Brutally Cold Days in Siouxland, Falls Park, Sioux Falls, SD

Recently the weather in Siouxland has been brutally cold.

And I read with amusement the lamentations and OMG pronouncements of online headlines and national tv news broadcasts of the brutal cold when it hits the East Coast. Maybe that area doesn’t get much terrible cold, we’re talking minus zero and colder air temp with windchill factors creating temperatures more like -20 or more. On one of those terrible cold days I drove to Sioux Falls, SD and to Falls Park. The air temp on my vehicle said 8 degrees when I reached the area. And to look around the park confirmed that it was mightily cold.

A frozen water falls at Falls Park in Sioux Falls, SD Saturday, Jan. 13, 2018. (Photo by Jerry L Mennenga)

The falls at Falls Park was frozen but for a small shooting stream near the bottom. And for a park normally filled with people, I only saw a handful that day walking about and looking.

Some open water was seen flowing in the Big Sioux River that passes through Falls Park despite the frozen water falls in Sioux Falls, SD Saturday, Jan. 13, 2018. (Photo by Jerry L Mennenga)

Only a few people braved an 8 degree day to witness a frozen water falls at Falls Park in Sioux Falls, SD Saturday, Jan. 13, 2018. (Photo by Jerry L Mennenga)

And to be fair, maybe everyone in the area has already seen the falls frozen over. Recently a friend told me they had heard it on the news.

Some water flow still spills out of a frozen water falls at Falls Park in Sioux Falls, SD Saturday, Jan. 13, 2018. (Photo by Jerry L Mennenga)

Normally teeming with people on warmer days, no one was witnessing the frozen water falls at Falls Park in Sioux Falls, SD Saturday, Jan. 13, 2018. (Photo by Jerry L Mennenga)

I have to admit I spent maybe 20 minutes walking about shooting some photos, and then I too, made tracks back to my vehicle and the heated seats it happens to have, unlike the available seats around the park.

Jerry Mennenga

Sioux City, Iowa

Normally teeming with people on warmer days, the park bench was empty of people witnessing the frozen water falls at Falls Park in Sioux Falls, SD Saturday, Jan. 13, 2018. (Photo by Jerry L Mennenga)

Enjoying a Spring Day in Siouxland, Sioux Falls, SD

In early April I took a trip up to Sioux Falls, SD to enjoy lunch at a little eatery I found and to just enjoy a warm day in spring. Currently the weather is much cooler again with rain, and that is too be expected. But the nice day brought like-minded people out as they too came to Falls Park in Sioux Falls to enjoy sunshine, the water and just being in the moment.

Jerry Mennenga

Sioux City, Iowa

On a warm day after cool weather people enjoy themselves at Falls Park in Sioux Falls, SD Saturday April 1, 2017. (photo by Jerry L Mennenga©)

A rock island at Falls Park in Sioux Falls, SD Saturday April 1, 2017. (photo by Jerry L Mennenga©)

People enjoy a warm spring day taking in the sights at Falls Park in Sioux Falls, SD Saturday April 1, 2017. (photo by Jerry L Mennenga©)

A couple enjoy themselves enjoying the falls on a warm spring day at Falls Park in Sioux Falls, SD Saturday April 1, 2017. (photo by Jerry L Mennenga©)

People enjoy a warm spring day at Falls Park in Sioux Falls, SD Saturday April 1, 2017. (photo by Jerry L Mennenga©)

History in Siouxland, the Pettigrew House and Museum, Sioux Falls, SD

On a trip in Siouxland to Sioux Falls, SD, I stopped by a historical house and museum of one R.F. Pettigrew. This gentleman was the first sitting U.S. Senator from the state of South Dakota. He also sounded like a bit of a rough and tumble character, actually involved in a brawl with another politician, beating someone with his cane. Evidently gentleman were not synonymous with genteel. Pettigrew however did much for the city of Sioux Falls in its early days and was also a world traveler. There is a small collection of items in the museum from Egypt and the Orient from his travels.

It’s fun to learn about local history, even if it is next door and to find out how places were shaped through the actions of its citizens.

Jerry Mennenga

Sioux City, Iowa

R.F. Pettigrew was South Dakota’s first sitting U.S. Senator in Congress, and was indicted for treason for talking out against the Unites States involvement in WWI.The Pettigrew House is now a museum in Sioux Falls, SD Saturday April 1, 2017. (photo by Jerry L Mennenga©)

An image of South Dakota in its infant years inside the Pettigrew House and Museum in Sioux Falls, SD Saturday April 1, 2017. (photo by Jerry L Mennenga©)

A photo of R.F. Pettigrew, South Dakota’s first sitting U.S. Senator in Congress, in the Pettigrew House and Museum in Sioux Falls, SD Saturday April 1, 2017. (photo by Jerry L Mennenga©)

