Aberdeen, SD

Quick, what's the capital of South Dakota.  Well, it sure ain't Aberdeen, but we did cross the Missouri at Pierre this noon.  Stopped in Steamboat Park and wandered around the riverbank.  They're obviously building a new bridge, either to expand or replace the current one on US 14.  Below picture is of an early school in Pierre.  Glad people make an effort to preserve their history. 

Earlier, we had stopped in Wall to get some breakfast.  Rather than do the touristy thing at Wall Drug (which is over the top touristy), we ate in a good restaurant several blocks away.  We were the only diners as they were transitioning from breakfast to lunch.  They had the best sausage patties I think I have ever eaten.  Owner of the restaurant owns a meat processing plant, and all the meat products were homemade. 

In a diagonal line from Rapid City to Aberdeen, it's not far; however, there are no diagonal roads in the Dakotas, so we stair stepped our way up to Aberdeen.  Started out with the grasslands and then it all morphed into grain fields, not many cattle although there were a few herds.  Looked to be mostly fields being planted or being prepped.  Smoke from the Canandian fires obscured the sky, but later in the day, the wind came up and blew it away.  

There were huge granaries/elevators all along our route.  Agtegra Coop had some of the largest on our route.  Some of the locations had grain stored on the ground.  Have to check with the North Dakota folks and find out why - whether they had an overabundance of grain last year or it's local farmers bringing in grain this year.  Can't imagine that they would store the grain outside over winter with the huge snowfall everyone experienced this past winter.  

We're staying at the Ramkota Best Western and it's our last stop before heading up to Fargo Friday.