Kicking Off
Yesterday, we made our way from St. Louis, MO to Sioux Falls, SD.
Since our bodies were still on eastern time, we were up nice and early. We cooked some of the fresh eggs from our Hipcamp hosts, then we packed up and hit the road again. The drive was fairly uneventful. We did swing through Kansas City and grab photos with a couple fun murals and accidentally took a short detour into Nebraska…check another state off the list!
I took some meetings in the back seat of the truck–my WiFi biscuit has been a great investment! We made a few stops for gas and before I knew it, we were in the middle nowhere, South Dakota.
South Dakota
The rest of our drive was nothing but corn and soy fields. On the plus side, it’s pretty flat out here so our average MPG increased slightly. It’s still a depressingly low number, though, so let’s move on.
We arrived at Newton Hills State Park, our home for the night, and learned from the front desk that some severe weather might be heading our way that night…greaaaaaat. We would worry about that later, though. First thing we needed to do was set up our tent, then head to the surprise date night AC planned for us (she loves to surprise me with unique dates, and I love to be surprised so it’s a win-win!).
Setup went smoothly. We only had one neighboring camper in our loop and he was a few spots away. Our site had open space and wooded space. We opted to set up in the open space in case the incoming severe weather decided to down a tree or two.
Date Night
Next, we headed out on our mystery date. Newton Hills State Park is about 30 minutes south of Sioux Falls so we took another drive through the fields to the Sioux Falls Outdoor Campus. The Outdoor Campus was really cool! We arrived about 40 minutes early so we had lots of time to look around. The primary focus of the campus seemed to be around hunter education, safety, and enablement. Keep in mind, I still had no idea what our date was, so when I noticed that there was a HuntSafe class on the calendar for the day, I thought that was our activity, but AC told me that wasn’t it so I continued to look around. I found a butterfly corner where they had every stage of the butterfly life on display, and all live! From caterpillars to chrysalises, it was a really cool display! In one chrysalis, you could see an almost fully developed butterfly just waiting for the perfect moment to emerge. Unfortunately, that perfect moment did not occur during our visit. Still, really cool stuff!
Finally, AC said, “I think I should tell you what we’re doing so you don’t look like an idiot when we start.” That’s love, y’all 😉 I found that we were taking a dutch oven cooking class–the kind where you heat the dutch oven with coals–how neat is that?!
Dutch Oven Cooking
We settled into class with 9 other couples. There were two gluten free dishes on the menu (thanks, Sioux Falls Outdoor Campus!) so we sat the table responsible for making gluten free Mountain Mama Breakfast. Also on the menu were:
- Mac & Cheese
- Pizza
- Sweet & Sour Meatballs (also gluten free)
- Peach Cobbler
- Brownies
Another couple also joined us at the Mountain Mama Breakfast table so we got to know them as we chopped and mixed our ingredients, then carried our heavy cast iron Dutch oven out to the coals. The Outdoor Campus staff handled the coals, placing about 6 briquettes beneath our Dutch oven and about 10 on top.
The other groups followed suit, preparing their recipe and carrying it out to the coals for cooking. Since the different dishes had different cook times, we had a steady stream of piping hot, delicious dishes for about 30 minutes. My favorite was the sweet & sour meatballs. They were cooked in a sauce of green apples and brown sugar–very unexpected and very delicious! AND, it was a free program!
Inclement Weather
AC and I departed with full bellies around 7:45p and headed back to the park. On our drive, the National Weather Service chimed in on the radio with a severe storm warning for several areas, including Sioux Falls. We were warned about high winds, heavy rain, and half dollar-sized hail so we spent the majority of our drive back debating whether we should sleep in the tent, or break the tent down and sleep in the truck. We checked the radar and the area around Newton Hills State Park, since it’s a ways out from Sioux Falls, actually looked fairly clear. When we arrived back at our campsite, my gut said, “you’ll be fine, sleep in the tent.” So I made that decision, really hoping I wouldn’t be the reason we woke up with a tent full of holes due to hail.
Per usual, my gut did not steer me wrong! We had some light rain. That was it. And the pitter patter of the rain was a nice little soundscape for bedtime.
Morning Mini Tour
This morning, we woke up rested, made oatmeal and eggs for breakfast, and packed up camp.
On the way out, we drove through Sioux Falls and made a quick stop at Falls Park. This park is home to the falls that give Sioux Falls its name. The sun was out, there was a light breeze, and it was a really nice morning stop!
Takeaways from Sioux Falls:
- Take advantage of your local Outdoor Campus, if you have one!
- Be mindful of weather when camping, but also trust your gut (and the radar).
Until next time,
Charli