the scenery of South Dakota is beautiful. We look forward to seeing more of it. And we look forward to seeing more of the absolutely beautiful west!

Some pictures from Monday's travels:





Typical South Dakota town


Comments

  1. AnonymousJuly 17, 2024 at 5:27 AM

    I heard they had lots of dachshund in the Wild West is it true? When someone said “get a long little doggie” that’s how it came about? I don’t know? Lol, looks like beautiful country in them black hills! I would say watch out for bears but watch out for motorcycles more appropriate ! Lol you’ll have fun and be safe!
    Ellen Hebert Hutchinson

    ReplyDelete
  2. AnonymousJuly 17, 2024 at 12:33 PM

    I loved the Black Hills.😎Denisr

    ReplyDelete
  3. AnonymousJuly 25, 2024 at 3:44 AM

    Nice Scenery!

    ReplyDelete

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