The Ride

             

      Our ride starts by the Sgt. Floyd welcome Center which is the boat across the marina.  There are some great documents from when Lewis and Clark came through here.  It also has the rest stop which is a great place for me to start and end our ride.

    

       This is our new Lewis & Clark Interpretive center with natural pairie grasses and wildflowers outside.  Again more Lewis and Clark information there.

     

     This is a pretty cool statue of Lewis and Clark plus Seaman their dog.  It is outside the center above.

            

    Also at the center is this replica 15 star flag.  It is huge and looks beautiful in the wind.

       

     

    From the center we ride the river bike trail through the river front.  This has been completely redone from when I was a child and is very pretty.

    

     Also on the river front is the Flight 232 Memorial.  We had a terrible plane crash in Sioux City.  I worked in outpatients that day and will always remember the saddness of the day but mixed with joy at how many people survived.  This sculpture was from a photo of one of the rescuers.

    

  

  

 

 

     The Anderson Dance Pavilion is a favorite place for weddings and live music on the river front.  The flowers are always lovely and it's cool by the water.

   

    We also have a huge gambling boat on the river front.  I have only been a couple of times and have mixed feelings about the boat.  They cater to seniors and we get lots of seniors who have lost everything on those boats.  If they are starting to get senile they sometimes get impulsive and bet it all.  There are no limits anymore and they bus these seniors in and have bus tours going from Casino to Casino.  You see lots of saddness there. 

    However on the top deck of the boat is the best place to watch the fireworks.

   

  

   

 

     The event center.  This huge autotorium is where they play hockey, the circus sets up here, concerts, you name it.  They added on a huge addition, my tax dollars at work.

                       

    This glass is from our art center.  I love the glass on it so that is all I have taken pictures of.  I should have gone inside and taken pictures looking up and will, another day, with my new camera when I get it.  The art form in the other 2 pictures is called Twig Amore.  You can go in the various rooms and it will be there until it falls apart.  It is starting to come apart at the top.  Neat.

     

   

     

               

    Above it our City Hall.  It is a very cool building that we had to fight to keep.  They finally added on making the new look like the old.  The clock tower and below is the old.  Outside are some Wigs giving a press conferance telling us again how by raising our taxes they are making things better for them......Cough cough, us here in Siouxland!

                        

                     The first sculpture above is called Circle Totum   

                           Blue Moon Rising

                                    

                     Siberian Iris

        

                     In The Eyes Of Your God

                     Shapeshifter

  

  

                           Buffalo Warrior

 

                        Knocking On Spencer's Door

    In 1998 a tornado destroyed Spencer SD.  This sculpture depects that super cell coming at the town.  Spooky!

 

                   N'Ice Life

  

                       Aim: True, Strong & Free

       

                Ahab

                

                                          Triagle totum

 

                   Suspension 

           A Waste Of Locks

  

                    Sioux City

  

                    Pegasus Going Mobile

 

 

      No sculpture, just a water pump downtown.

  

    

    After A Knights Meal Cigar:  This depicts a dragon smoking a cigar and relaxing after his meal of an unfortunate knight.  The bones, sword, and helmet of the eaten is underneath the figure.                   

 

  

                        Knock Off

 

     

  

                The Roth fountain is new and is made to remember the origin of Sioux City.  We were built around the River and Stock Yards.   The old Stockyard Exchange burn't up so some of this was saved from the building.  Pretty cool fountain.

           Warrior

     This mural was so cool and looked good for about 6 months.  Then as you can see, a large portion of the mural came down.  Will they repair it?  Who knows.  Next time they raise our taxes I suppose they will.  Francis canteen is an adult porn store!  They put it on the side of this building. 

    This store is Alfs manufactoring.  They used to make blue jeans here.  Now it is the corporate headquarters.  From the $90.00 pair to the $12.00 pair, they all come from here.  I made sure I told my sons about this.  Your only buying pants that are made the same place, just different tags are put on them and different prices.  Don't be a fool and pay for the expensive pair.   One of the few things they listened to me about.

   At the end of our ride down historic 4th Street is Buffalo Alices and Sweet Fannies.  The one of the inside of the bar are from Sweet Fannies where we stopped for a Widmers which is the beer shown.  Wonderful Wheat Beer.  Peanuts are free.  He has the inside decorated after world war 2 airplanes.  Pretty cool and great atmosphere.

 

                 Above is the Bagerow Building.  So Tragic and sad is this story.  Look at the Art Deco lines and great architectural design of this wonderful building.  Inside is all brass and dark mahogany wood design.  It is condemned.  We need a rich person to save this wonderful piece of history.  You can not believe how beautiful this building is on top.

             Back to the river.  This is the Jolly Rogers.  We go there and get one more glass Boulevard Wheat Beer and ride out to the end to drink our last glass and look at the river.  What a great ending to a wonderful ride.

    Here is Rick, My wonderful riding companion drinking up.  Thanks for joining us on this wonderful ride.  Cheers all.