6-16-24 WATERTOWN, SD

Bridge over the Missouri River

View of the Missouri River
from Bob's Restaurant

 

Our next stop after pickleball with Captain and Connie in Spearfish was a one-night stay high on a windy bluff just before Gettysburg, SD.  (The sign entering town says, “Gettysburg:  Where the battle wasn’t.”)  We parked at Bob’s.  That’s correct, Bob’s Resort.  Bob is The Man at this resort, which consists of Bob’s RV Park, Bob’s Bait Shop, Bob’s Gift Shop and Bob’s Convenience Store.  Upon investigation, Rob found a restaurant walking distance from our campsite where we could have a walleye dinner.  Hurray!  And… wait for it… at Bob’s Restaurant.  The dinner table was next to Bob’s big bay windows that overlook the beautiful blue Missouri River below and Bob’s walleye was fabulous.  In the morning, we gassed up at Bob’s Filling Station.  And my wardrobe would be incomplete without a new t-shirt on which is printed, “Bob’s.”  We continued the trip eastward to Watertown, SD.  Holy buckets, the drive was difficult, slow and nerve-wracking trying to keep Noobee in her own lane fighting the wind.  (We’re driving a billboard, you understand.)  Thankfully, it was a relatively short trip, 165 miles.  Once again, the back roads took us through many little tiny towns but, even though that was our choice, the roads are narrow and way bumpy.  Kristi, Kristi, fix the SD roads!  We thought there might be little cafes or antique shops or something along the way through the little towns but it was mostly silos, hay bales and John Deere equipment.  South Dakota is truly a part of our nation’s bread basket.

 

As for wildlife, well, every few hundred feet there is a lake or a pond.  If MN is, “Land of 10,000 Lakes,” SD is not far behind.  I expected to see deer and antelope.  Instead, there were seagulls, ducks, herons, snowy egrets, Great Northern geese, white pelicans and cormorants.  Alternating with the ponds were thousands of green acres of seedlings that our heroic farmers grow for all of the rest of us to pick up in frozen bags at Albertson’s.  What a beautiful part of the world and what salt-of-the-earth folks.

 

Arriving at Memorial Park just outside of Watertown, SD, we made camp and walked down to the lake.  Hmmmm.  Not exactly white caps but close.  No, Lindy won’t do that.  In fact, storms are rising.  Big storms.  Retreating to our cocoon, we drew in the slides and hunkered down for the night.  It appears that we are just serendipitously centered under a green and yellow storm that is stalled out right over the Midwest.  Huh!  Who knew?

 

Charles Goss

Goss Opera House

View from the upper balcony
of the opera house

That leaves indoor activities:  The Goss Opera House in Watertown, for one.  In 1844, the Goss family immigrated to the USA (legally) from England.  Charles was 11.  They ultimately landed in Sparta, WI and Charles and his wife had eight children.  The early records don’t say why but 7 of his children and his wife died there and Charles moved to Watertown, SD.  Charles couldn’t stop building stuff.  He built hotels, stores and finally lit on a project to build an opera house.  They all thought he was nuts since the tiny town already had an opera house but he was on a mission.  It was a huge building and had guest quarters upstairs.  During the depression, Charles turned those quarters into rooms-to-rent and Maud Alexander moved in.  Poor Maud.  Her son, Orval, was a heavy drinker and Maud and Orval argued a lot.  One night while she was asleep, Orval doused Mom and all of her fluffy petticoats and dress with alcohol, threw a match at her and she ran up and down the halls on fire and burned to death while Orval went back to his room, drank another pint and popped a handful of sleeping pills.  Nevertheless, Orval got out of prison on a commuted sentence for good behavior!  (Long as they didn’t give him any matches.) 

Maud Alexander's room

The nails were Maud's hangars, I guess

Mom and Orval are buried side-by-side in the local cemetery.  Strangely, they don’t say that this building is haunted.  For a while, it was about to be razed but the townfolk came to the rescue.  The endless restoration and preservation of the Goss Opera House is inspiring.  It is somewhat original in the interior and hosts concerts, weddings, conventions and the like.  It is quite a landmark in Watertown.

 

Weinerschnitzel was my beloved’s dream this evening.  We had a great dinner at Dempsey’s Brew Pub and now, we are settled in at home.  Waiting for the storms.  There are whitecaps on the lake and 45 mph gusty winds.  And it’s freezing cold.  No paddleboarding for Lindy.

Snow pole in Watertown, SD.
Look promising to you?!

Nope, not going in the water today!