Playing tourist.... finally !

We took off Tuesday June 2 with the goal of going to Sioux Falls ! Got about 30 miles out and gee.... there was a golf course ! Yep, we turned and played Valley View GC at Freeman, SD. BV did very well and shot an 80... Jac did ok with an 85. Everything was very green & lush !
Driving on to the City, we found a hotel... then adventured downtown to find their central park called "The Falls". The Big Sioux River flows thru the center of town carveing waterfalls, gorges and various rock formations. We walked around it, went up into the tower, visited historical spots. That night there was a free "light & sound" show ... using laser & colored flood lights, they told the history of Sioux Falls. It was really cool.... weather wise it was 59 degrees - see BV all bundled up in June - - - - !

It was very entertaining & lasted 45 min. I tried to get some night photos, but it was difficult.

The next day we drove north to Palisades State Park - folks advised us it was a great area for hiking, water and rock formations. We did hike all around the area - it was a quiet rock oasis in the middle of farmland... once away from the river.... you couldn't tell the rock formations were even there !

We watched carp gulp food & squirrels play in trees..... we were just having fun playing tourists for a while !! On we drove to find a golf course in Beaver City, MN.... well we found the city, but the course had gone bankrupt and wasn't open. So, we decided to just drive on back to the trailer. We had also picked up some large metal parts to repair water lines and didn 't want to leave them in the truck overnight. That trip - we were in 3 states..... SD, MN and Iowa.

Just another day ....

End of May has been very active !Jac staffed the bookstore, took lots of working photos, began working on the draft displays and put together a kids "touch n feel" bookshelf... with items found around the area ... painted turtle shell, turkey & canadian geese feathers, mu sell shells, bird eggs, deer antlers etc. It's fun to watch the kids & adults handling the items.... and then I have my laptop on to show the animals in real life.

BV had framed up the two 8x18 RV patios.... one afternoon he & the staff (even the biologists)poured and finished them. We had to wait a day for them to cure, but we promptly set out the lawn chairs, tables, outdoor fan and cooler - inviting folks to come by and join us for some "cold ones" in celebration of a project well done !

The Paddlefish eggs (spawned from wild fish caught earlier) hatched into fry and when they grew to just less than a half inch long, over 400,000 were bagged and taken to the outdoor ponds for release. Later in the fall after growing several inches, staff will release them into various rivers. Paddlefish can age to over 50 years and reach 100 pounds.

And there is always grounds maintenance..... BV spends time mowing or weed eating, filling holes & re-seeding, trimming etc.

Just another day volunteering !!!!

Exciting day - three states !

Thursday May 28 ... the biologist asked us to go with him on an all day excusion to release some sturgeon back into their native habitat. Pulling a 4-compartment tank we left SD at 7:30am & drove to Iowa for the 1st release, then to NB and back to SD at 5:30pm for a total of 4 river stops.

These are native wild pallid sturgeon, caught, then spawned at the hatchery and returned. Kinda ugly... and are very strong ! Takes two, sometimes three staff to manage one fish in the tank. The males shown here are small compared to those at the hatchery.

We still have not gone sport fishing.... out of state license is $60... a bit high. I think we'll try to "bribe" our way into getting some fish.... it stays light until 9:30 and many times when the staff get off work.... they go out below the dam for a few hours.