South Dakota Trip: Pierre

Apparently, not many tourists go to Pierre. First, most of us don't know how to pronounce the name of SD's state capital. (It's pronounced PEER by the way.) Second, most anyone we met while we were in Pierre asked us, "Are you here to visit family?" or "What brings you to town?" with a sound of wonder and bemusement in their voice. But, I found Pierre to be interesting, scenic and filled with friendly people.

Like Jefferson City, MO, SD's capital is also along the Missouri River. The shot below is kinda cheesy but shows a nice view from the backside of the capitol. Even though the land is very hilly around Pierre, they still dedicated a large part of good, flat ground to this garden/arboretum with sweeping views of the capitol. It was a great place for my morning run!

Our reason for driving up to Pierre was to kayak the Missouri River. We used Steamboat's Inc. They are very laid back. Their store is just a block off the river, and two blocks off the main drag through Pierre, so they're also very convenient! The trip began at Oahe Dam and ended at the riverfront park in Pierre. The river moves pretty slow through there, so it was a very relaxing trip that we enjoyed for 4+ hours. My favorite part was in the middle, once we left the dam recreation area and before we got back to town and the homes along the river. That part of the river was very quiet and very relaxing. Along that stretch of river, we passed a heard of cattle that was about as interested in us as we were in them. They would stop and watch us and we would paddle up as close as we dared (there was no fence separating us and about 20-30 heads of Black Angus). Ann & I both loved hearing them just splash through the water along the banks, so we stopped for our picnic lunch near were the cattle were standing. Consequently, they also stopped their walk along the river and nervously watched us the entire time. Very amusing!