Hello all.

After 12 years, I have another "first" today in the world of air transportation.
It's my first layover in Sioux Falls, South Dakota (I can hear your shrieks of delight).
We arrived in Sioux Falls, SD via Chicago and Denver. We almost missed the flight here (after an hour delay in Chicago) but our inbound plane was delayed as well, so we still made it, though about 30 minutes late. Sharon (my jumpseat mate for the day) and I were pretty whipped by the end of the day. Sharon is about a month senior to me, and I've known her since I have started flying.



We got in and immediately went out for BBQ. The place claimed to have the "best BBQ outside of Kansas City", which of course made me curious. We all had something different and got to try a variety of meats (all good), but what I liked best were the wings. We expected hot wings, but they came out smoked and tasting of hickory - yum.






Sharon (and I) learned something new today. Sioux Falls is named after a series of waterfalls in the Sioux river (who knew? Apparently alot of people). We took a stroll along the walkways by the river and of course I had to stop for a photo op. Oh, and I also learned that Mt. Rushmore is on the opposite side of the state. I tend to get my geography of the northern Midwest backwards occassionally.





There is a big park here and a visitor center with a 5 story viewing tower. Of course I had to climb... Here is a view of the entire falls from the tower:






No tour would be complete without stopping in the gift shop. I bought a really nice green ballcap to add to my collection.


And now I've been able to add South Dakota to my list of states I've been to. I found a nice map feature on Google to mark where I have been.


View Larger Map