Docent Rebecca gives a tour of the Pettigrew House and Museum in Sioux Falls, SD Saturday April 1, 2017. R.F. Pettigrew was South Dakota’s first sitting U.S. Senator in Congress. (photo by Jerry L Mennenga©)

Visitors take a tour of the Pettigrew House and Museum in Sioux Falls, SD Saturday April 1, 2017. R.F. Pettigrew was South Dakota’s first sitting U.S. Senator in Congress. (photo by Jerry L Mennenga©)

Formal fireplaces are found throughout the Pettigrew House and Museum in Sioux Falls, SD Saturday April 1, 2017. R.F. Pettigrew was South Dakota’s first sitting U.S. Senator in Congress. (photo by Jerry L Mennenga©)

The Pettigrew House and Museum is decorated with a linoleum type covering that gives its walls and ceilings a textured look without the cost. The home is located in Sioux Falls, SD Saturday April 1, 2017. (photo by Jerry L Mennenga©)

Furnished in period pieces or by original furniture and fixtures, the Pettigrew House and Museum in Sioux Falls, SD was home to the state’s first sitting U.S. Senator, R.F. Pettigrew, Saturday April 1, 2017. (photo by Jerry L Mennenga©)

The Pettigrew House and Museum has original or period furnishings and furniture and is located in Sioux Falls, SD Saturday April 1, 2017. (photo by Jerry L Mennenga©)

 

Taking a look in Siouxland, Sioux Falls, SD

Some days I can drive about in Siouxland and enjoy the drive and enjoy the scenery, but nothing moves me enough to take a photo. And that’s okay, but I sometimes feel I need to do it. A recent trip again to Sioux Falls and another trip to Falls Park was a pleasant day. A chance to eat a picnic lunch at the park and then a few photos, this time enjoying the ducks that were enjoying the water. Some did a good job treading and one got so caught up in looking for food that it didn’t notice at first that it was headed toward the small falls there. Some days one should just enjoy what’s there, and if you get lucky and capture a nice photo, all the better.

 

Jerry Mennenga

Sioux City, Iowa

Ducks cruise around in the water staying cool at Falls Park in Sioux Falls, SD, Monday, August 29, 2016. (Photo by Jerry L Mennenga©)

People also sun themselves on a rock at Falls Park in Sioux Falls, SD, Monday, August 29, 2016. (Photo by Jerry L Mennenga©)

Ducks sun themselves on a stone shelf at Falls Park in Sioux Falls, SD, Monday, August 29, 2016. (Photo by Jerry L Mennenga©)

Getting out of Siouxland, Sioux Falls

Recently I took a day trip with a friend and visited Sioux Falls, South Dakota. It’s about an hour’s drive north of Sioux City, and probably less is one drives the now 80mph speed limit which the state allows. Fortunately for me, I was a passenger and we took a road less travelled that meandered into the back side of Sioux Falls. Sometimes it is just nice to get out of “Dodge” and it was a pleasant trip up, although the weather was still humid and warm. But after finding a nice Mexican take-out place to buy lunch, we ate a picnic at the Falls Park near the downtown area.

I hadn’t visited this park for probably a decade, maybe more. It was a nice change and always fun to see something new, even if new is just 10 years later.

Jerry Mennenga

Sioux City, Iowa

Remnants of an older structure that was part of the Queen Bee Flour Mill built in the late 1800’s and part of the Dakota Territory, now the Falls Park in Sioux Falls, South Dakota, Wednesday, July 27, 2016. (Photo by Jerry L Mennenga©)

Another view of Falls Park in Sioux Falls, South Dakota, Wednesday, July 27, 2016. (Photo by Jerry L Mennenga©)

The water falls still active at the Falls Park , former site of the Wueen Bee Flour Mill from the late 1800’s in Sioux Falls, South Dakota, Wednesday, July 27, 2016. (Photo by Jerry L Mennenga©)

A grandma and grandson cool their toes in the Big Sioux River at Falls Park in Sioux Falls, South Dakota, Wednesday, July 27, 2016. (Photo by Jerry L Mennenga©)

A fair amount of people come out to enjoy the day at Falls Park in Sioux Falls, South Dakota, Wednesday, July 27, 2016. (Photo by Jerry L Mennenga©)

The Falls Park sits off of the downtown area in Sioux Falls, South Dakota, Wednesday, July 27, 2016. This was a site of the former Queen Bee Flour Mill that began operation in the late 1800’s of the then Dakota Territory. (Photo by Jerry L Mennenga©)

Part of the falls at Falls Park in Sioux Falls, South Dakota, Wednesday, July 27, 2016. (Photo by Jerry L Mennenga©)

A plaque commemorating the Queen Bee Flour Mill on its former site, now the Falls Park in Sioux Falls, South Dakota, Wednesday, July 27, 2016. (Photo by Jerry L Mennenga©)

The former turbine house for the Queen Bee Flour Mill at Falls Park in Sioux Falls, South Dakota, Wednesday, July 27, 2016. (Photo by Jerry L Mennenga©)