Sioux City, Mitchell - Lewis and Clark Caravan - Part 4 (STR-2022…

Monday, 23 May - Day 13

Today was a designated travel day - to travel from Greenwood, NE to Sioux City, IA. We decided to deviate from the caravan route (driving I-29) to enjoy US77 north through eastern Nebraska to Sioux City, IA. We enjoyed very light traffic and 18+ mpg.

After Darrell got his haircut, we played golf at Two Rivers Golf Club in North Sioux City, SD. We were able to get right on. A tight course, with narrow fairways, and much nicer greens than yesterday. Darrell still lost two balls in the rough, even though we saw where they landed. Frustrating.

The caravan is staying at KOA Holiday North Sioux City Campground in North Sioux City, SD for the next two nights.

Tuesday, 24 May - Day 14

A relaxing start, which was appreciated as it was a chilly morning. At 9:45, we lined up for ride share (riding with Bob and Debbie again) to go to the Sgt Floyd River Museum and Welcome Center in Sioux City, IA (www.nps.gov/places/sargeant-floyd-museum.htm).

The museum is nestled inside the retired M.V. Sergeant Floyd, a boat once used by the United States Army Corps of Engineers. The boat was named after Sergeant Charles Floyd of Kentucky, one of the members of the Lewis and Clark expedition.  

The "Sgt Floyd" was constructed at the Howard shipyard of Jeffersonville, Indiana and launched on May 31, 1932. "The Floyd"was used by the Missouri Division of the US Army Corps of Engineers as a survey and inspection vessel.

The "Sgt Floyd" is now a Tourism Center and River Museum that contains displays regarding the Lewis and Clark expedition as well as demonstrating the history and use of the Missouri River through the years.

The museum was well done, blending in history of the river boat, Lewis and Clark, and the Missouri River. Artifacts ranged from Native Americans to the participation in the 1976 Bicentennial by the riverboat "Sgt Floyd".

We then walked across the parking lot to the Lewis & Clark Interpretive Center, Sioux City, IA (www.nps.gov/places/sioux-city-lewis-clark-interpretive-center.htm)

The Interpretative Center exhibits were well done.

Several of the exhibits were animatronic such as the Sgt Floyd burial exhibit.

Sgt Floyd Burial

The Center had the best keelboat model we have seen so far.

They also had a short film that was presented by an actor dressed as William Clark.

We then drove a few miles to Floyd's Bluff, the sight of the Sgt Floyd Monument (www.nps.gov/places/sergeant-floyd-monument.htm)

Sergeant Charles Floyd died on August 20, 1804, in the present-day Sioux City area. The cause of his death is thought to have been appendicitis.

The Lewis & Clark Expedition buried him on a bluff over the Missouri River in present-day Sioux City near a smaller river his comrades named in his memory. A cedar post marked his grave.

In 1857, Sioux Cityans rescued Sgt. Charles Floyd's grave from the crumbling bluff. They reburied the explorer's remains and talked of building a monument to honor him, but they did not have enough money for the project. Sioux Cityans dreamed of building a monument for the next 38 years before funds were raised and planning could begin.

The Floyd Memorial Association organized in the spring of 1895. They searched for and located Floyd's grave on land owned by the Sioux City Stockyards Company. The grave had been covered by years of neglect. The Association held a reburial service, marking the third resting place of Sergeant Floyd's remains.

By 1899, Sioux City leaders had raised enough money to build the monument and construction could begin. On August 20, 1900, the monument cornerstone was set and Sergeant Floyd's remains were placed in the base, marking the fourth resting place of his remains.

The 100-foot, Kettle River sandstone monument in the shape of an obelisk was completed under Captain Hiram M. Chittenden of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers in 1901. Floyd Monument was dedicated on May 30 of that year. It cost $10,000.

In 1960, Floyd Monument was named the first National Historic Landmark registered by the National Park Service and U.S. Department of the Interior.

But for Sgt Floyd's death, the only man lost on the Lewis and Clark Expedition, Sioux City would be like most towns along the Missouri River - nothing Lewis and Clark related other than the expedition passed by as they went upstream and downstream on the Missouri River. Sgt Floyd's death and burial here make Sioux City a major marker in the expedition trail.

View from Floyd's Bluff

Caravaners John and Kelly Ann joined Bob, Debbie, Kris and Darrell for a nice lunch downtown at the Trattoria Fresco, a family run Italian restaurant. Great food, fun to see the children helping out, and we lingered until the time on the parking meter was about to run out.

Wednesday, 25 May 2022 - Day 15

Today was another travel day, as the caravan relocated to Mitchell, SD. One of the optional stops listed in our travel log was Spirit Mound State Historic Prairie just north of Vermillion, SD (www.gfp.sd.gov/parks/detail/spirit-mound-historic-prairie/).

On August 24, 1804, the Lewis and Clark Expedition halted near the mouth of today's Vermillion River to visit a hill which the Indians of the vicinity insisted was haunted by evil spirits. They came to the site because they had heard that little people with big heads inhabited the mound. At the mound the expedition didn't find any little people, but did find a "most beautiful landscape."

