Fall Foilage

Next week the cold will be upon us and soon all the leaves will be gone. But, before they are gone, here are a few photos taken around Rapid City over the last few weeks. 

The camera on my cell phone is not very good so I was pleasantly surprised that these first two turned out as well as they did as they were taken with my cell phone.

Autumn on the Prairie

The greens of summer are almost all gone now. They have been replaced by tan, yellow, gold and orange. Occasionally a bit of red even pops into the trees, but mostly across I-90 in South Dakota the prairie grass and trees turn gold and orange. 

Although, when the sun hits the grass just right it does have a red hue as in this next photo taken not long after sunrise.

Autumn is my favorite season even though we don't get all the rich colors of Autumn. What is Autumn like where you live?

Linking up with Unknown Mami for Sunday In My City. I hope you will join the virtual travel and add your own area to the destination links.

A Maize Thing

I am pretty sure that when one thinks of a palace they imagine some formidable structure built with precious minerals and gems and not of brick, mortar and maize. Yes, I said maize as in corn.

Here in South Dakota though, corn is such a big part of life that we actually have a palace dedicated to the richness of the harvest and decorated with corn. The Corn Palace has been around since the late 1800's and boasts elaborately detailed murals all made from corn and grains. 

source

On my last trip to the eastern part of the state I took a short detour into Mitchell to check out this years murals. Unfortunately it looked like they had just begun to change the murals. The street was fenced off to prevent traffic in front of the palace, but people were still allowed to go inside and even come out into the construction area.

This sign in one of the mural spots caught my attention. Wondering what the 'Next Generation Corn Palace' would mean I checked out the description on their website.

Hopefully I will get to stop in next week and see how the work is going on this years murals and capture some fun shots to share. Until then I come across this Pintrest Board that has a good amount of Corn Palace photos.

Across the street from the Corn Palace is a really cool building that looks like a castle. This use to be a Doll Museum. 

Now it is Valtiroty Shiloh's Tabernacle Center and houses a bible land tour/walk through, biblical artifacts, spiritual literature and services as well as a gift shop and convenience store. 

I hope you have enjoyed your virtual visit and will stop by again.

Happy Travels!

Fields of Sunshine

There is just something about the sunflower that makes a person want to smile. The day can be gloomy but look at a sunflower and suddenly you feel the sunshine. Now imagine driving along an open stretch of highway when before you stretches field after field of bright cheerful sunflowers. That is what awaits you when traveling west river along I-90 in South Dakota during the late summer and early Autumn.

Ever since the first time I traveled this stretch of road in late summer I have been wanting to capture the joy and beauty of the sunflower fields. During my last trip across the state I had my daughter snap a few photos of the fields. Unfortunately we did not have enough time to stop for better photos. Have you ever had the pleasure of seeing so many sunflowers in one spot?

 

Falling For Summer All Over Again

It doesn't seem to matter how many times I have seen the Falls in the past, they are always a refreshing sight for me, and one of the reasons to love Sioux Falls in the summertime.

Last weekend I had the chance to visit the Falls and was pleased to see that not only did the Big Sioux River have a good amount of water but the park was lush and green as ever.

It is always a pleasure to see and talk to people visiting the park. Many live locally and are just out to enjoy the beautiful summer weather, while others have traveled many miles and are awestruck by the beauty of this location.

Each time I see this spot I can't help but wonder how amazing it must have looked to the early settlers.

That is it for this week, I hope you have enjoyed my favorite South Dakota Park. Thank you for stopping by, I wish you well on your virtual travels.

Beyond the Rally

Welcome back to South Dakota for Sunday In My City.

Last week I gave you a look at the Sturgis Motorcycle Rally, which is about a half hour from where I live.

It occurred to me that towns like people can find themselves defined by a single aspect unless we choose to see past that one aspect and look for more. For years now any time I heard the name Sturgis all I thought of was the motorcycle rally. I never thought a visit to Sturgis would reveal a town rich in history and scattered with interesting architecture. So today I would like to share a bit of Sturgis beyond the rally. 

My visit was very short so I didn't get a lot of shots outside of the rally. On my walk from where I parked to the main street I passed a number of well kept beautiful old homes. The varied architectural styles had me wondering about the history behind the homes and the people who built them. There were a few iron and stone fences like the one below that looked to be turn of the century in style and construction and hinted at some rather affluent residents. 

The town may be small but some of older homes are certainly not small. None along my route were huge but they were decent size like this one that is now a flower shop. I do believe this house would have been eye catching even without the vivid color scheme.

I hope you have enjoyed this little glimpse of the town. I don't know when I will get a chance to go back and explore the town more, but I am hoping it will be before winter comes.

People Of . . .

Opps, I don't think I can remain silent, but feel free to ignore my words. hehe, so here we go.

Most likely you have seen or heard of the People of Walmart website where others post photos of people seen shopping in a Walmart that you really wonder what they were thinking when they dressed themselves that morning. If you haven't seen it yet, check it out and you will probably think a little harder about what you ware the next time you head to the store. I know I do. No more, oh I don't feel like getting out of my comfy pajamas pants, I am only going to Walmart real quick.

This isn't People of Walmart

This is 

People of the Sturgis Rally!

Disclaimer: Some images may be offensive.

Wiggle Wiggle Wiggle???

While a tad on the desperate side at least she is fashionably coordinated.

WHY????

And a double why???

 As you see only women made it into this 'people of the Sturgis Rally', and that is because the men showed more sense when getting dressed for the day.

I realized that I was not dressed as a female Rally goer when one man apologized for possibly getting in the way of a shot and indicated he thought I was a magazine photographer. I wish, LOL

SIMC: Sturgis Rally

I did manage to get out to the Rally for a little bit on Saturday afternoon. From what I understand attendance was down on the final Saturday of the Rally but it was still pretty busy.

As I drove toward historic main street looking for semi close parking I saw this motorcycle hearse. It is a sad sight but I can not think of a more appropriate hearse for a die hard motorcyclist.

It sure looked like everyone in this small town generates a bit of income during the Rally.

These lawn campers seemed to be enjoying the shade and proximity to all the excitement.

Of course there were a lot of really nice looking bikes, like this purple one that caught my eye.

 I did have to smile though when I read the sign on the back of this one that was parked right next to the purple bike. This may not be the prettiest but it sure looks like they have fun.

As you probably can guess there are tons of saloons, tattoo and apparel shops as well as food vendors galore.

There was even a dancing police officer that directs the traffic on the main street.

One playful person even showered the street with bubbles using an air conditioner to blow them over the sidewalk below.

I was pleased to see a few really awesome cars! I do like motorcycles but am more a car lover, especially classics.

Going down the middle of main street was a zip line, and boy did it look fun! No I didn't give it a try, but I sure wanted to.

There was a lot of unique apparel. There was the totally bizarre, the fun and the average. There was even some, oh wow, that is really neat.  Like the purse this woman has, that is made out of motorcycle license plates.

I hope you enjoyed your virtual visit to the Rally.

Have a great week and please join the fun by clicking the Sunday In My City badge at the top.