Chilling on the bend

We spent the night in Pierre, SD. It is honestly the saddest city we have ever visited and especially since it was a capital city. It has a population of about 14,000 and really has no or little to offer in terms of community gathering spaces. I have often heard that vibrant communities always have something in common, among other things, and that is a dynamic gathering place. It becomes the social infrastructure and builds the strength of the city. These gathering places include a coffee house and brewery/pub. When we arrive in a city/town, the first thing we look for is a coffee house and a brewery. Pierre had neither. There was a bistro that served coffee which turned out to be pretty good, but it was an after thought. There were no breweries or pubs in the city. There were few decent restaurants and there were many rundown buildings and store fronts. There didn’t seem to be a rhyme nor reason to the layout of the city’s retail district The capitol building and the pond nearby looked nice but that was about it. We stopped by Howard’s coffee establishment and we ordered several drinks. They were probably some of the worst drinks we have had at a coffee shop. The place was a mess and if it was located in Elkhart county, it would be shut down. I could have chalked up a dozen health code violations within the first minute. But, they mostly focus on roasting coffee. I assume they are good at that, but that is an assumption. We were ready to move on, and we did.

We headed north several miles and saw the Oahe Dam. It is located on the Missouri River and the reservoir is over 200 miles in length and reaches into North Dakota. The dam’s power plant produces most of the electric for the northern central United States.

After looking at the dam, we headed east for about 50 miles to a campground for the night, maybe two. It is located alongside the Missouri River. This is the widest part of the river and is more like a lake than a river. It is about two miles wide, according to the park maintenance man. It is a beautiful camp and there might be 6-8 total sites occupied. The temperatures are in the upper 60s with winds of 25 mph. We are somewhat sheltered from the winds but it is still quite breezy. The winds should lessen in the next several hours but for now we hang onto our hats.Read more