Day 10 - Mt. Rushmore, Crazy Horse, Deadwood

Today, Saturday, July 9, 2011

                             The more ambitious of our gang went for an early (8:45) morning walk

                      After breakfast and morning chores it was off to see one of our National Treasures:

Mt. Rushmore is truly awesome and inspiring.   Taking 14 years to complete at a cost of almost $1 million of which half were private donations and half government funding.  

The walkway and the State Flag entrance weren't there years ago. Nor was the parking deck we had to park in.   It was just George, Tom, Ted, Abe, us and an asphalt parking lot, all free.  Now it's $11 to park  your car.   More on that subject later.

You can see the Presidents from afar and don't have to pull in and park, which is probably what we should have done.

So on the road again we headed to see how the sculptors of Crazy Horse were doing with their project.

Funded totally by private donations they have been at this since 1948 (63 years).  Of the 4 of us, 3 of us had seen it before and agreed they're not making much headway.

                        Hmm.... I wonder why?   Maybe to profitable to just keep working on it?

No, friends and family.   We didn't make the same mistake again.


We decided to head over to Deadwood and catch a bite to eat since it was so crowded the previous night.  Along the way we ran into a local athletic contest.

                                                  So you know, we had to stop.

                                                           Pam ran into an old "Flame"

                                         It was fun but moved a little slow so we moved on.

We made it into Deadwood and found a place where we could eat on the patio and bring Heidi with us.   A gunfight broke out in the middle of the street during our dinner.  Fortunately, none of us were hurt. 

History buffs may know that Deadwood is where Wild Bill Hickok met his demise during a poker game.  Reportedly his hand was a two pair, Aces and Eights, now known as the dead mans hand.  Bill and Calamity Jane are buried just above Deadwood in Mt. Moriah cemetery.  We drove up there and they are now charging admission to the cemetery!!!   Everybody has there hand out, the Feds, the Indians, even the dead.  We turned around and headed back.  Don't these people know we're on a fixed income!

Tomorrow we head for Devil's Tower in Wyoming and then Little Big Horn in Montana.

Day 9 Move to Sturgis via Badlands and Wall Drug

We pulled out of Mitchell a little before 9am.  Fueled and ready we headed west on I-90 towards Rapid City/Sturgis.  With some unique scenery along the way.

    Missouri River

1880 Town

                                                                                                                           
After about 3 hours (200 miles), a few scenic turn-outs, central to mountain time zone change, we arrived at the 240 Loop that passes through the Badlands National Park.

Lon and Pam wanted their picture taken at the sign and of course Heidi "the little ham" jumped right in their with them when she saw the camera come out.

The camera cannot capture the beauty of the Badlands.  The sheer starkness of the land with it's contrast of colors to the lush background vegetation is incredible.  We stopped and enjoyed lunch in the parking lot of the visitors center, the advantage of bringing your microwave with you, and continued to tour the park.

The 240 Loop takes you right to Wall, SD.  The home of world famous Wall Drug.

                                             If you want virtually anything, Wall Drug has it:

                                                                  New Friends:

                                                                          A thrill ride:

A taste of the old west:

                                                                Or a new "coach":

                                                                  Wall Drugs has it all!!!

We arrived in Sturgis at the Rush-No-More RV park.  The park is gorgeous, clean and quiet.

After setting up and having our social hour, we headed into Sturgis to find some dinner.  Tip: If your in the area don't bother,  Sturgis is a pit!! We moved on and went to Deadwood for dinner.  No parking available due to Big and Rich concert.  We finally found a sports bar and grabbed some supper before heading back to our sites and turning in for the night.

Day 8 Mitchell, SD

Lon and Pam got in last evening, after two 500 mi. days. Heidi was happy to see them, Lon had cookies!They picked up my AC cover in Sioux Falls. Got it in place. We are whole again. Gail made jambalaya, hush puppies,  and carrot cake for dinner. Everyone ate well.

Today we headed out for the Corn Palace at the crack of noon.

                                              After the Corn Palace, to the lake and spillway.

                                                                 And then......of course!

Tomorrow we will be west bound on I-90.....Bad Lands National Park....Wall Drug......????

Day 7 Mitchell, SD

Sunny day, 82*. Went to the "World Famous" Corn Palace.

Corn Palace History

Eight years before the turn of the 20th century -1892- when Mitchell, South Dakota was a small, 12-year-old city of 3,000 inhabitants - the WORLD’S ONLY CORN PALACE was established on the city’s Main Street. During its over 100 years of existence, it has become known worldwide and now attracts more than a half a million visitors annually. The palace was conceived as a gathering place where city residents and their rural neighbors could enjoy a fall festival with extraordinary stage entertainment – a celebration to climax a crop-growing season and harvest. This tradition continues today with the annual Corn Palace Festival, August 26th – August 30th, 2009.

By 1905 the success of the Corn Palace had been assured and a new Palace was to be built, but this building soon became too small. In 1919, the decision to build a third Corn Palace was made. This one was to be permanent and more purposeful than its predecessors. The present building was completed in 1921, just in time for the Corn Palace Festivities. That winter Mitchell hosted its first boys state basketball tournament. The building was considered to have the finest basketball arena in the upper Midwest area.
Today, the Corn Palace is more than the home of the festival or a point of interest of tourists. It is a practical structure adaptable to many purposes. Included among its many uses are industrial exhibits, dances, stage shows, meetings, banquets, proms, graduations arena for Mitchell High School and Dakota Wesleyan University as well as district, regional and state basketball tournaments. USA Today named the Corn Palace one of the top 10 places in America for high school basketball.
The Palace is redecorated each year with naturally colored corn and other grains and native grasses We currently use 13 different colors or shades of corn to decorate the Corn Palace: red, brown, black, blue, white, orange, calico, yellow and now we have green corn! A different theme is chosen each year, and murals are designed to reflect that theme. Ear by ear the corn is nailed to the Corn Palace to create a scene. The decorating process usually starts in late May with the removal of the rye and dock. The corn murals are stripped at the end of August and the new ones are completed by the first of October.
Cherie Ramsdell is the current panel designer. Our current theme is entitled "America's Destinations". The Corn Palace is known around the world as a folk-art wonder on the prairie of South Dakota.

                                                                   Click on picture to enlarge

The Corn Palace has one more title - the World's Largest Bird Feeder. After Corn Palace Week ends and winter sets it, local pigeons and squirrels make a feast of the tasty murals.

                                                Hiedi and Gail the tourists.

                                           Then we went to Mitchell Lake and Hiedi went fishing.

Then we stopped at the very unique spillway.

Mitchell is also home to the Mitchell Prehistoric Indian Village. The Prehistoric Indian Village is an archaeological site where scientists are excavating a Native American village, believed to be ancestors of the present Mandan residing in North Dakota, that is buried near Lake Mitchell. The excavation site is unique in that it is enclosed by an Archeodome, a climate controlled building built over the excavation, that allows scientists to continue their excavation year round. There is also a small museum of Native American art and history nearby.

                                         Don,t think this boat would work well on Lake Texoma.

                                                        Sign across the  street from the cemetery.       

                                                                                                                                                         

                                                                                        

Day 6 Mitchell, SD

I talked to almost every RV dealer on I-90 this morning, looking for an AC shroud. I found one in the right direction (west) that had 2 of them. BUT they were spoken for, they were special ordered. Why didn't she just say "We don't have any."? That way I wouldn't hate her. BUT I didn't hate her very long. I found one in Sioux Falls and Pam and Lon are coming through there tomorrow.

While we were sitting here, Gail made Indian Tacos.

So I gotta go eat now.

Heidi says Hi.