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Published: July 23rd 2009
Oh my goodness the alarm went off sooooo early this morning ! We decided to entirely ignore it so Tim just hit the snooze button and we rolled over and went back to sleep. That’s the most wonderful thing about being on a road trip, there’s no set time for anything and you don’t really have to get up until you want to. No phones, tv’s, doorbells, video games, barking dogs, lawnmowers, screaming kids or anything to wake you, you just kinda get up whenever you feel like it. We were all the way in the back of the campground here at the Mitchell KOA so it was very quiet and peaceful. I wanted to get a picture of Tim and his lady friend next door but by the time we got up and movin’ around she was already gone. Dang it ! I’ve been keeping up with all his new buddies and I was going to surprise him with a little scrapbook so he could look back on the trip and remember all his new friends. Oh well, I’ll just have to catch the next one. I put the final touches on a few more postcards as Tim sat back
and relaxed for a few minutes and then we were off to see The Corn Palace. For those of you who have no idea what a corn palace is, don’t worry cause I really didn’t have a clue either. We drove on into town so Tim could show me one of South Dakota’s main tourist attractions. I had caught a quick glimpse of it last night as we drove by but it was dark and I couldn’t see all that well. We eventually found a parking space on one of the little side streets and then we made our way on into town. As we were walking I could see the very tip top of the palace and I could tell we were getting closer. We turned the corner and there it stood, it was pretty amazing. It looked just like a palace and it definitely had corn all over it, hence the name Corn Palace ! There were huge murals around the exterior of the building and they were all composed of corn, grains and different types of grasses. The local artist use over 3000 bushels of these materials to create new designs each year that reflect some aspect
of South Dakota’s life or history. As a matter of fact, one of the artist was actually there today working on a mosaic as we stood by and watched. Of course Tim was fascinated with the workmanship so I left him outside for a bit while I went on in to check it out. Inside they have a huge concession area where you can get popcorn anyway you like it. They had popcorn balls, popcorn lollipops, popcorn animals, butter popcorn, pink popcorn and just about any kind of popcorn you could imagine. It was like a zoo in there with all the little kids running around begging for popcorn and climbing all over the popcorn statues. The building is actually like a gymnasium or community activity center inside because during the off season it is used for hosting basketball games, stage shows, concerts, and a variety of other community functions. In the summer, which is their peak season, the gym floor area is set up as a mobile gift shop where you can find anything imaginable that is related to corn. Of course they had the usual t-shirts, postcards, magnets, hats, etc. but boy did they have some weird stuff
too ! They had some popcorn bubblegum, corn on the cob jelly, corn toothpaste and even a pair of men’s underwear decorated with corn all over them. You know I wanted to get Tim some of those but it would have been a job trying to get him to wear something like that ! It was corn, corn, corn, everywhere you turned ! All the walls inside were decorated with more of the corn cob murals like what we had seen outside. These murals are permanent and are not taken down and reconstructed each year like the ones on the exterior. The outside must be stripped every year and replaced because from the moment they are created they become a giant bird feeder to hundreds of flocking birds. We were hoping to see a couple of birds come up and take a nibble but we never did. Tim finally joined me and we continued to stroll around inside and read all about the history and stuff. Pictures of every single Corn Palace since 1892 lined the walls and hallways and it was really neat to find the one from your birth year. I must say it was looking kinda funky
back in 1970 but we won’t talk about how it looked waaaayyyy back in 1960 ! We finished up the tour, bought a few souvenirs and then made our way back outside. I spotted this cute little ear of corn across the street so we went over and had this real nice lady take a picture for us. Next, we strolled up and down the streets of Mitchell meandering through all the quaint small town shops until we came upon Wild Bill’s Casino and Saloon. Tim gave me that “we’ll just stay and play for a few minutes” speech so I followed along as we went on inside. It had the feel of a country bar yet it was set up like a restaurant too. It reminded me of something you would see on Bonanza or Gunsmoke. Of course Tim was just looking for the casino so he walked all the way to the back where he found a closed door with a sign on it that said “Casino Inside”. He ventured in and I followed closely behind. Baaaaaaaa haaaaaa haaaaaaaa ! You have got to see the picture of this ! It was hilarious ! The look on Tim’s
face was priceless as he walked through this door expecting to find a casino and all he found were a few of those machines like what you see in gas stations and convenient stores. He was heartbroken but I just couldn’t contain myself, I’m sorry but it was too funny. Poor thing, his little bubble was busted but it didn’t take him long to recover and soon we were over at the Scoreboard Pub & Grill grabbing a bite to eat. We sat outside and enjoyed a bowl of chili and a BLT while we watched the artist work away on the side of the Corn Palace building. It was very interesting to watch but our time in Mitchell was coming to an end so we finished up our lunch and headed on down the road. We drove and drove and drove and drove until somewhere around 6:00 that evening we finally crossed over the Minnesota state line. It wasn’t long after we crossed the line that we noticed a huge funnel cloud a good ways up ahead of us and then the next thing we know it started raining. We just kinda looked at each other and thought “what
in the world do we do”. All the stuff that you’re taught about tornados growing up starting going through our minds as we began trying to figure out what to do. I just looked at him and said “You’re the one that watches National Geographic and all those shows religiously so don’t look at me !”. Do you or don’t you park under a bridge, should we get out and get in a ditch, I don’t know ! It sure is funny how when you’re faced with a crisis all your logical thinking just goes out the window ! As we began to get closer and closer it seemed as if it was moving in the other direction so Tim just drove really slow (I know, it’s a miracle) until we got close enough to realize it was definitely not coming towards us and we were safe. Of course, once the shock and stuff wore off, I grabbed the camera and started taking pictures. Thankfully we averted that crisis and now it was time to keep on truckin’. Tim programmed in the closest Wal-Mart and trusty old Maggie took us straight there. However, we ran into a small problem once
we arrived. The Wal-Mart was shut down and the parking lot was abandoned. Great, this meant that now we would be on a wild goose chase looking for somewhere to stay tonight. Actually, it only took about twenty more minutes before we came to a brand new Wally World in Albert Lea, Minnesota. This truly was a blessing because sometimes when this happens it can turn into an ordeal that last several hours, especially out here in the middle of God’s country. Tim dropped me off at the front door and went in search of the perfect spot as I ran inside to get a few necessities and a Subway sandwich for dinner. We unloaded the bags, ate dinner and fell asleep watching ESPN. We had logged in a bunch of miles today but I couldn’t be happier because tomorrow we’re off to shop at The Mall of America. Life is Good ! Nighty Night !
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ray parker
non-member comment
no set time
there might not be a set time for getting up,but judging by these pictures of tim there is a set time to eat......lol i hope you are having a good time!