On Vacation

Although I am in Norfolk, Virginia on vacation for the next two weeks I brought a few Sioux Falls photo's to share here.

This night shot was taken just outside my apartment building late one evening. 

If you are like me and love visiting new and different places hop on over to Unknown Mami's

On the Road Again

I will be leaving early tomorrow morning to travel back with my daughter back to her home in Virginia. I will be unable to access the blogs for posting and commenting until Sunday.

Wishing all a safe and fun weekend!

Sanford USD Medical Center

Sanford Medical Center is in the process of expanding their Sioux Falls facilities with the addition of a heart hospital. Here are a few photos of the work in progress.

Old Courthouse Museum

Built in the late 1800's the Old Courthouse Museum became Minnehaha County's first courthouse. This beautiful Sioux quartzite building now houses historical exhibits.

Hot Summer Sunday

Yes the Midwest can get pretty hot. Typically though it isn't too terribly bad. It can also get pretty humid around here. Now when the two combine it can be miserable outdoors. Earlier today it was 95 degrees with a heat index of 117 degrees, thanks to the humidity.

Although heat and humidity are typical here in Sioux Falls, this summer is proving to be an unusually bad scorcher with very high humidity and temps and fewer thunderstorms. One thing I have always kind of looked forward to is a nice thunderstorm in the evening to break the heat of the day and drop the humidity. Yet for the last few days the heat and humidity have continued to rise and there isn't a T-storm in sight.

Yesterday the heat index got up to about 105 and that was bad enough to keep most people indoors as much as possible. Falls Park is typically very busy on Sunday afternoons and as you will see by these photos I took yesterday it was almost deserted.

Jazz Fest 2011

Despite temperatures nearing 100 degrees and high humidity this year's Jazz Fest had a good turn out. One of my dear friends was volunteering at the festival and so we decided to meet up after her shift and spend Saturday night enjoying the festival.

With the weather so hot I decided to enjoy the festival as unencumbered as possible and did not take my camera or purse, just my cell phone, a bit of money and my ID. These photos are not the greatest but will give you an idea of the fun I had.

Jazz Fest is a fund raiser for the Sioux Falls Jazz and Blues society. Although it is a fund raiser the event is Free to the public.

The only charge is if you decide to park your vehicle within the park then there is a ten dollar per vehicle fee. The event draws large crowds of all ages. Many people park blocks away from the park and walk.

In addition to the entertainers there are food and wares vendors. Next time I will take more money as I saw some dresses and jewelry that was beautiful and very reasonably priced.

If you are in the Sioux Falls area next year during the Jazz Fest I highly recommend attending.

Meet the Beatles

Today we took a road trip along the outskirts of Sioux Falls, and much to our delight we came across the Beatles. They were chilling at Arrowhead Park on the eastern edge of the city. John, Paul, Ringo and George were so kind they even did Abbey Road for us and I got a photo of their performance and their exit.

Arrowhead park must be a favorite spot for celebrities as my daughter managed to get a few shots of The Three Amigo's napping on the shore.

 

Sculpture Walk - Call to Artists

One thing I really love about the Sioux Falls community is its' commitment to the arts. For a small city of 150,000 people support for the arts is very strong. Art exhibits, theatrical shows, musical performances all are enjoyed and supported by our community. 

Of the many art exhibits held throughout the year the most visible is the Down Town Sculpture Walk. The Sculpture Walk is going into it's sixth year and has recently sent out a call to artists for the 2012 Sculpture Walk.

These sculptures are displayed on the walkways throughout the down town area and many are sold each year and moved to new homes, sometimes in private residences sometimes at local businesses. 


These last two are my favorites from this years Sculpture Walk.

You can view the current sculptures on line here.

If you or someone you know creates sculptures you may want to check out the call to Artists.

Stormy Nights

After a scorching day with temperatures reaching 94 degrees and humidity up to 90% at times, the incoming storm was a great relief. I was so excited that the air was finally cooling down and the humidity was almost gone I had to get out and try out my new camera.

I headed for the nearest open area which happens to be a small park four blocks from my home that has a decent size field next to it that is used for an ice skating rink in the winter. It was shortly after 11:30pm by the time I got there and set up my camera.

Now as cities go I would say ours is a pretty safe city, although even so it probably isn't the greatest idea for a woman to be out in the middle of a park at eleven pm all by herself. So to say the least I was a bit on the nervous side, more so for my brand new camera than for myself.

But all went very well, I got the photographs I was trying to get and I didn't get into any trouble.

Hooking up with:

and

Weekend Reflection: Covell Lake

If you are looking for a beautiful place to spend a relaxing afternoon Covell Lake is great place to do that. This beautiful lake is part of Terrace park in central Sioux Falls. On the eastern bank of the lake sits the Japanese Gardens and on the western bank luscious green lawns.

To visit more beautiful reflection photographs hop on over to Jame's Weekend Reflections.

Pettigrew Heights Historical District

Here is another sample of the beautiful historical homes to be seen in Sioux Falls. This one is located on the same block as the Pettigrew Home & Museum.

Wordless Wednesday: VW Bus

Yes I know this is suppose to be wordless but just wanted to share a bit of background. While waiting to board the bus to Virginia last week at the Sioux Falls bus terminal I saw this VW bus in the parking lot and couldn't resist taking a picture of the bus at the bus sation. 

Linking up with Java at Never Growing Old

Mc Kennan Park Homes

We have a number of historic districts in Sioux Falls. These beautiful old homes are in the Mc Kennan Park Historical District, which is home to Sioux Falls first official park.