Badlands and a Corn Palace

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We drove north to Rapid City where we turned east onto I-90. We got off the interstate at Wall, SD, and drove the loop road through Badlands National Park. There was grass growing and flowers were blooming in the park, something we had never seen. We asked about it at the visitor center, and the ranger told us that they have received 200% of their normal rainfall so far this year. They even have standing water in some areas of this normally arid park. It made a nice contrast against the pinks, yellows and browns of the formations.

We crossed back into central time zone a few miles before crossing the Missouri River. It's nice to be back on our normal time. At Chamberlain, the Missouri River is wide and pretty.

We stopped at a campground in Mitchell, SD. After setting up the camper, we drove into Mitchell to the Worlds Only Corn Palace, their big tourist attraction. Thousands of bushels of corn, grains, and grasses are used to decorate the outside and the inside of the building every year. The designs are changed each year. This years theme was transportation, so the murals were all of different means of transportation. They had motorcycles, boats, etc, on the outside. Inside the murals are more history and events having to do with South Dakota.

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Photos

Pretty Colors
Badlands NP

Badlands NP
SD soil erosion

Stripes
Badlands PN

Missouri River
at Chamberlain, SD

Charlie and friend
at Corn Palace, Mitchell, SD

Corn Palace
Mitchell, SD

Mural of Mt. Rushmore
inside Corn Palace, you can kind of see the ears of corn used to make the picture