Yankton, South Dakota is a small city on the banks of the Missouri River across from Nebraska. It is located in south eastern South Dakota just downstream of the Gavins Point Dam.
Yankton, South Dakota
At one time it was the capital of the Dakota Territory. Eventually, the Dakota Territory was split into North and South Dakota and joined the Union. Pierre became the capital of South Dakota. Yankton is known as a river town but was also once known as cement city because of its cement production.
We walked the Meridian Bridge from Yankton to Nebraska and back. Jake enjoyed the walk because there were hardly any other people on the pedestrian bridge, he could explore off lease and there were nice views of the Missouri River.
Cottonwood COE, Nebraska-Yankton
The campground is in Nebraska even though it’s on the South Dakota side of the Missouri River. The only way to get to it is through Yankton. Cottonwood is below the Gavins Point Dam. White pelicans gathered at the base of the dam.
Our site overlooked Lake Yankton. We had 50 amp service, but no water hookup, sewer, or WIFI. There was hardly anyone there and the sites were spacious. Seems to be a local favorite especially during the summer months.
There was a surprising amount of wildlife in the campground, maybe because there was hardly anyone else there.
We had lunch a couple of times at River’s Edge. The had partial views of the Missouri River, affordable prices and good food.
Onawa, Iowa
This was a very small town and very little sights to see. We stayed at a KOA which had full service, but only 30 amp. Their WIFI was fast enough to stream. We didn’t do anything here. The owners of this campground were extremely rude and lacking in customer service. We will never go back!!
We created a windscreen for Jake using the Airstream and truck. The winds were a steady 30 mph with gusts up to 60 mph during the 3 nights we were there. Cold and windy, not very pleasant, so we caught up on other stuff like our blog, emails, and laundry. Jake watched the fish jump and noisy Canadian geese.
For a bit we thought we saw a bald eagle, but after a photo enlargement, it turned out it was a wooden statue.
Blue Lake, Missouri
From Branson, Missouri it was about an hour drive to Springfield, Missouri where we had a partial Airstream repair at Reliable RV. Another 2 hours on the road to Blue Lake. We had 50 amp electric, water, and sewer but no WIFI. Our site was private and quiet. We were only here a few days and had rain, so our exploration opportunities were limited. Kansas City had so much to see and do but our time was limited because we were avoiding spring storms.
We went to the Nelsen-Atkins Museum of Art.
Expecting local American Art, we were very surprised to see works by Monet, Degas, Warhol, Lautrec, Gauguin, Van Gogh, Rubens and Renoir.
The museum was free and nicely laid out such that we never felt crowded or rushed.
We had a wonderful time at the museum. It was fun to see service dogs in training making their way around the museum with us. They also had exhibits on Asian, African and American art.
