Day 7: We Reached Our Destination

 Tuesday, April 25, 2023

We slept in this morning and took our time before Tom started the Stinger "B" and we rolled out of the Walmart parking lot in Mitchell, SD. There really was no reason to rush we only had 72 miles to go and check in at the RV Park was not until 1 o'clock. More about that later. We left right around 11 o'clock and in a few minutes we were merging back on I-90 going East.

Our parking spot at the Mitchell, SD Walmart.

Going over the James River we can see it is over its banks.

We did see several instances of water along the highway.

Not sure what happened here but it looks like a lot of damage.

“Whitwam’s Wigwams"

When we saw a similar structure at the Dignity Rest Area I was curious as to what its significance was. I was going to do some research then but I got distracted, forgot, and published the post without doing so. Below is a short version of the information I found online about these structures which are called Tipis and are located at nine rest areas in South Dakota. 

Along South Dakota’s two interstate highways, I-90 (east-west) and I-29 (north-south), are nine concrete tipis built by Sioux Falls architect Ward Whitwam between 1968 and 1979. The tipis evoke the American Indian history and culture in South Dakota. The first two were built at rest areas on either side of I-90 near Wasta.

The tipis are constructed of eight prestressed concrete poles that represent the lodgepole framing structure of an American Indian tipi. The poles, each of which rises 56 feet and weighs 6.5 tons, are set into 35-foot-diameter concrete base. Each pole is notched and inlaid with a steel plate where it intersects with the others at the top in a spiral composition that results in a 3-foot-diameter opening at the top.

Whitwam's design is now on the National Register of Historic Places named by the S.D. State Historical Society. Unofficially, the rest stops opened 50 years ago on Interstate 90 were known as "Whitwam's wigwams." On a certificate designating their admittance to the National Register of Historic Places, on January 20, 2015, their title is more formal: "Ward Whitwam's concrete instate tipis."

We have left I-90 behind and are heading south on US-81.

We are now on SD-42 and this will bring us to the RV Park.

It all seems so rural yet we are just about
to Sioux Falls, South Dakota.

I hesitated to add this next section of the blog about the Tower Campground we had made reservations to stay at while in Sioux Falls. Everyone has different expectations of what a RV Park/Campground should be and reasons for picking a particular stop. We needed to stay somewhere that would verify that we did in fact spend at least one night in South Dakota in Minnehaha County. When we went online looking for a park that was open this is the only one that popped up. The price was steep, in our opinion, at $72 a night but it was the only place we could find open so we booked. (It was all about what was available to meet our criteria.) Tom did ask what the amenities were and she said a picnic table, a laundry room and clean bathrooms. My first thought when we pulled into the site was it would have to be a very small picnic table. 

I have a couple of pictures of this campground below and you will have to judge for yourself as to what you think including if we are being to judgmental about this park considering the price.  I will say the staff was helpful and the laundry room was very nice and clean. I believe it also doubled as the "clubhouse", We never went in the bathrooms so I cannot comment on there condition. Though I would guess like the laundry they were clean. Honestly, if you look online, the reviews for this place are mostly excellent. 

The sign is our first impression of the Tower Campground.
Click on it and will open larger in a new window.

Our site was behind the RV on the left.
We pulled in and Tom went into register. Sitting there waiting

I knew we had just paid $72 a night for three nights for one
of the sites in front of me.

I knew it was not one of these because they were back ins.

This was our site.
Nothing like sitting out next to your home looking at 
your neighbors sewer hook up.

This was our view out the front window of the pull thrus
on the black top. They paid the same price we did $72.

I am guessing this is one of the Deluxe sites.
They mention a larger site, a firepit, and
a picnic table in the description. 

We have stayed at several RV Parks over these last 9 years. Actually we have been camping together since Memorial Day Weekend 1971 and that was in a tent we set up in the rain at Corner Lake, a National Forest Campground, very rustic but we had a firepit and picnic table. We would not rate this campgrounds as the worse one we have stayed at but it would not be in the top half.  We have paid less for RV Parks/Campgrounds with actual amenities. I will say this it did serve its purpose for us but the price was ridiculous and in our opinion their website and what we found when we got there were somewhat different. Except for two picture, one of the front of motorhomes on blacktop and a back up site, all the pictures look like a park filled with trees. Plus, they mention, "Large shade trees make you feel like you're in the woods". Lesson learned really study the pictures and read all the reviews, if we had we would have had a better idea of what to expect.

If you need to stay in Sioux Falls, SD in Minnehaha County it meets that criteria. We would suggest a back-in site which is a little cheaper and those sites seemed to be roomier. The campground did seem to be kept up, except for the road around the area with trees that needs help. Winters can be hard on roads so they could still be going to take care of the several holes and rough areas. We needed to circle this road to get into our site which is why I make this comment. If we would have had nice weather while we were there the area for sitting out would have been a big disappointment. Full disclosure: when all is said and done, though we would not be happy paying the price, if we needed to stay in Sioux Falls again we would consider staying here a second time but we would choose a back-in. We did take a ride through the campground area at the fairgrounds, opening date May 1st, and it is one large parking lot of grass with some full hookups. We, at this time of the year, would worry about sinking right in we could see where someone had done so. They charge $40 a night.  

All and all we enjoyed out time in Sioux Falls. We were able to take care of why we came this way and we even did a little site seeing which I will share in the next blog.

National Autism Awareness Month
April 1, 2023 -- April 30, 2023

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