Here we are, another bright & beautiful day on the road. Are we ever glad to have air conditioning. And we haven’t headed south yet!
Now on the other side of the Mississippi, we made it last night to a hotel in Sioux Falls, after a little searching (it had changed names since we last checked) and headed out to see the town, the falls in particular. The city was alike to one big long strip mall, commercial bigbox stores extending for miles around… well, pretty much nothing but a tiny downtown! The park was noteworthy, though – the river’s stench turned us both off (Philippe more so) when we parked, but if you can put it aside, the water pouring over pink granite formations was so pretty! It was Amish area, and we came to the amateur conclusion that this was the Big City for farmers from the miles and miles (and miles) of flat farms that make up Minnesota and Dakota. We crossed a group of good ol’ boys in plaid flannel shirts, parted combed hair, freckled faces; just laughing in straw hats and jeans while they whizzed around in a golf cart. It feels like America!
After more searching and a suitably disgusting dinner at KFC (never again), we found the Fairgrounds and just in time for a magnificent display of Fourth of July fireworks. Both of us were like wide-eyed children, oohing and ahhing! We made it back narrowly missing pooltime.
This morning, we made our way back onto the I-90 around 10:30, and have made our first (and only) stop at Mitchell, SD – for groceries, but mostly to see the World’s Only Corn Palace. Drew a new conclusion: too much corn, so make a palace? Apparently, this has been going on since the 1800s, with Indian corn mosaics covering a building reminiscent of Arabian Nights, although having become a little less classy since back in the day. It was an…. interesting attraction!
Now, we drive west across more prairies, to see the Badlands this evening! Highway billboards announce trading posts, Wall Drugs (we’ll elaborate when we see it!) and Mount Rushmore, already! Another day of adventures. xo
1 comment:
Where's the reflection on Wall Drug. Fabulous bit of American culture, right? Talk about commercialization at it's finest. I think it's in hot competition with the Corn Palace. Love from Michigan!
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