We made it to lovely Sioux Falls, SD at 7:15 p.m. CST on Friday. We did pretty well - we were on the highway by 7:30 a.m. EST. We survived Chicago's rush hour, (bad planning on my part - we could have slept in another hour, or I suppose gotten up an hour earlier - nah!), and stopped in the Wisconsin Dells for lunch.
We saw a sign for "Buffalo Phil's" that advertised a train brought your food to your table and decided to try it. It was a huge place all buffalo-ed out and the train was cute. It was a little Lionel that made a loop through a kitchen area and did indeed stop at tables. We skipped the half hour wait for one of those tables and just watched. The food was pretty bland, but they did have a pizza and pasta buffet which we probably should have done instead.
The restaurant was right next to an outlet mall. In the hope of finding a Columbia outlet with a sunblocker shirt for Maddie we made a side trip. It was an excellent outlet that was designed to feel like you were outdoors but was covered with a vaulted ceiling and would have been very comfortable in the winter. No luck with a shirt but would be worth a trip if you were in the Dells for the weekend. Speaking of which - driving past the Kalahari and Great Wolf Lodge waterparks may not have been the kindest thing to do to Maddie. She wasn't quite sure why we were about to drive 10 more hours when we were already in such an awesome place. Ahhh, wait until she gets to the Badlands in 100 degree weather and no pool - she will be so happy with her mother!
The drive from there was boring but smooth. There is nothing, but corn in Minnesota along I-90 the whole way to South Dakota. (Whoops, John just reminded me there was a Deke Slayton Bicycle Museum, silly me. We didn't stop.) The good news was it made reaching Sioux Falls really exciting. We went straight to Falls Park and it was just lovely, (Thank you Melissa H.!)
We could walk all over the rocks and the park had overlooks and paths all through it so there were excellent and unique views of the falls everywhere you went. The visitor's center had a huge viewing tower about 5 stories tall that was very well maintained. We spent just over an hour exploring. They were gearing up for a light and music show they do all summer, (compliments of Wells Fargo, thank you Kristin!), but we were to hungry and tired to stay.
There was a cool looking restaurant in an old building overlooking the falls that would have been perfect. Unfortunately they keep erratic hours, but are always closed by 8. We agreed Silver Beach Pizza needs to expand!
So we dined at Fuddrucker's and stayed at the Quality Inn and Suites. Very nice king suite with sofa bed, continental breakfast and a small but immaculate pool.
Saturday we are off to the Corn Palace and beyond arriving at the Badlands in the late afternoon. Hopefully by then I will figure out how to post pictures!
We saw a sign for "Buffalo Phil's" that advertised a train brought your food to your table and decided to try it. It was a huge place all buffalo-ed out and the train was cute. It was a little Lionel that made a loop through a kitchen area and did indeed stop at tables. We skipped the half hour wait for one of those tables and just watched. The food was pretty bland, but they did have a pizza and pasta buffet which we probably should have done instead.
The restaurant was right next to an outlet mall. In the hope of finding a Columbia outlet with a sunblocker shirt for Maddie we made a side trip. It was an excellent outlet that was designed to feel like you were outdoors but was covered with a vaulted ceiling and would have been very comfortable in the winter. No luck with a shirt but would be worth a trip if you were in the Dells for the weekend. Speaking of which - driving past the Kalahari and Great Wolf Lodge waterparks may not have been the kindest thing to do to Maddie. She wasn't quite sure why we were about to drive 10 more hours when we were already in such an awesome place. Ahhh, wait until she gets to the Badlands in 100 degree weather and no pool - she will be so happy with her mother!
The drive from there was boring but smooth. There is nothing, but corn in Minnesota along I-90 the whole way to South Dakota. (Whoops, John just reminded me there was a Deke Slayton Bicycle Museum, silly me. We didn't stop.) The good news was it made reaching Sioux Falls really exciting. We went straight to Falls Park and it was just lovely, (Thank you Melissa H.!)
We could walk all over the rocks and the park had overlooks and paths all through it so there were excellent and unique views of the falls everywhere you went. The visitor's center had a huge viewing tower about 5 stories tall that was very well maintained. We spent just over an hour exploring. They were gearing up for a light and music show they do all summer, (compliments of Wells Fargo, thank you Kristin!), but we were to hungry and tired to stay.
There was a cool looking restaurant in an old building overlooking the falls that would have been perfect. Unfortunately they keep erratic hours, but are always closed by 8. We agreed Silver Beach Pizza needs to expand!
So we dined at Fuddrucker's and stayed at the Quality Inn and Suites. Very nice king suite with sofa bed, continental breakfast and a small but immaculate pool.
Saturday we are off to the Corn Palace and beyond arriving at the Badlands in the late afternoon. Hopefully by then I will figure out how to post pictures!
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