This is the second part of our trip. You can go to the start by going to the Thursday Sept 27, 2018 posting.We enjoy the next several days at my mom’s house visiting, cooking, going out to eat and touring the area. The fall colors are just coming in so the occasional red, yellow or orange covered tree is a treat. Each night as we walk through and around town we spot several deer; some of them bounding off at their first sight of us, others watching from a safe distance.
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| Corn Palace, Mitchell, SD |
Our local tours include Eagle River where we find jerky’s of various flavors: pheasant, wild boar, elk, buffalo and ostrich. We also stop at Tremblay’s famous for their chocolate, caramel and pecan turtles and homemade fudge.
Leaving WI on our way to SD we pass through MN. Our route through MN is uneventful and monotonous, typical in my mind of interstate travel. We stay in a city campground in western MN. It gave me the opportunity to see soybeans up close, rather than from a speeding car. They look pretty much the same as other beans to me. But now I know.
SD starts out the same as MN ends. Passing through the state I remember stopping
to see the Mitchell Corn Palace 50 some years ago. We stop to see and learn about this
phenomenon. There are old photos and
descriptions of ‘grain palaces’ that were erected annually in the Midwest
starting in the 1880’s. They celebrated
the bounty of the particular grains the local community grew. The Mitchell Corn Palace, started in 1892 is
the one remaining ‘palace’. Of course
there is popcorn constantly popping in the waiting area. The aroma instantly makes our mouths water. The building itself is an arena for the local
college; it also serves as a music venue.
The columns in the foyer are tiled to look like colored corn cobs. As we were reading about the Corn Palace I
noticed a worker using a dolly to move several 50 lb bags of corn; soon to
become popcorn. I cannot say I have ever
seen future popcorn moved in such large quantities. We give in; purchasing a bag of chocolate
drizzled caramel corn, a tasty choice.
The arena area has several ‘corn’ murals depicting scenes. Outside the building large scale corn murals
line the walls. A number of volunteers work on stripping off the cobs from one of
this year’s murals for next year’s. Each
year a different theme is selected.
Arriving at Badlands National Park we stop at each of
the scenic spots before deciding on which campground to stay for our few days
of touring. Spotting two bighorn sheep
delays our drive to the campsite leaving us with two sites to choose from. The entire day is cool and cloudy, a rarity. That evening we plan out the next day with a
7+ mile hike on the Castle and Medicine Root trails. After dinner we walk the campground checking
out what others are doing. We see the
full range of camping rigs; out of the back of a pickup, tents, tent trailers,
camping trailers, 5th wheel trailers, small RV’s; all the way up to
buses pulling large SUV’s. We could see
into some of them because of the large windows, people didn’t have to squeeze by
each other like we do in our camper.
They look spacious. One even
has an outside television larger than I have in my house.
The next day our hike starts cloudy, ending up sunny and
hot. Stopping in the visitor center to
cool off we see a great movie on the Badlands.
National Park Service paleontologists are working on few of the specimens
recently found. Their work is
ongoing. There is a wall of fame filled
with photos of this year’s visitors that have made finds somewhere in the park then
informing the park service. After
cooling off we leave the visitor center continuing through the park. Several miles down the road we come upon a large
prairie dog town straddling the road.
Prairie dogs surround us munching away on the grasses near each of their
dens. Continuing on we spot several
small herds of bighorn sheep feeding along the road. We arrive at the west end of the park just
prior to sunset. We join many other visitors
to photograph the sunset. Getting late,
we drive to Wall, SD to get something to eat, fill the truck with fuel and
visit Wall Drug; the store we have seen advertisements for the last 300 miles
across SD. Unfortunately Wall Drug
closed within 15 minutes of our arrival so we were not able to see all the
things advertised along our route.
We leave early for Mount Rushmore and Custer State Park; our
next stop for a few nights. Leaving
early, within the first couple of miles we see a small heard of bighorn sheep
eating along the side of the road; the first of many sheep sightings. Passing through the park again gives a
different perspective of the animals, seeing them in their morning feeding
patterns. We take the 20+ mile gravel
road passing the Cedar Creek campground seeing a handful buffalo along the way.
My visit to Mount Rushmore last year didn’t happen because of a several hour downpour in the area that day. This year the weather cooperates. The monument is moving for me. My mom and dad brought us here probably 50 some years ago. I remember being here and seeing the monument but little else about it. This time we walk through the avenue of flags to the monument seeing the faces through the fluttering state flags lining the mall. I get a lump in my throat passing through the final arch seeing the monument in its entirety. People all around us marvel at the sight. We stop at the visitor center viewing the movie about Gutzon Borglum, the master designer, planner and person in charge of the project. What he did is truly amazing considering the tools of his time.
Thank you for stopping by.
Mark
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