2015 – 07 – 17: Scenic Destinations Day 33 - Explorations along the Missouri River

From Yanktown South Dakota 

To Ponca State Park Nebraska
Exploring the Missouri River and dam 13 miles
To Ponca State Park 52 miles 
Total Distance Traveled: 65 miles

How lovely it is to wake in the morning to the sound of birds singing and a gorgeous view to the Missouri River.  I enjoyed a leisurely breakfast as the summer day slowly got warmer and warmer.

I took the precaution of packing up first then taking a shower to start the day fresh. 

Bridge to Yankton 

I crossed the river into Yankton on a really unique looking bridge and caught glimpses of the Missouri River as I drove across.

View to the Missouri River 

I spent some internet time at McDonald's   to catch up on my correspondence and to connect with family. 

Gavin Dam

Then it was time to do some exploration.  
My first stop was to see the Gavin Dam and the awesome expanse of the Missouri river. 

Lewis and Clark Lake 

The road built on the top of the dam is a monument to the size of this project and the Lewis and Clark Lake stretches as far as the eye can see.

Nearby I found a lovely spot overlooking the down river portion of the dam for a picnic lunch and some reading time.  

I look back at my schedule that past few days and realized I have not been making enough of an effort to slow down the last few days.  I seem to have gotten into a hurry up and get there mode. So I renewed my pledge to myself to relax my pace.  

Temperature check, just past noon, it was now 36C / 97F.  A really warm summer day!  

Then I drove to the upstream side of the dam and wanted to get a view from the Lewis and Clarke recreation area.  However this is a fee only area and they would not even let me in just to take a picture. 

Instead I stopped at the Lewis and Clark Marina and got a lovely view from there.  It is pretty spectacular to see this huge, wide expanse of water.  I am reminded over and over again how big a river the Missouri River is.  At this point the little Missouri, the Cheyenne and the White have all converged with the Missouri. There may be other tributaries along the way as well that I don’t yet know about.  That is a lot of water flowing downstream. 

I returned to Yankton SD, got some gas to tide me over till I get to the Sam’s club in Sioux City and then stopped at Riverside Park in Yankton.   

There were some lovely views to the river and the bridges crossing it here.  

And the temperature is now 39C / 102F

I left Yankton on hwy 52 going east towards Vermillion. Through this stretch of the country side I got to admire some lovely farm buildings.

view from Mulberry Hill 

From Vermillion I headed south on Hwy 19 back across the Missouri River into Nebraska.  On the south side I stopped at Mullberry Hill, a scenic overlook. The hike to see the beautiful view was well worth getting all hot and sweat soaked. 

Because of the heat, now 40C / 104F,  I changed plans and elected to stay in Ponca State Park.  

Driving east again along Hwy 12 towards the town of Ponca I enjoyed scenic rolling grasslands, quaint small town America and picturesque barns. 

Ponca State Park is located along the Missouri River, north west of the town of Ponca. This park is quite large and has many camp sites.  I asked for one with electricity and shade and was directed to Hilltop.  I seemed like I drove forever on winding roads to get there.  

Scenic View point in Ponca State Park 

On the way I stopped for this spectacular view to the countryside spread out below.

My camp site was a lovely shaded spot with electricity so I was able to get my electric fan plugged in sending cooling breezes my way.

After setting up camp I settled in to relax and enjoy the evening. 

Today's dinner special – tomato soup with raman noodles

The clouds are looking ominously dark and I am mesmerized by their shape.  They looked like sculpted waves in the sky.  

I have never seen cloud formations like this before.  I had to get out my camera to take pictures.  I wondered how long it would be before the rain came down. 

A group of 5 ladies that are having a “ladies weekend” invited me to join them around the camp fire and it was enjoyable chatting and sharing stories.  The weather reports were coming in on the various cell phones that a storm front was indeed approaching and that sever thunder and rain was inevitable.   As it got dark and the winds picked up we said our good nights.

After one last visit to the rest room and then making sure that all my tent covers were securely in place I settled into my car bed for some sleep.  It was still warm and muggy and I was sure glad to have my fan to circulate the air inside, especially with most of the windows up to keep out the rain – things could have gotten uncomfortably warm very quickly. 

When the rain came it came down in force and I did have to close the hatch for the duration of the storm.  Sleep was restless to say the least, but when the storm passed I opened the hatch up again and enjoyed the cool air that follows a good downpour. 

Renate Dundys Marrello 
2015 - 07 - 17 


Link to see all of the day's pictures

Link to my Facebook Reflections Page

Route maps for the day

map #1 - exploring the Missouri River and Dam near Yankton SD

Map #2 - Scenic Destinations Day 33 from Yankton to Ponca State Park