See The Sights

 When I recently announced that I would be taking some time away from my blog because company was coming there was a person wondering about places to see in Sioux City. So https://rhymeswithplague.blogspot.com/ this is for you.

First on my list is the house my family built. We did not have someone build it for us. We did all the lifting, measuring, cutting, pounding of nails, and painting ourselves. Daddy did the plumbing and electrical work. Mom laid the hardwood floors herself. 

My high school is magnificent. Central High is known as The Castle on the Hill. It was built in the early 1890's. It was made of the finest materials available. The stairs were made of marble. Some were so worn that they were condemned from use. The original gymnasium was called The Dungeon. Whole floors were added to the original building but retained the look of the castle.

Palmer Candy is known for making Cherry Bings. The store is a different location away from the factory. The store carries a wide variety of both bulk candies and packaged candies. And of course Cherry Bings. There are Bing souvenirs and a little section off to the side that offers exotic spices. They also display machines that made candy in past decades.

Jolly Time Popcorn was begun in the basement of a man in Sioux City. It soon became a nationally known brand and is the oldest popcorn producer in the United States. Jolly Time Koated Kernels is the museum. They feature all things popcorn. Of course souvenirs are a must.

Sioux Bee Honey has been renamed as Sioux Honey. In 1921 five local beekeepers worked together even sharing equipment. That was the beginning. Now there are keepers all over the country who contribute to make Sioux Honey so well-known. Their online store offers a wide variety of honey products.

Capt. Meriwether Lewis and Lieut. William Clark were commissioned to explore the Louisiana Purchase. In this part of the country there are so many places named for them. The most important to me is the Sgt Floyd monument. He is the only member of this famous expedition to die. It is believed that his appendix burst. He was buried atop a hill in Sioux City. The Sgt Floyd monument is an obelisk visible for miles. It has the honor of being the first officially designated National Historic Landmark in the United States.

War Eagle was a leader of the Santee Sioux tribe. He left the tribe to avoid a power struggle about who would become chief. Eventually he joined the Yankton Sioux which was his wife's tribe. He later became their chief. He is buried on a bluff that overlooks the spot where the Big Sioux River empties into the Missouri River. At his monument there you can see Iowa, Nebraska, and South Dakota.

War Eagle befriended Theophile Bruguier. He was a fur trader who was the first white settler in what would become Sioux City. When Bruguier's wide died War Eagle gave him two of his daughters as wives. Yes at the same time. His cabin is still standing in Riverside Park.

LeMars, Iowa, is about 25 miles from Sioux City. It is the official Ice Cream Capital of the World.  It is where Blue Bunny Ice Cream is made. It was the first time I had visited the ice cream parlor. I pictured a little shop with a few tables. Boy was I wrong! It is huge with a second level just as large. We all got ice cream and sat to enjoy it. Then we hit the gift shop. I do love souvenirs.

There are so many more things to see. There is the visitors welcoming center on a boat in the Missouri River. There are museums. The Dorothy Pecaut Nature Center has hiking trails as well as a learning center inside. And certainly a gift shop. There are three universities.

Across the river is Freedom Parkin South Sioux City, Nebraska, which holds a replica of the Vietnam Wall and a replica of the Korean War Memorial.

Want to see Sioux City?