Captain Clark wrote,

"We set out from the mouth of White Stone Creek to Visit this mountain of evel Spirits. This hill is about 70 foot high in an emince Prarie or leavel plain from the top I could not observe any woods except in the Missourie Points,...from the top of this Mound we observed Several large gangus of Buffalow & Elk feeding upward of 800 in number…. We returned to the Boat at Sunset, my Servent nearly exosted with heat thurst and fatigue."

We braved a cool, breezy day with a threat of drizzle to hike to the top, which is about 120 feet of elevation gain from the parking lot.

The central core of the mound is a bedrock of Niobrara chalk that the continental ice sheet did not erode away. The chalk - consisting of fossil shells deposited in an ancient sea - is evident on the north side of the hill.

The Flood Control Act of 1944 authorized the construction of six main dams in the Missouri River Basin. In addition to flood control, the intent of this act was to provide hydroelectric power. With the damming of the river, most of the sites where the Lewis and Clark Expedition camped or visited are now underwater. There are very few places where a person can stand today and know that Lewis and Clark stood in the same exact location. Spirit Mound is one of those few special sites.

Photo from the internet on a prettier day:

We continued on. In Yankton, SD, we tried to visit the Gavins Point Dam which created the Lewis and Clark lake, one of the Army Corps of Engineers projects for flood control and hydroelectric power. Unfortunately, the road across was closed.

We continued on to Mitchell, SD. Just outside of Mitchell, we spied the Dimock Cheese store and popped in for some speciality cheese. No golf today as it was breezy, cloudy, and drizzly. Just a little too raw to enjoy playing golf.

For the next two nights, the caravan is staying at the R&R Campground, which is part of the Super 8 motel at the Mitchell exit off I-90. Another campground geared to passing travelers on the interstate.

Tonight we had our first caravan potluck dinner.

Thursday, 26 May - Day 16

We woke up to 39 degrees. Today marks the 16th day of our 47-day caravan. Hard to believe we are already 1/3 through the caravan. Not 1/3 in miles, just 1/3 in days.

Today is another rideshare day. First stop of the day is the World's Only Corn Palace (www.cornpalace.com/149/Corn-Palace-History). As we had visited the Corn Palace only 8 months ago at the end of the Rockies caravan, we decided we did not need to see it again so soon.

We still captured the A-MAIZ-ING CORN PALACE FACTS ...

• The Corn Palace is redecorated every year sporting a new theme.
• 600,000 pieces of corn are used to decorate the outside each year.
• 3,000 bushels of grains and grasses are also used each year: milo, rye and sour dock.
• Nine different colors of indian corn are used to create the mural pictures.
• Over a ton of nails, staples and wire are used to fasten the corn and grasses.
• Approximately $100,000 is spent each year for redecorating.
• Cal Schultz, a local artist, has been designing the Coin Palace murals since 1977.

Our plan was to meet our group at the second stop, the Carnegie Resource Center. Arriving early, we went for a walk and bumped into our group outside the Corn Palace 3-1/2 blocks away.

The Carnegie Resource Center is the former Carnegie Library. In 1901 the citizens of Mitchell contacted Mr. Carnegie requesting funds to construct a library building for the city of Mitchell. On February 3, 1902 Carnegie agreed to provide $10,000 to construct a library if the city would agree to pay $1,000 annually for upkeep, and in 1903 the construction was completed. Constructed of jasper quartzite, the library is architecturally significant and a monument to the skilled stonemasons, woodworkers, glass artisans and ornamental craftsmen of the period skills which no longer exist today.

Normally closed in the morning except for tour groups, we were met by two volunteers who provided an overview of the Carnegie Resource Center. An amazing part of the story was that around the time the building was purchased by the historical society, the building suffered water damage. In the repair work, they uncovered the original paint colors and the mural painted on the dome. The mural was originally painted by a local artist Oscar Howe, who supervised the repainting of the dome.

An entire room was devoted to Corn Palace history.

One exhibit was a large poster advertising entertainment in the Corn Palace from 1939.

The upstairs exhibited many Oscar Howe artwork.

We then went to visit the Pre-Historic Indian Village (archaeology-travel.com/usa/mitchell-prehistoric-indian-village/). During its occupation of around 100 years, it was a large, Middle Missouri-tradition village of approximately 80 huts on a bluff overlooking Firesteel Creek, protected in the southwest by a palisade ditch. Habitation dates to 1000 AD, an estimate achieved using radiocarbon dating, but initial excavations didn't begin until 1910. It is the only active archeological site in South Dakota open to the public.

Upon arrival, we watched a video on the archeology effort in the theater. After the video, the Staff Archeologist gave us a tour of the exhibits which included a model of what the village would have looked like

and a reconstructed earthen lodge of the Middle Missouri tradition.

Another exhibit of interest was the fact that this archaeology effort has verified the trade networks as artifacts not found in South Dakota were found at the site.

The staff archeologist then led the group to the Archeodome, a specially constructed dome built over a portion of the site to permit archeological excavations to be done year round.

We took leave of the group to go play golf at the Lakeview Municipal Golf Course next door. We were impressed by the condition of the course for a municipal course. And we enjoyed a beautiful sunny day.