Yesterday (Friday) we woke up to yet another thunderstorm that dumped an inch of rain, making the total for the week five inches. After the rain ended, Bruce went to the farm and I putzed around the house, getting some meatloaf ready for the oven and messing around on the computer. An email came in from Jean, Bruce's sister, that she and John were in the Holiday Inn Express in Vermillion SD for a game tomorrow.
John has Token Creek Productions and this was the maiden voyage for a new truck, Pioneer, he and his crew have been working feverishly on all summer and there was still work to do once they were on the site.
When Bruce came in for dinner I asked his plans for the afternoon and he said, "Do you want to go to Vermillion??" Great minds do think alike! We found out Jean's room number and headed out, it's about 1 1/2 hour drive but it's pretty scenic and we seldom get over that way. We found Jean's room, shared hugs and were just ready to head out somewhere when another knock on the door. Jean checked the peep hole, it was John, so she shooed us behind a wall to surprise him, which we did.
Even though John was bushed, he wasn't back to catch a nap but bring a key to Jean so we followed him back to the truck for a tour. For an electronically challenged person as I am, all the screens, boards and wires made my head spin. It's darned impressive!
We didn't dawdle and get in their way, they still all had work to do so we set out in the car to explore the town. Jean asked Bruce where Yankton was, she remembered their Mom listening to WNAX when she was a kid. Bruce said it was on west.
Vermillion has a Music Museum that we see advertised on a billboard so after some wrong turns and retracing, we found it. There was a huge banner at the top of the building that we managed to drive by 2 times without seeing! It was very interesting, we spent an hour because that is what we fed into the parking meter.
We drove back to the main drag through Vermillion, searching for a place to eat, we were nearly to the edge of town when we saw a sign, Yankton - 23 miles. Bruce said, "Let's go to Yankton!" And we did! We drove right past the WNAX studio and saw the new truck they are giving away next January, through historic downtown, past a sign that tickled Jean's funny bone, "Yankton, the Mother of the Dakota's" or something like that, and on to Gavins Point Dam.
Where we took pictures. A few years ago there was terrible flooding from the massive releases of that dam and people drove to Yankton just to see the water. This was taken on the south side, the dam in the background.
We didn't dawdle and get in their way, they still all had work to do so we set out in the car to explore the town. Jean asked Bruce where Yankton was, she remembered their Mom listening to WNAX when she was a kid. Bruce said it was on west.
Vermillion has a Music Museum that we see advertised on a billboard so after some wrong turns and retracing, we found it. There was a huge banner at the top of the building that we managed to drive by 2 times without seeing! It was very interesting, we spent an hour because that is what we fed into the parking meter.
We drove back to the main drag through Vermillion, searching for a place to eat, we were nearly to the edge of town when we saw a sign, Yankton - 23 miles. Bruce said, "Let's go to Yankton!" And we did! We drove right past the WNAX studio and saw the new truck they are giving away next January, through historic downtown, past a sign that tickled Jean's funny bone, "Yankton, the Mother of the Dakota's" or something like that, and on to Gavins Point Dam.
Where we took pictures. A few years ago there was terrible flooding from the massive releases of that dam and people drove to Yankton just to see the water. This was taken on the south side, the dam in the background.
Jean took this on the north side, the spillways are closed and everything looks calm and serene. What a difference.
After our photo shoot we drove around a campground and found our way back to Hwy. 52, once again through historic downtown Yankton, that was a maze of construction, and back toward Vermillion. We stopped in the little town of Meckling, where a sign from 'Toby's' touted their famous chicken. They weren't kidding, if you are ever in the area, stop in. Their shirt proclaimed, 'Toby's been giving you the bird since 1971.'
After a very satisfying meal, we had a short drive to the hotel, hugs all around and thanks for such a fun day. Now Jean can cross Yankton off her bucket list. We headed for home, taking a different route, checking on crops along the way. It's fun to just play hooky sometimes and go where the spirit moves you. Harvest will be in full force soon and no road trips, except for parts....
What a fun time! Thanks again for driving up here!
ReplyDeleteSO glad you had a fun day. Yes it is fun just to jump in the car and go. Toby's chicken is very good. And who would know by just passing by it. Some of the smallest places can have the best food.
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