Day 20-Springfield, SD

I stayed in a motel last night because it is too cold and wet to camp. I woke up this morning to a cold, hard, driving rain that was supposed to continue most of the day and into the night.  Despite the miserable weather, I was tempted to take advantage of the unusual tailwind.  The forecast for tomorrow is for slightly colder temperatures, high 30s and low 40s, but less rain. The winds will be headwinds.

So I've been spending the day exploring the town. Springfield has a population of fewer than 800, but that doesn't include the 1200 inmates who are incarcerated in the prison here in town.

The prison is a most interesting story. Apparently it was the campus of the University of South Dakota at Springfield until The state decided to convert the school into a prison in the mid-80s.  Barbed wire was installed around the entire campus and the dormitories were converted to prison cells.  

Things at the new prison were going great until somebody got the bright idea that it should be a co-ed prison.  The resulting population increase was predictable.  So a couple years into that failed experiment, the women inmates were removed to another facility.

My motel apparently serves two large target markets - visitors to the prison and duck hunters.

An even more interesting discovery I made in this town is that there is a remarkable guy who, all by himself, is constructing a 72 foot aluminum sailboat.  It weighs over 60 tons.  He began work on it in 2002 and expects it to be completed in about two years.

The boat is alongside its owner's main business, which is a body shop.  He was kind enough to give me a personal tour and to answer my many questions.

As you can imagine, opinions among townspeople about this project vary greatly.  There are, of course, many doubters and detractors.  But there are a lot of people, including a lot of very knowledgeable sailors who have traveled long distances to see this boat, who believe he will be successful in his dream of launching it as an oceangoing to vessel.

Successful or not, I found this gentleman's determination and perseverance to be inspirational. His saying is that, "Noah's Arc was built by an amateur. The Titanic was built by professionals."

For those interested in learning more about this fascinating project and the visionary who is pursuing it, visit www.sailingdakota.com.

My day off in this little town has been one of the most enjoyable days thus far in my journey!