Walking Along the Missouri River

I made a trek to the Sioux City area to do a 10K walk. I searched for a walk in a city that starts with N and when I discovered the walk in the Adam Homestead and Nature Preserve it sounded very interesting. The walk starts with N because the Nature Preserve is located in North Sioux City, South Dakota.

It was a 20 minute drive from my hotel room to the nature preserve. The directions said to look for the big white barn and there it was.

 This structure, fairly new construction, operates as a visitor center and office for the park. I walked in and couldn't find anyone. I looked around in corners and other usual places for the walk box and couldn't find it. Outside was a school group and I thought the staff was probably with the children. I walked out and found a park ranger. She said she would be bringing a group of children in soon and would help me then.

It was really fun to be around these kids. They were probably 4th graders. They were so enthusiastic about anything they found. It's good to see "city kids" getting out in nature.

After getting registered I headed out with the map and followed a trail to the Homestead. I learned this property had been given to South Dakota by Maud and Mary Adams. Fitting that I came to this place. Both of these women were nurses, and both nurse educators: one served for a time as the Dean of Nursing at South Dakota State University and the other headed the nursing program at Morningside College, here in Sioux Falls.

Their grandfather was a Union soldier in the Civil War and used his benefit to homestead to get this land.

 This is the Broussard Cabin, moved here from a nearby area to show the type of cabin settlers built upon arrival. The Adams cabin didn't survive.

Nearby was the house built in the late 19th century.

 This house has been renovated for living in the 21st century, but the sign about the house showed a picture of it in the early 20th century and one could see it was certainly the same house.

Of course a farm needed to have a barn, and of course at this time, all barns were painted red.

Within this museum area is another house, the Shay-Adams House.

Since Adams is part of the name, I guessed this home belonged to a relative. This house was moved onto the farm to prevent the drifting sands of the Missouri River from covering it. (More about that later in this blog.) Near this house, too I found bluebells.

These are one of my favorite early spring flowers.

This area also included a church.

This church originally was built 11 miles away, dedicated in 1906. All the members were from Stavanger, Norway and Norwegian was spoken within the church.

The last building moved here is a school house.

I was wondering where to find the River Loop trail all the time walking around here. Decided to walk back to the Visitor Center to ask directions.

 On my way I found this noisy goose.

By the Visitor Center I found poles marking trails that I had missed and was soon off on the walk.

The walk was on a limestone covered trail through light forest, sometimes with cornfields on one side.

After about 45 minutes of walking I was glad to find a blind.

 I was ready for a rest after walking continuously for more than an hour. And a blind is good for finding out why my phone is telling me to pay attention. Thought it might again be a student in a panic, but no just announcing normal e-mail arriving.

And then suddenly the trail changed and the area looked as if I had arrived at a desert.

 I had thought about walking as far as  the river overlook for my first rest, and was so glad I didn't. As you can see above it is totally drifted with sand.

Maybe you can see why I thought I had arrived in a desert.

Along; the shore I found this lovely and interesting wind-borne sculpture.

And here's what the river shore looks like. I finally understood all the stories I had heard about the drifting sands of the Missouri River.

I slogged through sand for about another five minutes and then I back into the light forest area. I stopped to rest at another blind further down the trail. Then finally I was walking across Cottonwoods Crossing and then it was only a short walk back to the Visitor Center.

This was really a great walk.