Sioux Falls, South Dakota.

Last weekend found us in Brandon, South Dakota for a family wedding. The wedding was held late Saturday afternoon so we spent some free time in the morning exploring Sioux Falls. Our first stop that morning was only a 12 minute drive from our hotel in Brandon. Falls Park is a short walk from downtown, covers 123 acres and features the city’s namesake the falls on the Big Sioux River. The falls drop some 100 feet (30 m) over several cascades.

A dam was constructed along the river and then enlarged to support the Queen Bee Mill, the remains of which can be seen in the upper left. The mill compound consisted of several buildings, only one of which is still standing intact.

Downstream, (out of the photo), along the river in 1908, a hydroelectric power plant was built to take advantage of the dam and supplied electric power to the city until 1974. Today that building houses the Falls Overlook Cafe. In addition, an observation tower, a visitor information center and a large barn/museum housing the Stockyards Ag Experience and many permanent sculptures are located in the large park. In a future Travel Tuesday post, I will feature many more images captured in this beautiful park, Sioux Falls number one attraction.

About the photo: Captured on my Samsung S7 from the top of the observation tower, the image looks toward the southeast with downtown Sioux Falls in the background. The rule for Cellpic Sunday is simple. The image must be captured on a mobile device.

John Steiner