I’m not an early riser, so I left the Dresbach, Minnesota Rest Area just after 9:30 a.m. . And I touched down just west of Sioux Falls , South Dakota at a Rest Area near Salem, South Dakota. It was a long drive but it was a nice , almost relaxing drive. It’s not as flat as you would be led to believe. But that’s because when you have an RV you always have to adapt to climb the hills, hills require more diesel ( and thus $) and that’s why you notice all of them. 😅
I did not realize that Minnesota had so many huge cornfields and were such a producer of corn. I also noted many sunflower fields that were ready for harvesting. I imagine these are where the sunflower seeds for us and the birds to eat… come from.🤔 (Not sure how to phrase that and get it in one sentence!!)

Minnesota is the home of Spam and they have a Spam Museum! We stopped there at least 20 years ago with Nathan. We had an awesome time! They had so many hands on activities, that we all tried ,concerning the canning process, plus they had the history of Spam and how it originated to feed the soldiers during World War II. And they have more Spam varieties for sale in their store than you can imagine, and will never see in a grocery store. Awesome combinations! Didn’t have the time this time but I do want to return there sometime. 😅

The rest areas along the interstate in minnesota, are spaced out really well. After about an hour’s Drive, they have a place where you can get out and walk. And that is really appreciated!! This one was near Rochester, and I had an interesting plaque concerning the history of medicine in Minnesota. It involved other founding surgeons besides the Mayo Brothers.

This couple and their teenage daughter were walking this white bundle of fur. The story is they had just driven to pick this puppy up from the breeder and it was just 2 months old. It will be the teenage girls dog and she was so tickled with it. It’s name is Sasha which seemed fitting. 😊

My high point of the day, was stopping at Sioux Falls, South Dakota. I have been there a couple times over the years. I remembered not only how beautiful and how many Falls there are , but the large and beautiful Park that surrounds it. Plus you can walk out on the rocks and near the falls if you want to.👍 And I remember people walking all over the place, including us! So it was a definite stop!

Well, towing a fifth wheel makes it a little more difficult to find a parking lot that I can fit into to stop! The first one was so tiny I barely was able to drive out of it !! The second one worked. I parked on the side overlooking the river the falls drain into. 👍 It’s also to my advantage that it is off-season as that gave me room to park .

I don’t know if the water level was like this all year, or it reflects possible droughts in the region, but I could not believe how low the falls were. I actually was shocked when I walked down and saw what was there. It still was pretty but it was nothing like it usually is.

I had a good time wandering around. The weather was 80° and sunny! And I took my time exploring the falls, the trails, the park and taking plenty of pictures. My motto. ” Take a lot. You can always delete later but you can’t add later.”

So I hope you enjoyed the photos. I imagine some have of you have been there as well. 🤗

miles driven : I have to figure that out yet 😂