Pictures of the Week 2010-4
Hello All,
Barb’s high school class was celebrating their 50-year class reunion in Portland, OR in September and we wanted to attend it. June and July had been real scorchers here in Alabama. Temperatures and humidity were both in the 90’s. Since the heat and humidity were getting to us we decided to leave in mid August and take a 5-week drive to Oregon and back. Our plan was to look for cooler temperatures so we headed north to the northern states before turning west. This gave us the opportunity to explore some new territory, visit family and friends enroute, and take in the reunion.
Departing Alabama we shot through Tennessee into Missouri where we made an overnight stop in Columbia. The next morning we continued north through Iowa to Sioux Falls, South Dakota, where we again stopped for the night. We’ve been through Sioux Falls many times before but had never taken the time to visit the falls. Since we arrived early afternoon we decided to take a ride and check it out.
We found the rock formations in the area of the falls to be interesting. The Sioux Quartzite rock was deposited here more than a billion years ago and is among the oldest rock exposed in South Dakota. The quartzite and associated pipestone deposits were known to white men as early as 1822, but the American Indians used pipestone centuries earlier to make ornaments and utensils.
The Sioux Quartzite consists of thick beds of silica-cemented quartz sandstone. The grains were deposited and rounded by wave-action on the floor of an ancient continental sea. The density of the rock resulting from cementation and compaction makes it very resistant to erosion. This is demonstrated by the fact that the Big Sioux River has been flowing in its present course for about 10,000 years. As the river passes over and through the formations it results in numerous rapids and falls. We surmised that during high water runoff it would be a spectacular sight. However, in mid August it was fairly tame to say the least.
Barb’s high school class was celebrating their 50-year class reunion in Portland, OR in September and we wanted to attend it. June and July had been real scorchers here in Alabama. Temperatures and humidity were both in the 90’s. Since the heat and humidity were getting to us we decided to leave in mid August and take a 5-week drive to Oregon and back. Our plan was to look for cooler temperatures so we headed north to the northern states before turning west. This gave us the opportunity to explore some new territory, visit family and friends enroute, and take in the reunion.
Departing Alabama we shot through Tennessee into Missouri where we made an overnight stop in Columbia. The next morning we continued north through Iowa to Sioux Falls, South Dakota, where we again stopped for the night. We’ve been through Sioux Falls many times before but had never taken the time to visit the falls. Since we arrived early afternoon we decided to take a ride and check it out.
We found the rock formations in the area of the falls to be interesting. The Sioux Quartzite rock was deposited here more than a billion years ago and is among the oldest rock exposed in South Dakota. The quartzite and associated pipestone deposits were known to white men as early as 1822, but the American Indians used pipestone centuries earlier to make ornaments and utensils.
The Sioux Quartzite consists of thick beds of silica-cemented quartz sandstone. The grains were deposited and rounded by wave-action on the floor of an ancient continental sea. The density of the rock resulting from cementation and compaction makes it very resistant to erosion. This is demonstrated by the fact that the Big Sioux River has been flowing in its present course for about 10,000 years. As the river passes over and through the formations it results in numerous rapids and falls. We surmised that during high water runoff it would be a spectacular sight. However, in mid August it was fairly tame to say the least.
Early the next morning we
continued our trek north into North Dakota. At Fargo we turned west on I-94 and
followed it to Bismarck for another respite overnight. Our travels through both
North and South Dakota were quite refreshing. Temperatures were in the 80’s
with no humidity--hooray! The
countryside consisted of gentle rolling hills with amazing farms.
But, what really fascinated us
were the huge fields of sunflowers. From a distance the fields lit up in a
burst of bright yellow among the surrounding fields of green. In our eyes it
was quite a sight--awesome!
Even more interesting was how
the heads of the flowers followed the movement of the sun. When you looked at a
field up close all the flowers would be facing the same general direction. It
was wonderful for taking photos. All you had to do was put the sun to your back
and all the flowers would face you. Mother Nature does some amazing things.
Until next time,
Dave & Barb
The Traveling Browns
Dave & Barb
The Traveling Browns