SIMC: Lincoln Patriots Marching Band

My oldest granddaughter is a member of the Lincoln High School marching band and this last Saturday they competed in  The Dutchmen Field Championship in Orange City Iowa. It is one of the largest Midwest marching band competitions. This was my first time going to a marching band competition and I have to say it was pretty cool. In more ways than one, I really should have taken a blanket.

Each band's performance consisted of three 'acts'. The Patriots colorguard actually changed outfits during the performance. Switching from the bright green 'Alien' outfits to orange/gold spacesuit outfit. The theme of their performance was "Moving to Mars".

The large boxes served both as a way to display background scenes for the show as well as to provide a place for the colorguard to quickly change their outfits. It was so well choreographed that I didn't even realize what was happening till I saw the different color outfits.

Toward the end of their performance they had a huge parachute like material unfurl as the band played and a voice could be heard saying "Huston we have touchdown".

Most of the bands competing had less than 100 students,  with a few having between 110 and 150 students, but my granddaughter's band is huge. They have 260 students in the marching band. Watching them march off the field really gave a good sense of just how big they are. This photo only covers about half of the band.

After the Patriots performance the band for the hosting school performed a really awesome show titled "The Giving Tree".  Then all of band performers gathered on the field with blankets to sit and watch the fireworks display while the judges deliberated. 

When the lights went back on the kids on the field stood up while a few members from each band lined up on the sideline to accept awards for their teams. 

 

For the most part everyone was having a good time, except this young lady that was sitting next to me. She was so tired and just wanted to go home. In her defense I will admit that some of the performances were a tad on the boring side.

Every band got a participation award, and awards were given for various performance aspects. I do have to say I was glad that the bands were grouped into different classes with awards given in each class. The Lincoln Patriots received first place which really wasn't a surprise because they are very accomplished with a long list of outstanding accomplishments. They have participated in the Tournament of Roses Parade in Pasadena, California as well as in the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade in New York on multiple occasions. This year they have been invited and will be marching in The Hollywood Christmas Parade" in Hollywood, California. All of which is a testament to not only the kids but to Lincoln High School's music and marching band programs and directors. 

At the end of the night we were all a bit cold and tired but very happy too. Three High schools from Sioux Falls and two from smaller towns near Sioux Falls had all competed, so the line of cars heading back to Sioux Falls looked even longer than the line created by the Patriots as they left the field. I tried to get a good shot of the long line of cars and buses on the roadway in front of us, but this is the best I got. LOL

Have you ever been to a marching band competition? 

 

Thank you for visiting me here in South Dakota.

This is my contribution to 'Sunday In My City'. 

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SIMC: Redlin Art Center

Today we are going to take a trip a few hours north of Sioux Falls to the small South Dakota town of Watertown. Watertown is home to one of my favorite places, The Redlin Art Center. This wonderful museum houses over 150 of the most gorgeous oil paintings I have ever seen, by artist Terry Redlin. Like Thomas Kindade, Redlin's paintings capture the light so perfectly that they almost come to life on the canvas. 

Source

Front entrance to the Redlin Art Center

After Charles Redlin asked his father to stop selling his original paintings in 1985 the plan for the art center was born. Twelve years later, in 1997 the art center opened as  a free exhibit designed to draw art loving tourist to South Dakota.

Often successful individuals give back to their communities, but I don't know any that have given in such a way. The Redlin family built this beautiful complex to house Terry's amazing art and then prior to it's opening to the public they donated the art and complex to the State of South Dakota.

The main building is surrounded by a beautiful park like setting with meandering paths and tranquil ponds. The art center is just off Interstate 29 in Watertown, South Dakota.

The complex includes this octagonal Pavilion, which is an event venue that sits on a small island in one of the larger ponds on the property. In addition to gorgeous granite floors, floor to ceiling windows and a brilliantly sparkling chandelier, the elegant interior, which seats 150 guests, includes eight larger than life panels featuring Redlin's America the Beautiful paintings.

 

Turning back toward the back of the main building the path winds through the park with benches along the way.

The lawns and ponds create not only a favorite stopping point for large flocks of waterfowl but a soothing setting for humans as well.

Back of the art center as it can be seen from I-29

While the exterior of the center and it's surrounding grounds are beautiful, the interior is what pulls me back time and time again.

I shared this photo earlier Here.

Once inside, as a lover of art, I tend to revert to a viewer and all thought of taking photos is relegated to the back burner, so I don't have but these two photos of the interior to share. 

Thank you for visiting me here in South Dakota.

This is my contribution to 'Sunday In My City'. 

To find out what is going on in different cities around the world hop over to

 Unknown Mami's Sunday In My City blog hop.

SIMC: Upper Falls

I often share photos of the gorgeous waterfalls here in Sioux Falls, but they are usually of the lower falls. So today I decided would be a good day to share images of the upper falls. 

Thank you for visiting me here in Sioux Falls, South Dakota.

I realize I am a day late, however this is my contribution to 'Sunday In My City'. 

