Saturday in Pierre

For a few months I'd been hearing, "You've got to go see the trees in Pierre around Christmas!" I thought, "Yah, that sounds nice," but never bothered to put it on the calendar. Last Friday, however, Alissa and I realized that if we didn't go Saturday we'd never go! So, armed with a box of wheat thins we hopped in the car and headed west.

We didn't have a map or directions, but, knowing that Pierre is only slightly larger than Huron (at 13,000 people it's the second smallest state capital), we figured we wouldn't have any trouble finding a large domed building. Pierre is situated upon the eastern bank of the Missouri river, which has carved a number of bluffs and hills into the area. We realized we'd been living in flat-land too long when we got really excited when we saw them. Pierre was chosen to be capital by the voters because of its central location in the state. However, since nearly three-quarters of South Dakota live east of the river, it was thought that a city located in the central part of the eastern half (*cough, Huron, *cough) would be best. About 100 years ago Pierre and Huron fought over the issue quite vociferously and a number of statewide votes were held. First Presbyterian in Huron actually sits where the Capitol would have been built had Huron won the election. (By the way, thank you to David for explaining the difference between 'capital' and 'capitol' all those years ago.)

South Dakota's Capitol was constructed about 100 years ago by an architectural firm that also designed the Montana Capitol. This handsome, classical-style building is a source of South Dakota pride -- especially when competing with our neighbors in the "other" Dakota. (see http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:2009-0521-ND-StateCapitol.jpg)

Having been to a few capitols before, Alissa and I began to wonder as we parked the car, "Do you think we can take our camera in?" "Uh oh, better take this pocket knife off my keys." You see, we'd forgotten we were in South Dakota.

Having jettisoned my pocket knife and decided we could just "not use" the camera if need be, we headed for the entrance, awaiting the x-rays and metal detectors we'd grown used to. Instead, the only folks monitoring the door was a couple of older ladies selling commemorative capitol tree ornaments. Then we stumbled upon this beautiful scene:

I whispered over to Alissa, "Good thing we brought the camera in." As we gaped at trees and stared upward at the dome like slack-jawed tourists, the Black Hills State University played jazzy Christmas carols -- and they were good! Trees in the rotunda and surrounding halls are sponsored by various State government offices, businesses, and other local groups.

We met up with Harvey Wollman, a member of our church choir and former governor of South Dakota who had told us he'd be there that day. Below he is pictured next to his family's "Centennial Farm" tree (The Wollman farm is 100 years old) and in front of his official portrait. Harvey gave us a tour and told us about the capitol's history. (He had spearheaded a major renovation effort while in office.)

This rainbow-colored tree, sponsored by our electric company (beginning to understand what goes in to my bill!) was my favorite.

So, having 1) not have to be x-rayed, 2) been able to take pictures, and 3) had a tour by a former governor, we thought, "How could this get any better?" Well, we hadn't been to the basement yet. Upon arriving there, we realized that not only can you bring your pocket knives into the capitol, they actually sell them in the gift shop. What a state! Moreover, we hadn't been in the basement ten minutes before a gentleman came up to us, introduced himself as the Attorney General and served us apple pie. Evidently we picked a pretty good day to go to Pierre.

It was such a warm day (high 20s) that we walked around the Capitol grounds without our coats! Below is a naturally occuring hydrothermal spring (a fountain is built over it) that flows into a pond, keeping the geese and ducks happy all winter.

After the pond we decided to find some lunch. In typical Crandall fashion, we ended up at Taco Bell, but not until we'd first accidently crossed into Mountain Time Zone and back. On the way home we were blessed with some beautiful skies. (The first photo shows some of the higher hills in our part of the state. Really.)