Sculpturewalk and Other Things

On Friday, we made it downtown to Sioux Falls to catch the Noon Concert.  I wasn't too sure what that was about but we were up for it.

Steve and Therressa suggested we go to the concert, then to Minerva's for lunch.  What a great time!
Apparently the City puts on noon time concerts during the summer at the Old Courthouse Museum.  

We got there after it had already started and didn't find a shady spot right away.  After cooking in the sun for a while, we decided to look for another place and ended up right behind the band in the shade.

Turned out to be a great spot.

We had the pleasure of hearing "Mogen's Heroes".  They seemed to be a mix of "easy listening/Jimmy Buffet" type of songs.  Very entertaining.  They were very good and a lot of fun.

Next, we took a quick tour of the museum.  We didn't stay long but did catch the historic chair display.

And saw a piece of heavy duty angle iron that was driven through a tree during a tornado

And a patriotic/historical flag display

And then we walked through town to Minvera's Restaurant

Then we wandered around and took some photos of some the Sculpturewalk Sculptures on Phillips Avenue.

There were lots more sculptures but we only saw a few of them.

The sculptures on SculptureWalkSiouxFalls are owned by the artist on loan to the City of Sioux Falls for one year.  During May-Sept,  the public can vote for their favorites.  Then the city purchases the annual "People's Choice Award".  And the sculptures are for sale to the public.

Interesting time in downtown Sioux Falls ~ one of our favorite places!

Thanks for joining us on the Roadrunner Chronicles.  As always - we love those comments!

The Falls at Sioux Falls

Sioux Falls has a great downtown area.  The Falls of the Big Sioux River is at one end of town.  In the evenings our friends Steve and Therressa drive through the parking lot checking license plates.

I didn't ask where they got their checklist, but they pulled out it out and checked off a few more.   It is a perfect excuse to go to a beautiful park.  I don't know how long it has been a beautiful park but Hazel O'Conner made her contribution.

And we get to enjoy the lovely walk ways and trails. 

The Falls Park isn't very big, but it is scenic, really gorgeous.

At one end is the Observation Tower.

And more walkways, including this bridge to the other side.

It was a beautiful day.

It is not unusual to see Special Events taking place.  One evening we drove through the park and they were doing an "Romeo and Juliet" in the Outdoor Theater.

And a wedding party was taking some photos.

We really love seeing it every time we are here.

It is something you may want to see.  A beautiful park in a beautiful town.

Thanks for joining us today on the Roadrunner Chronicles.  Please check back for the next edition ~ "Sculpturewalk in Sioux Falls".

Six Mile Slough

Florida and the Fort Meyers area has a lot of Nature Preserves and Wildlife areas.  We took some time one afternoon with our friends Tom and Cathy and went to the Six Mile Cypress Slough Preserve.

The slough (pronounced - "slew") is a 1.2 mile walk on a raised boardwalk through forested wetlands. The area was set aside in 1991 to allow for conservation management wildlife preservation.

The place is really an outdoor educational center.  Surprisingly, the preserve is not far from the well developed and commercialized areas on the outskirts of Fort Meyers.

We walked slowly along the 'trail' and tried to take it all in.

Along the way, we ran into a couple of volunteers who offered some good information.

We learned the 'Rouge' from 'Baton Rouge' was named after the read fungus that grew on the trees.

Like the ones we saw here.
Mostly though, we looked for birds

and turtles  (they are just off center from the log coming out of the water... I wish I'd brought my other telephoto lens)

and gators.  We saw a couple little guys but they were too far away to get a shot.

Mostly, I took pictures and we enjoyed our leisurely walk.

It was well worth the time and the $3 parking fee.

Thanks for joining us on the Roadrunner Chronicles.  And thanks too for the comments - we always look forward to them!

Until next time...

Two weeks in Brookings comes to an end

We finished up our two weeks at the Habitat for Humanity Care-A-Vanner build in Brookings, SD.  We began each day gathering at the sign-in table for morning coffee, devotions, and getting our daily instructions.

We really like the folks on this build. Four years ago when we thought the RV lifestyle we thought about having good times with good people like these.

In addition to working all day, we frequently got together in the evening for a 'Mix and Munch'.  And we went out to eat together a couple of times.

The work here has been great.  We all felt like we contributed and we were all surprised at how fast the house went up.

After we got the walls up and the rafters on, most of our time the last week was spent on the roof and doing the siding.  Pam spent a lot of time on the chop saw.

Two weeks went fast but at the same time it seems like a long time ago from this:

To this:

This build has been one of the best we have participated in.  The local Habitat guys on site (Steve and Dave) were great.  They kept us moving in the right direction and were good teachers and patient with us.
A big plus on this job was the scaffolding.  It was a lot of work putting it up but it really helped.  The temporary fall protection around the facia was another great idea.

Last night we had one last dinner together and went the annual McCrory Garden Party a block away from the restaurant.  The Gardens have many beautiful plants and flowers and a place for plant research.

McCrory Gardens is said to be 65 acres of the most beautiful land in South Dakota.  It serves as an outdoor laboratory for students at South Dakota.  

Today, we move on about 50 miles down the road to Sioux Falls for a few days.

Thanks for joining us on the Roadrunner Chronicles!  Until next time...

A Day at the Arches NP, Utah

I have wanted to visit the Arches National Park for quite a few years.  A couple of years ago Howard and Linda Payne were camphosts here and I followed their blog and took it all in.

We got a late start and ended up at the Arches National Park about lunch time.  After a picnic at a table behind the Visitors Center, we went in and checked out the 15 minute movie of the park.

The park gets over 1 million visitors a year and is well on their way to hitting that mark again.

We started drive into the park and stopped at a number of observation points for pictures.

This group of pointed rocks is known as the Three Gossips.

This one is called the Organ.
We were just getting started and I was taking a lot of pictures.  I stopped every 5 minutes.  The landscape and rocks and vistas were just amazing.

This is Skyline Arch.

Then I was taking so many pictures I didn't keep track of which formations where which... have you ever done that?

We made our way into the Park toward the Wolf Ranch and then on to the Delicate Arch.  John Wesley Wolf settled on 100 acres near the river near the end of the 1800s.  It is one of the few green areas in the miles and miles of dry, harsh canyons.

He eeked out a living for over 20 years at this desolate location.  After taking a look at the cabin and building we continued on the trail for our hike to the Delicate Arch.  It was a bit of a challenge although it was only a 3 mile hike.

We zig zagged down the mountain, then up the face of the side of the mountain on long rock incline.  At the crest we stopped and took a rest.  Pam suggested we make an 'arch' in memory of Meghan like the one that was made for her at her cottage ~ 

ForTheLoveOfMeghan

After we crested the top of the mountain and headed toward the back side, the landscape changed dramatically.  There were trees and shrubs and even sand in places.  Then we came upon another arch and could see our destination in the distance.  

The trail was a little close to the edge, but they sloped it so it slanted toward the mountain.

We rounded the corner and there it was in all its glory.  The informal symbol of the state of Utah...

We couldn't resist and had our picture taken. You can see a little guy in the distance off my right shoulder.  The Arch is huge...

I took a hundred other pictures and will load them on Facebook.  

The Arches National Park was a breathtaking, astounding day of beauty like I had never seen before. It went on and on and on.  It was almost too much to absorb.  I am so glad we got to see some of the Arches.  You could spend a month at the Arches and just scratch the surface.  We will have to visit again.

It was a great day.  Thanks for viewing the Roadrunner Chronicles.  Next...our day at Canyonlands National Park. Until next time...