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SIMC: Hot On The Trail

A while back we decided to head over to the bike trail for a bit of fresh air and exercise. The kids brought their scooters and of course I brought my camera. 

 

One thing that surprises a lot of people about our city is that the Big Sioux River actually circles the central part of the city. Just click on the map to the left and you can see the route the river takes.

The city decided to make a bike trail next to the river all the way around central Sioux Falls. In the map to the right the trail is shown in green.

Of course many of our prettiest parks are also along the river. At various locations there are even places to launch your canoe or small paddle boats. We parked at one of these locations, which is actually on the opposite side of the river than the bike trail. A funny side note: Many years ago I worked for the county registering vehicles, when I got a call from a man who was moving here from Germany and after looking at a map of the city he wanted to register his boat. It turned out to be a 40ft yacht. I tried not to laugh when I informed him the river was no way near big enough for his boat. Now back to our little excursion.

Right near the canoe launch is a beautiful old bridge that leads over to the other side of the river and the bike trail. The bridge is no longer open to vehicles but is still very sturdy.

Neither of the kids care much for bridges so they did not want to ride their scooters across. Bubba ran, while Sissy walked very cautiously until she was once again on solid ground. 

At this location the bike trail sits between the river and I-229 which is the cross town freeway.

A short distance later the trail curves and soon we were at Yankton Trail Park. This park is very large and sits between the freeway and the river. Yankton Trail Park is home to the city's soccer fields and host to some very fun festivals.

We weren't the only ones out enjoying the trail, although it was not as busy as it is when the weather is more cooperative. On this particular day it was in the high 80's and the humidity was a high, so it felt almost 100 degrees. 

However, there were still a good amount of people enjoying the trail.

Luckily we had thought ahead and brought our water bottles full of ice & cold water. By this time though the ice had melted, but the water was still cold.

There was a good breeze so in the shade it wasn't too bad. I do have to say though if the water didn't look quite so muddy I would have been very tempted to go wading. It is rather shallow at this spot.

I love all the trees in Sioux Falls. For being on the prairie it actually has a good amount of trees and some are very old and very large. I don't know much about trees but was sad to see these black spots on the leaves of a few of the trees. I hope it isn't some disease that will kill the tree.

I asked Sissy and Bubba to stand next to this tree so the picture could give you an idea just how large the tree is. As you can see Bubba wasn't too excited to have his picture taken.

To be fair though, by this time we had been out in the heat for almost an hour and both kids were ready to turn around and find somewhere with air conditioning. Which is exactly what we did.

 

Thank you for visiting me here in Sioux Falls, South Dakota.

This is my contribution to 'Sunday In My City'. 

 

To find out what is going on in different cities around the world hop over to

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SIMC: A Legacy of Preserving the Prairie

Arrowhead Park

Arrowhead Park sits on the eastern edge of Sioux Falls, in what once was the rough quarry town of East Sioux Falls. The quarry of East Sioux Falls supplied the rich beautiful red Quartzite stone that graces many buildings in down town Sioux Falls, including the Old Courthouse Museum. 

In 1982 Dale and Dorothy Weir purchased the land, where they built a summer home and added access roads, but they had much greater plans for the land.

An extraordinary couple with a strong commitment to furthering the well-being of their community, they did not want to develop the land, but rather to preserve the natural prairie habitat including the three quarry ponds for future generations.  One of their first steps was the installation of aerators to keep the quarry water ice free so that the wide variety of wildlife that lived on the land would have access to the water year round.

The city of Sioux falls was growing steadily and it would not be long before the area would be swallowed by the city. By purchasing the quarry land they could maintain and preserve the native trees, shrubs, grasses and ensure the populations of the fish and waterfowl on the 131 acre prairie land as well as preserve the quarry ponds. 

Included in the  purchase of the land was the 1888 Quarry barn. It is believed that the barn was designed by the famous architect Wallace Dow.

The Weir's who were getting older and had no children to carry on their plan for the land donated it to the City of Sioux falls in 1999 to be used as a nature park. It was named Arrowhead Park because when viewed from the air one of the quarry ponds is the shape of an arrowhead. A short four years later Dorothy Weir passed on and was followed by Dale Weir in 2010. The two left behind this beautiful legacy and will forever be remembered for their support and generosity to the community of Sioux Falls, SD.

Thank you for visiting me here in Sioux Falls, South Dakota.

This is my contribution to 'Sunday In My City'. 

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SIMC: Summer Rewind

Do you ever wish you could just rewind to the beginning of summer? I know I do. Summer is almost over and there was so much more I wanted to do. At least in photos it can be eternally summer. Here are a few from one of My oldest granddaughters softball games at the very beginning of summer.  As with most cities ours has many different sporting leagues. Baseball, softball, soccer, bowling and I think there is even a volleyball league.

She made it to base, albeit via a walk.

Thank you for visiting me here in Sioux Falls, South Dakota.

This is my contribution to 'Sunday In My City'. 

To find out what is going on in different cities around the world hop over to

 Unknown Mami's Sunday In My City blog hop.