Monday, May 30, 2011
There's not much to say about today, it was mostly just driving, however we did stop at a rather out of the ordinary attraction called the Corn Palace.
There's not much to say about today, it was mostly just driving, however we did stop at a rather out of the ordinary attraction called the Corn Palace.
Basically what it is, is a big auditorium-like building, used for stuff like concerts, school plays and dances. (basically, Mitchell's version of the coliseum) "So what's the big attraction?" you might ask. Well, they re-decorate this place every year using nothing but corn cobs cut to shape and size in these very stunning murals. It's definitely something worth stopping for, if not for the practical works of art made of corn, then for the history of the place itself.
Tuesday, May 31, 2011
Finally a day to sightsee and not drive. Camped in the Badlands National Park last night at Cedar Pass campground.. A slight parking misadventure which involved pulling a guardrail post from the ground to get clear. Kyle enjoys retelling those stories more than I. Chalk it up to never ever setting up after dark in a strange campground. Commercial pull-thrus, maybe; National Parks, never.
Badlands NP is tremendous, a must see. Weird clay silt soil that dries slowly and is extremely sticky when wet. Even dry, you have to scrape it off. As soon as it’s dry, it’s dust. The vistas were awesome: green buffalo grass in the valleys and multicolored cliffs all around. It’s aptly named; I can only imagine encountering that area on foot or horseback and trying to find a way through. We didn’t see any wildlife except some pretty birds, lots of prairie dogs, and one coyote. No buffalo.
Nearby, but outside the Park, is the restored Prairie Homestead. Kyle and I both enjoyed it. It’s the actual Brown family sod house and homestead started in 1909 and abandoned in 1949. (More than 80% of the western South Dakota homesteaders gave up in 3 or 4 years; conditions too dry and poor for farming, not enough land for cattle.) Restored by a family friend with private money, it has most of the original items, buildings, and hardware. Fortunately, the Brown’s eldest daughter married a doctor with money and a camera and the homestead history is pretty well documented.
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| The Homestead |
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| An old ford of some kind in the garage of the homestead |
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| there are a lot of prairie dogs out here |
Wednesday, June 1, 2011
Went to Wall Drug in the morning – apparently the raison d’etre for the entire town (population 818). Big, interesting place, the kitsch capital of South Dakota (maybe all of the western states). We had cheap coffee and an expensive breakfast and a lot of laughs. Good place to visit. They do have the largest private collection of western art in the world and some fantastic collections of old west photos. Thousands of great quality B/W prints from glass negatives line the walls.
Later we moved to Rapid City, SD, restocked at Wal-Mart, refueled, and drove south into the Black Hills. National Forest Service has a wonderful rule that disallows any commercial signage along the highway so we drove right by the Mt Rushmore KOA in a turn in a construction zone. Had to drive five miles farther to find a questionable turn around in the next construction zone. I was so pleased.
This KOA is the mother of all campgrounds though – beautiful, convenient, and with all the amenities. Their slogan is “This is the campground that all campgrounds hope to be when they grow up”. Pretty accurate. They are on the web at palmersgulch.com.
Plan to stay here thru Saturday then on to Wyoming and Yellowstone, etc.
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