Day 72-August 5, 2016-Eastern So. Dakota, Corn Palace and baseball
Drove 188 miles in 6 hours
Beautiful day, 82 and sunny
We pass fields and fields of sunflowers all facing east toward the sun the same way we’re going so I have to look back to see them. More cows, some wallowing in ponds which reminds me of their version of gathering around the water cooler. After we go over the Missouri River we’re in the plains and we see more and more farms, hay, wheat, sorghum or milo, potatoes, canola and corn. Just as western SD has Wall’s Drug Store as a must-stop so does eastern SD with the Corn Palace in Mitchell, the only corn palace in the world (although I don’t know how many the world needs). It’s a building built in 1892, decorated each year inside and out with murals designed by local artists and constructed by volunteers out of corn, straw, grasses, grain, sour dock and oats. This year’s theme is “Rock of Ages” and the murals on the outside are of Elvis, Willie Nelson and Kiss. The inside has murals depicting pioneer and Indian life in SD and also one of Mt. Rushmore. It’s a basketball court and entertainment stage when it’s not a gift shop. Mitchell is called the “World’s Biggest Birdcage”-this is a big area to hunt pheasant in the fall. We’ve been here before so we didn’t stay long, then had lunch in the parking lot and moved on. Saw another roadside oddity on the way, a 60’ bull’s head in the middle of a field. I later found out an artist builds structures out of scrap metal. We were too late to turn around so maybe we’ll stop on another trip. If Harry can ever talk me into coming to SD again. And then miles and miles and miles of corn fields. Stopped at a grocery store, Hyvee is the local one, and stocked up…we were low on everything. Got to the campground, a nice KOA in Sioux Falls, SD about 3:30, set up, relaxed a bit, then had dinner and went to the baseball game ten minutes away, the Sioux Falls Canaries vs. the Texas Airhogs at the Canaries Stadium, called the Birdcage. The Canaries have two mascots, Cagey, the canary and Wild Bill, the buffalo. Big stadium, great seats, lots of fans and the home team won 2-1. After the game they had a fireworks show, one of the best we’ve seen in a long time. Back at the campground, it’s filled, lots of bikers, lots of camp fires, pretty smoky. Saw something scamper as we pulled into the site, at first thought it was a little dog, then we saw a few more….rabbits….all over.