Okay, so I have a minute to post what exactly we packed into a few days in South Dakota.

Our trip started early Friday morning with a stop by VCSU to visit a couple friends and drop off some requested cookies.  Then we headed on down the Interstate.  Erin and I stopped in Watertown to stretch, get lunch, and visit the Terry Redlin museum.  The Redlin museum is a wonderful stop for any age, just to see what real paintings are like.  There is no comparison between the paintings and prints.  After an hour there we headed to Sioux Falls.

We arrived at our hotel safely and hunted down one place we wanted to visit… Sonic Drive-In.  Okay, we borderline obsess over Sonic, but we love their food and can’t get that here.  Obviously, we needed to walk and found the Empire Mall just a few blocks from the hotel.  We drove around Sioux Falls to find the main roads and a few places, like the zoo and Falls Park.  During the evening, Falls Park is amazing with the sunset.  We planned out the next day and where to go.

Saturday we got up early and headed to the zoo.  Wow, the zoo in Sioux Falls is fantastic.  There are so many animals there and an additional museum.  Erin and I spent over three hours wandering the zoo and then headed to the USS South Dakota memorial.  The USS South Dakota’s history was really interesting.  We hopped back in the car and headed to the Falls Park.  It was great to spend the time seeing the falls and old buildings during the day.  We even grabbed lunch in the old power plant restaurant.  On the way we saw the downtown area and some neat artwork.  After the falls we went to the County Courthouse museum.  Another excellent opportunity to see history.  We were exhausted and hungry, so we ate at Chevy’s Fresh Mexican, then walked a bit more.

Sunday morning we headed northeast to see some cool rock formations in Palisades State Park.  We enjoyed hiking the trails and taking in the fall colors along the river.  I think it is impossible to describe the park, so check out our pictures.  Once we got back to Sioux Falls we decided to walk around some more and visit a few shops.  We had a good supper at Outback Steakhouse and some ice cream at Sonic.  It was time to turn in for the weekend and get ready for the ride back.

Monday we packed up the Subaru and headed our way back home.  We took our time and even cut through Aberdeen.  This was a much needed weekend getaway that gave us some relaxation and memories.