The “Old Friends Tour”… Pt 1
We’ve begun our summer pilgrimage to places that hold a familiar charm for us. The Princess and I are well-acquainted with this journey, knowing exactly where to pause for a short or extended stay, as the mood strikes us. The initial day on the road always proves lengthy, encompassing a seven-hour drive from I-70 to I-29, leading us to Nebraska City, NE. Our choice for a brief halt is the Hidden Falls RV Park, where we set up camp for a night, using the time to figure out any essential items we may have overlooked. It seems Sherrie has become more adept at remembering these minutiae, things I often disregard. The first day entails work, while the second, leaving Missouri behind, signals the beginning of enjoyment.
Goldfish
Said one to the other
“Let us
Find a way out…Explore”
Said the other,
“We are goldfish.
We live in a bowl.”
“Yes,” said the one,
“But there must be
A crack, a door, a soul,
They never found the one.
Or his soul,
But he swam far
Porter’s Sculpture Park, a unique attraction, isn’t too far from Nebraska City, nestled a few miles into Eastern South Dakota, and conveniently accessible from I-90. This marks our third visit to this distinctive site. The metal artworks take on a different appearance on each occasion, influenced by factors such as the time of day, passing clouds, and blooming wildflowers. Capturing the park at night yielded a surreal encounter during this particular visit. Notably, the sculpture park belongs to Harvest Hosts, which allows us the privilege of camping overnight amidst Watne Porter’s imaginative sculptures. Mr. Porter, an artist skilled in metalwork and poetry, generously shares some of his poetic creations with us, as included here with his kind permission.
The Horse on the Hill
Two armies clashed to the hill
Under a scarlet sky
Two kings promised to take the hill
Take the hill or die
Beneath the hill
Ten thousand corpses lie
Crows strip flesh from battered bone
As for the hill
A horse on the hill stands alone.
Ancient Warriors
Ancient warriors in antique graves
Defiled by sheep as sheep graze
Silly sheep
They don’t know on whose graves
They stand
And the warriors just sleep-sleep-sleep
The warriors just sleep
An Ode to Politicians
Red on Black
My Hammer
My Father Was a blacksmith
I have head the beat
Of this hammer
Beating, beating, beating…..
Dennis
A few of notes:
It is very hard to understand the scale of these installations from these photos. The hand with the butterfly is approximately 20 feet tall. The goldfish swimming across the prairie are about 6 feet long.
The Egyptian Longhorn (Ankole-Watusi) is 60 feet tall to the top of the horn. The head is the same size of one of the presidents on Mt Rushmore and weighs 25 tons. it is made from reclaimed railroad tie-plates.
Vermillion Lake Recreation Area is just five miles from Porter Sculpture Park. This is a beautiful large state park that we have used several times.
Harvest Hosts is a membership program that provides access to a network of wineries, farms, breweries, museums, and other unique attractions that invite self-contained RVers to visit and stay overnight.
State parks are poorly advertised, but for roadside maps and bad official websites. Our home state is the poster child for this problem. In comparison, there are 63 total national parks, discounting monuments, reserves, historic sites, etc. 63 is a small number that can be visited in a single year, a single season. State parks, in comparison, are almost innumerable. You see something that many residents, never do.
Chris, I agree completely. We have found state parks have a lot to offer without the problems caused by over crowding.
Thank you Dennis, awesome photography and great descriptions of the size of the sculptures really helps me get a feel for the space. I felt like I just visited. Where we going next guys?
Next stop on the tour this summer will be Medicine Rocks State Park in Montana. This visit I managed to stay up past my bed time to photograph the night sky.