The Corn Palace in Mitchel South Dakota. This building is used for concerts, fairs etc but the outside is the cool thing. The corn palace is decorated once a year with corn husks, stalks etc. The stars, flags, numbers and the rest of the building are redecorated once a year. As we walked up to the building we could see birds flying up and taking bites off of the building.
Much of our route is along the path that Lewis and Clark took. This is a replica of the coin that they gave to indian cheifs as they went up the missouri river. The indians couldn't read the latin phrase on the coin that translates to 'it sucks to be you'. Seriously, it really was neat to see the path they took. I recently read Undaunted Courage by Stephen E. Ambrose. It was a great read and I would reccomend it to anyone. Being able to see where Lewis and Clark walked was really cool. The fact that they made it through what they did only losing 1 man (to appendicitis) was incredible.
!There were acres and acres of sunflowers along the freeway. They were beautiful! It was a nice break from the corn.
We swung through Badlands National Park. It was very pretty. I was bummed that we were there in the middle of the day. In the evening or morning it would be incredible. Like everything else on this trip we didn't stay very long but were glad to see it. We also drove by a Minutman nuclear missle museum. I now know why they pu the nukes in SD. If they blow up there won't be any casualties. No one lives in SD. Only tourists driving through.
Wall Drug. It was pretty cool to see. The best way to describe it would be all of Jackson Hole condensed inside of 1 city block. The kids saw lots of (junk) things to by as souvineers but we held out!
Maybe the hightlight of the day. We were on our way up to Mt Rushmore and were looking for a place to park the car so we wouldn't have to pay the entrance fee twice. Crystal pulled into a driveway and we saw 'Grizzly Encounters' or something like that. Where we were parked we could see into the bear exhibit. There was several bear cubs playing and roughhousing. The kids LOVED watching the bears. I loved that we were able to do it for free. :)
Barjona and the kids visit mt rushmore. I must confess that I thought the carving would be bigger. After seeing Stone Mountain up close the 4 presidential dudes looked kind of small. After seeing all the tourist trap garbage on the way up to the mountain I'm not sure I would go out of my way to see the monument again. The country not marred my mini golf courses was impressive to see.
It was dusk as we left Mt Rushmore. We were in a hurry to get back to the other car but we spotted a doe and her fawn on the side of the road. We pulled within 15 feet of them and started taking pictures. Normally wildlife flees at the site of a car and at the click of a camera but these two were not spooked at all. I think it is safe to say they have seen a lot of humans before.
It was a great day. We got to Gillette about midnight. Our kids were troopers and even though they were tired they didn't complain a bit.
4 comments:
I'm so glad that you went to the Corn Palace!!!! That is so cool!
And I am glad that you made sure that Barjona stayed on the trail =) ... and that he got to see Mt. Rushmore =)
Niagra Falls was like how you described Mt. Rushmore ... a lot of people trying to get the tourist money ... I was very grateful that the falls were in a state park because it preserved a bit of nature around it!
That is a great drive. I am with you on Mt Rushmore. I have seen one of the original coins Lewis and Clark gave out. It is in museum near Lewiston ID it does not look that good after many years. Have fun unpacking
I thought the presidents would be a lot bigger then that, I would not go back for myself, but would drive the kids by there for sure, its something everyone should see once.
Have fun unpacking....when you get done there you can come and help me do the same process starting with selling the house!!
You must have been very tired because it's hard to understand not being taken back by Mt. Rushmore. Teddy Roosevelt is there because he saved that area and many, many more treasured sites in our country so they could be enjoyed by all. Washington, Jefferson and Lincoln are included because of their great contributions to our country.
When mom and I visited I felt like I was standing on dedicated ground and plan to return some day to see it again. On top of that, it was a great undertaking at a time when money was hard to come by. ... also, I know mom will love this, I can't wait to see the progress that's been made on the Crazy Horse" monument :).
In regard to commercialization, I glad I live in a country where we enjoy the freedom to be entrepreneurs. Evidently, they are selling “stuff” people like or they wouldn’t be there. BUT, I don’t like it either :).
Loved the travel log by the way,
Dad/Grandpa
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