I really like Sioux Falls.
It is a fun city with great places to eat & enjoy some craft beer - complete with a lively downtown and fantastic art scene.
While putting around town, I ran into Travis. A completely random encounter, he hollered at me from the sidewalk, hey, do you need a place to stay tonight?
I pulled over and in disbelief, said, wait, I know you...
We met in Zion, months ago. In fact, I gave him my spot in line for a campsite, the same day I met Daniel, the motorcyclist.
It is a small world - but what are the odds of seeing each other? The bike attracts attention, but the fact that we were at the same intersection at the same time - unlikely odds.
I wasn't staying in town tonight, so I declined. But we made plans to discuss touring in the future.
The first stop was Remedy Brewing Company, only three weeks old.
They know how to do a taproom.
The brewery is also related to a sustainable farm, where they strive to grow everything used in the beer, including their own hops and cultivating their own yeast strain.
I'm inspired. I tried to grow hops once to no luck - I had no idea what I was doing.
Jon, the guy manning the taproom (and also from Vallejo, California!) suggested a sandwich shop for lunch.
I had a Vietnamese fried chicken sandwich with nuoc cham, bahn mi pickles and cilantro aioli. Absolutely incredible.
After lunch, I visited a second brewery. Inside, I met a couple from Providence, Rhode Island. Both worked for Brown University in computer science. Needless to say, we had plenty to talk about.
And the bartender was wearing this incredible shirt:
Be excellent to each other.
In the middle of the afternoon, I left Sioux Falls. On the way out, I explored the falls. Everyone I met recommended that I see the falls while in the city, and I nearly forgot.
I only planned to ride twenty or thirty miles out of the city and find a spot to camp.
On the way, I crossed the border in Minnesota!
I stopped in Luverne and setup camp in another baseball field.
Joe