2015 TRAVELS : SOUTH DAKOTA STORMS

We swapped the 10,000 lakes of Minnesota for the flat endless prairies of South Dakota and with it the weather! We are sandwiched between a massive snow storm heading our way from west South Dakota,( it has closed I -90 from Wall to the Wyoming state line) and tornado in Nebraska and Iowa, together with fog, rain and thunderstorm predictions. We are waiting here to see what happens.
Exciting photos follow showing the highlights of some towns we passed through. We did, by accident drive through De Smet, the home of the Ingalls family and Laura Ingalls Wilder, author, best known for her Little House series of books, the majority of which were set in the quaint town of De Smet. and who hasn't seen Little House on the Prairie!
We seem to have missed everything weather-wise! I thank my lucky stars every time severe weather magically moves around us. We will stay here until tomorrow Sunday, then move.

The rainy afternoon was spent at Akta Lakota(Sioux) Museum and Cultural Center at St. Joseph's Indian School in Chamberlain at the side of the Missouri River.
It was more than a traditional museum, it tells the significant story of the lives of the Northern Plains Indian people, their culture, traditions, values and history - we found it a moving and informative place.
The building is on the site of St. Joseph's Indian School which is funded totally by donations. This part of the museum showed the history of Indian boarding schools from early years to contemporary times. Their mission is to partner with Native American children and families to educate for life - body, mind heart and spirit. They do seem to be doing a good job.