Back at the Farm
It’s been 4 years since our last visit to South Dakota. Dad’s been gone for almost that long and Grandpa passed last December so we figured we’d better hustle back to see Grandma while we still can visit with her.
Turning up the lane and seeing Sarah’s beautiful Appaloosas in the field was a welcome sight. It’s been great reminiscing about all the shenanigans we got into as kids with our cousins Shannon and Brian, the originals we call ourselves. Getting into scrapes around the farm, begging for marshmallows as a special treat from Grandma and endless hours of playing games together.
Gotta love those spots
The biting flies that swarmed us as we stepped out of the car were definitely less welcome and we blamed the cows!
Lots of new calves this year
Coming down the gravel road towards the lane
We headed into Yankton a few times to grab some groceries and check out Rib Fest. The new water park where the old pool was looks pretty cool. We made a point to drive past the house our Mom grew up in as it’s right by the park.
Grandma and Grandpa Block’s old house
Checking out the new water park
Jenny and Kirsten at Rib Fest
We lived out of our bags and slept in a different location every night. Our arrival was after the car rental counter at Sioux Falls airport closed. Lucky for us we found the Aero Hotel which was actually connected to the airport. We got some sleep and picked up our Hertz rental Camry the next day. We also got to try out the new Fairfield Inn by Marriot in Yankton which had solid breakfast included and was very nice. Then finally we also enjoyed our cousin’s hospitality at their beautifully renovated farm house.
Beautiful woodwork and stained glass, but do you see the chicken?
There are so many beautiful Victorian houses here. We drove through town and past the Methodist church we grew up in, the water tower and a memorial to the old school house where our dad graduated from, which were fun to see.
Hay capital of the world
A beautiful restoration
The post office and the water tower
The old mill
The old bank….I wish we could restore this
The Hay Shed owned by a cousin now
The Methodist church
The memorial to the old Gayville schoolhouse
It was a great trip that ended with a T-ball game, a South Dakota sunset and one more night at the Aero Hotel before our 5am flights home.
