The Lewis and Clark Trail along the Missouri River Valley of South Dakota

I woke up to clear skies at 6:15am. What a change from the last few days.

I had a leisurely breakfast in North Sioux Falls, then stopped at Elk Point's city park where a Lewis and Clark exhibit was. I was impressed with this little city park. A baseball field, camp sites, bike trail and pond were right there. Park maintenance personnel were out at 8am when we drove through, mowing the grass. I walked around and read the historical signs.

Elk Point was on the way of the Corps of Discovery. Lt Clark wrote about this area in his journal, describing the wildlife along the way. Large cottonwoods are still at this site. A memorial for Sergeant Floyd, the only casualty of the discoverers, was here (he was burried south of present day Sioux City, IA) and the first free election "west of the Mississippi" was here, as a new sergeant was elected to take over Floyd's position.

Elk Point is also home to a small but pleasant downtown, with Edgar's Drugs a famous tourist destination. I didn't go in as I wasn't hungry. I was more eager to drive on and explore this vast river valley instead. I drove Northwest out of Elk Point along Burbank Road, also known as SD50 as it meanders along the river and through the towns of Burbank, Vermillion and Yankton.

I didn't stop in Vermillion, a small town on a bluff. Tree branches were still littered along the streets of town, casualties to last night's heavy winds. (A pilot crashed and was killed while trying to land his single-engine plane at the Crystal, MN airport last night after 10pm; more storms are predicted for MN and possibly southern SD the rest of this week)

I coldn't see the river from here, but I could see the bluffs on the Nebraska side. I'll be driving on the NE side after exploring Yankton and the Lewis and Clark recreation area some more. There cetainly is a lot to see and do in this part of the state, and the open roads here allow drivers to ge up to 70mph. I'm not used to that speed on state roads, and locals are passing me by as I stay to 60-65mph. I'm too busy reading historical markers and other signs along the way.

I also have to watch out for small critters that are dodging across the road: jakrabbits, chipmunks and prairie dogs make this area their home here, as well as a new bird I haven't yet seen yet on my travels: an orange-breasted warbler of some sort that likes to sit on fence posts along the road.

The woman at the Yankton Chamber of Commerce (where I am typing this on the "complimentary internet computer for visitors) told me there was no tornado last night in Yankton, but towns north and west of here did sustain some damage: uprooted trees being th big thing. "But the officials haven't determined yet if that damage is from a tornado or just heavy winds" she said. Does that really matter? A downed tree is potentially deadly whether it was felled by a tornado or "just" heavy winds.

I won't get far today as I want to explore the river banks, wildlife and sit back and imagine what this area must have been like for the Corps of Discovery back in 1804. I'd have to pretend these cornfields are gone, the silos, homesteads and paved roads are missing and instead of planted fields there'd be thick rows of cottonwoods along the river while the Yanktonis and Ponca Sioux make their livelihood along these undammed waters. With all the "development" now along this river--and brown haze north along the horizon--I have to wonder if "development" is a proper word to use at all.