Early in the morning on July 15, when we headed north for Andy’s next nursing assignment, our 12-year-old grandson, Trey happily rode shotgun in the truck with Grandpa. We’ve taken Trey camping for his July birthday for the last several years, and we didn’t want this year to be different. The drive to Tower Campground in Sioux Falls was a short one, and we arrived in plenty of time for Trey to explore the park on his bicycle.
There were several issues with our site, and the next morning after Andy left for the hospital, Trey and I went to the office to see what other sites were available. We checked them out and decided which one we liked best.
The two of us got the RV ready to move, and as soon as Andy was home from work, we relocated. This was the second time we moved after settling in. The first time was in Fort Madison, Iowa – A Historic Little Town on the Mississippi River. At least this time, we stayed in the same RV Park!
It didn’t take long for Trey to meet a few other kids in the park and he rode his bike most of the day. Two days later, we replaced the bike seat as a part of his birthday gift. Not wanting to wait for Grandpa to put it on, he installed it himself.
Falls Park
One of the first places we explored with Trey was Falls Park. He was excited to go and hoped to capture of few creatures in the Pokémon Go game. Once there, he forgot about the game and spent time exploring the falls and taking pictures with his phone instead. We walked around the entire area and only left when a pop-up shower soaked us.
Andy captured a few pictures when Trey was not watching.
Washington Pavilion
On Saturday, we spent several hours downtown, starting our day at the Washington Pavilion. Our tickets included the Kirby Science Discovery Center, the CineDome, and the Visual Arts Center.
Kirby Science Discovery Center
Starting at the science center, we explored all three floors and tried every interactive exhibit.
Our next stop was the Wells Fargo CineDome, where we watched In Saturn’s Rings. We may have enjoyed it more than Trey. It featured over 7 million photographs from the Cassini Orbiter’s mission to Saturn.
Visual Arts Center
After watching the movie, our next stop was the Visual Arts Center. We all enjoyed walking through the galleries and looking at the exhibits, visiting every gallery and even voting on our favorite pictures in one of them.
Sculpture Walk
We picked up a Sculpture Walk map before leaving Washington Pavilion. We thought it would be fun to find the sculptures while we looked for a place to eat. Andy took pictures of all that we found. Here are two of our favorites:
The Mushroom was inspired by The Bean in Chicago. It is in front of the Phillips Avenue Diner, where we ate lunch. It is a fun restaurant with retro décor and kid-friendly. After our late lunch, we finished the sculpture walk and headed for the car.
Battleship South Dakota Memorial
This was the only Saturday Trey would be with us, so we did as much as we could. On the way back to the RV Park, we stopped at the Battleship South Dakota Memorial. Unfortunately, the museum building had closed for the day. However, that didn’t stop us from checking out the battleship replica outside.
Sertoma Park
Butterfly House and Marine Cove
On Sunday afternoon, we drove to Sertoma Park to visit the Butterfly House and Marine Cove. A very popular destination in Sioux Falls, they feature a stingray touch pool and hundreds of free-flying butterflies.
We touched sea urchins at the Pacific Tide Pool, gently touched the stingray and enjoyed looking at the colorful tropical fish.
The path through the Marine Cove Aquarium leads to the Butterfly House. After entering through the dual entry (to keep the butterflies from escaping), we walked into a warm, tropical area filled with flying butterflies. There is a walking path through the butterfly house, as well as benches to rest on while you watch the butterflies and wait for one to land on you.
Getting a butterfly to sit on your finger, shirt or hat seemed to be the preoccupation of the visitors that day. We watched some of them coaxing butterflies with their fingers. Not wanting to break the posted rules, we stood as still as we could instead. At last, a couple of butterflies landed on Andy and Trey.
The Outdoor Campus
After leaving the Butterfly House, we walked across the street to The Outdoor Campus. Operated by the South Dakota Game Fish & Parks Department, the campus features walking trails, a pond and an interactive center for children.
Pavilion and Climbing Dome
After our little hike, we walked the short distance to the playground area and the Climbing Dome. Andy and Trey started climbing immediately. I stayed on the ground. Someone had to take the pictures.
A Busy 10 Days
We left the RV Park every day. We walked trails in Legacy Park, watched the dogs play at Family Park, and saw Jurassic Park: Fallen Kingdom in a local theatre.
One afternoon after Andy got home from work, we rode the Sioux Falls Bike Trail from the Elmer Park Trailhead to Yankton Trail Park and back. Pedaling to Yankton Park was easy. Pedaling back into the wind was not. However, Trey pushed through and was proud of his 8-mile ride.
The only activity we were not able to do during Trey’s visit was kayaking on the Big Sioux River. We tried, but due to our poor planning, the trip was very short and not very fun. The current was stronger than we anticipated and our original plan to float a short distance, then turn and paddle upstream did not work. We aborted the trip shortly after putting it into the water. We were all disappointed but realized it was the right thing to do. If our inflatable kayak had arrived prior to his last day with us, we would have tried again, taking him to a nearby lake instead.
On Wednesday, July 25th, I drove Trey home to his parents in Kansas City. Four days later, after a side trip to southern Missouri to visit family, I drove back to Sioux Falls. On the way back, I started to miss him. The car was just too quiet!
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