Wednesday, July 11, 2018, South Dakota Capitol, Pierre

The first thing you learn about the capital of South Dakota is that the "re" at the end of Pierre is just for show. It is pronounced "Pier" or "peer" (yes, those sound the same) - just one syllable. 

With only 14,000 people living in Pierre, the city was very relaxed. We parked on the curb in front of the capitol building just like we lived there. The only US Capital with fewer residents is Montpelier, Vermont. Pierre is, however, one of only two capitals not accessible directly from the Interstate Highway system.

There was no guided tour available, so we enjoyed exploring the entire building at our own pace. There was no state business pending and we were almost the only visitors, so we pretty much had the place to ourselves.

The terrazzo tile floors were laid by Italian craftsmen. Each of the 66 workers was given a distinctive blue tile to place randomly somewhere in the floor as a kind of signature of their work.

At 96 feet above the rotunda floor, the inner stained glass dome was less than half as high as the Wisconsin capital we had just visited. Everything about the South Dakota capitol seemed more intimate than others we have visited, but still impressive in its own way.

The craftsmen, not wanting to be "perfect," in deference to God, purposefully included flaws in the architecture. Below, Joani spotted an upside down baluster on the main staircase.

I appreciated the faux painting throughout the capitol.

Joani was the first to find one of the blue signature tiles. I think we found maybe four of the tiles - it was like searching for Waldo - you could go crazy looking for all of them.

Time for a break on a very comfortable leather couch just outside of the Senate Cloak Room on the second floor. 

A small park adjacent to the capitol building grounds included some interesting statuary in remembrance of a tragic airplane accident that claimed the lives of several South Dakota politicians.

Fighting Stallions Memorial

A nice monument honored the 65,000 South Dakotan men and women who fought and died in World War II.

Along the lakeshore, a new brood of ducklings posed for their picture and I couldn't just ignore them. It was good we didn't have Sam with us - they might have been too nervous for a picture.

We spent more time walking through the capitol and grounds than we had expected, so we decided to just head back home for a late lunch and some quality time with Sammy.