part 4: South Dakota (original) (raw)

From Wisconsin, we drove through Minnesota and had lunch in Spirit Lake Iowa, then into South Dakota. We drove across the state from east to west, stopping first in Mitchell, home of the "World's Only Corn Palace"

the entire building is covered in corn, and theyve had a different design on it every year for over a hundred years. As we were there, people were tearing corn leaves off one section, i guess to refresh it. the inside is a gymnasium, which at the time was a gift shop, but is also used for basketball games


Then we crossed the Missouri River....photos really don't do justice to how beautiful the landscape of the state is, from the Missouri Valley to the Badlands to the Black Hills, its beautiful

we also stopped, of course, at Wall Drug, where my mom rode a jackalope

One of the things more eerie than a Wild West Town that no one is at is one that is non-functional. Here is one in South Dakota that seems to now be just a gas station, but it does still have a giant dinosaur skeleton

we also stopped at Mt. Rushmore and Crazy Horse

we stayed two nights in Rapid City, which was really cool.....not only was there beautiful scenery, we went to their brewpub in town, which was tasty and had live music

here are some more Black Hill highlights
Deadwood: about half of these storefronts are casinos......

and they have regular shootouts in the street

Sturgis: totally dead....we thought that maybe if New Orleans is always a little Mardi Gras, maybe Sturgis is always a little bike week......nope, just a bunch of boarded up nightclubs and leather shops with signs that say "see you next year" and not a single motorcycle

the 1880s train, we rode it from Hill City to Keystone, and it was scenic but very chilly

birding in the Black Hills was great though, we saw a White-Winged Junco and a Black-Headed Grosbeak