Day 11: Falls Park

Today was a lot of fun. We got to not only see the falls, but also to meet more of Amanda's cousins and to see some of Margaret's old stomping grounds. Falls Park is a really nice city park built around Sioux Falls. Margaret told us that when she was a girl the trees went right up to the edge of the rocks and they had a hard time keeping an eye on things. Now there are parking lots and mowed grass. You can still walk right up to the water at most places and David even did a little "rock hopping," which was a bit unnerving for Amanda.

After we walked around the falls, Sophie, David, Michael and I went up to the top of the observation tower. The elevator was broken, and no one else was interested in going up the stairs. The second picture is a view of Margaret from the top of the tower.

The kids did some more exploring and, we had a quick lunch in a cafe' by the falls before we went to the museum at the old courthouse.

The old courthouse museum was really neat. There were some hands on displays of bison parts and how they were used, as well as several other exhibits that explained the history of Sioux Falls and the people who have lived there.

By the end of the afternoon we were pretty tuckered out, so we went back to the campsite for a nap before going back to Aunt Sandy's for chicken from the Pizza Ranch.