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!

Biking the flooded Mississippi Riverfront Trail with Larry

I met Larry at 9:30 this morning at the Riverfront MetroLink station to bike the Riverfront Trail. OK, so at least I was there at 9:30 a.m. (Larry's on "retired time", but that's OK, I'll get there some day, I hope.)
First, we checked out the flooding around the Arch and Landing: not quite as bad as '93, but enough water to close the flood gates and reach about the middle of the first flight of steps in front of the Arch.
Next, we started up the trail, only to be stopped about 100 meters into the ride due to water over the trail. After a little detour, we were back on the trail and headed north to the McKinley Bridge, which just reopened to vehicle and pedestrian/bike traffic. It was exciting to cross and get a new perspective of the downtown St. Louis as well as the flooding. Next, we followed Rt. 3 north (again, due to flooding, the trail was closed on the Illinois side as well) to the Chain of Rocks Bridge, which I crossed for the first time in my life. I'd seen it many times in pictures and from the I-270 bridge, and I knew that it had a bend in it. However, while crossing it, I was still shocked at how sharp the turn actually was. I'm not sure what the speed limit was on the bridge when it was open to cars, but it couldn't have been too high or cars would have flung themselves off the side of the bridge!!!
Back in Missouri, we headed south to downtown, stopping first in the near north side to eat lunch at Crown Candy Kitchen. We ran into Coach Anderson (formerly of St. Henry's Prep Seminary/now at immaculate Conception in Columbia, IL) and his wife.
Finally got home after 3 p.m. Tired from the ride, but satisfied from the adventure!