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Published: September 5th 2019
Driving across the country is awesome and something everyone should do. You learn so much and see so many things. This is a great land and it's so much fun to see how different it is in each state! In Iowa we couldn't get over the amount to corn and soybeans being farmed there. In South Dakota we saw more hay that I've ever seen in my life. They are also the top producer of sunflowers. The sunflower fields were beautiful though it was hard to get a picture of them from the Interstate and from a moving vehicle.
It was a short drive to our first stop in Mitchell, SD. The guys needed to check out Cabelas and then we headed to the main attraction in Mitchell the Corn Palace. The corn place was built in 1892 as a gathering place where the city residents and their rural neighbors could enjoy a fall festival with entertainment...a climax to the crop growing season and harvest. By 1905 a new palace was built but it soon became too small. In 1919 the third Corn Palace was built and became a place for athletic events as well as other social events. Each
yer the palace is redecorated using corn, other grains, and native grasses to make it the agricultural showplace of the world. It was such an awesome place to visit.
Our next stop was the Badlands National Park where 244,000 acres of protected land are home to bison, bighorn sheep, prairie dogs, and black footed ferrets live today. It was incredible! It was overwhelming to look at the vegetation and the colors of the rocks. We also saw a herd or bison grazing off in the distance which were just specks until we zoomed in with the camera or binoculars. Sadly we din't really spy any other wildlife. This was also the first place we saw a beware of rattlesnakes sign! Believe me I kept looking and listening for them!!
Our next stop was Wall, SD and the Wall Drug Store. In order to get people to stop here the owner and his wife began to offer free ice water to weary travelers. Still today you can get free ice water and 5 cent coffee , fresh hot donuts, and many other amenities. It now boasts over a million visitors each year! We looked around, bought souvenirs, and had
lunch before getting back on the road. It was a great stop!
Back on the road again to Keystone and Mt. Rushmore. Renovations were being done so we didn't get to see the museum but we did get some great pictures of the presidents. We also had Thomas Jefferson ice cream! It was great! According to Mt Rushmore, Thomas Jefferson was the first American to have a written recipe for ice cream and it was the one they were using. I will be giving it a try some time!!
It was getting late, but we made it to our next stop, Crazy Horse Memorial. This memorial is privately owned and supported and will be the largest sculpture of its kind, if it is ever finished. The Crazy Horse Memorial has met with much controversy, often referred to as the memorial that may never be finished. There have been money woes, opposition, and slow progress. There is a much smaller prototype which lets you see what will be the finished sculpture. It was getting dark but we got some pictures. We didn't get to ride the shuttle so we could get close ups, but we did get some great
pictures anyway.
Our home for the night was an awesome airbnb home in Whitewoods, SD. It was on the National Historic Register and is called the1908 Historic Jones Inn. It was decorated in turn of the century decor with some of the original flooring and doors with transom windows in the oldest bedrooms. It was awesome! Legend has it that a rare picture was taken of Calamity Jane in a dress...One of the last pictures taken before her death in 1903. Sadly we didn't have much time to explore the area as we needed to load up and head out early the next morning.
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