Enjoying the Great Outdoors

Thanks everyone for wishing us a happy anniversary last weekend! We’re blessed to be surrounded by so many loving people. 🙂

Our anniversary itself was last Sunday, and we decided to take the day and go do something fun. Between work, the farm, never ending house projects, we’re always busy working! So it was nice to have a day away and unwind a little bit. We decided to venture down to Palisades State Park in Garretson and go exploring. Surprisingly, neither Dan nor myself have ever been to the Palisades, even though both of us have lived in South Dakota for a good chunk of our lives. We finally got out from this rock we live under!

I was happy to find out we could bring pets to the park as well, so we ended up bringing Dobby along for the adventure – not sure who ended up having more fun. The day was hot and muggy, but luckily there were plenty of opportunities for Dobby to hop in the water and cool off. And most of the trails were in the shade, so it was bearable.

I honestly don’t know why it took us so long to visit! It’s SO pretty and not very far from home at all. It’s got a little something for everyone. If you like hiking – there’s a few different trails to check out. If you like sitting by the water – there’s plenty of spots where you can just hang out and enjoy the scenery or hop in and cool off. If you like plants, critters, and anything alive in the wild like Dan – there’s lots of that too!

My little adventure puppy probably had more fun than we did!
And he passed out HARD on the way home – a sure sign of a good time!

While we were there, it also got me thinking about why I ever complained when I was in high school and younger about there being nothing fun to do in South Dakota. This park has been there way longer than I’ve been alive, and I’ve only just now gone and visited. I’ve clearly been missing out for quite some time.

Even some of the places Dan has showed me around South Dakota – little hidden treasures that one may not know about unless you’re really looking. Or if you work for the Game Fish and Parks lol. But still! There have been multiple occasions where Dan and I have gone out to public GPAs either for hunting, checking out wildflowers or birds, or just to go out and see what we find. It’s so much fun to get out in nature and explore. And we don’t have to travel very far for any of it.

I obviously used to be guilty of it myself, but it has really started to bother me when people say there’s nothing to do here. There are so many things to do! Like I said, you just need to know where to look for it. So get out there and do just that! Escape from reality for a while and enjoy what nature gives us.

Until next time! 🙂

Megan Nelson

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