South Dakota is pretty funny. There's not all that much stuff here, but there's just as many billboards on the interstate, so they're all for the same stuff. A handful of tourist traps just keep advertising over hundreds of miles.
One of them kept giving me the giggles - the Corn Palace ("World's Only Corn Palace!"). So finally I decided we'd take the plunge, especially when other ads would refer to it like it's a reasonable landmark ("only 2 miles north of the Corn Palace!"). And it said it was free, so why not?
So, the Corn Palace was just weird. I was hoping it was 100% made of corn, but it's not. Instead, it's a giant sturdy building with corn decorations (changed yearly). We went inside and the main part of it has auditorium seating and a gift shop on a basketball court. Apparently both the local college and high school play games there. There's a second level with an additional court - basketball practice was going on.
They show a 15 minute video about the history of the Corn Palace in a side room. Apparently the locals were worried that their town would get ignored, especially given that the closest town had a Grain Palace. And I guess they decided that corn > other grains, or something. "If the Corn Palace stands for anything, it is a good time".
We did not stop at Wall Drug, the tourist trap that started advertising as far east as Minnesota ("only 335 miles to Wall Drug!"). Kiddo really struggled with the drive today. We had our rough start, then she got into the Legos again, and all was well, but she really started losing it.
So we rolled into the park, and within 5 minutes of the gates we had a kickass view, so we pulled over to look. Snapped a pic or two - I was really happy that Kiddo thought it looked awesome - she often doesn't care about just looking at stuff (especially out of car windows). I guess this was just so different from her normal world.
We saw a ton of prairie dogs in one area, and some buffalo far off. Kiddo got antsy again driving to the campground - the free one is pretty remote.
Putting up the tent was a bit scary - I didn't remember my lesson that well, and it was windy. But I did alright. As long as 1) it's light out 2) it's not raining, and 3) all pieces are there, I can cope.
We ate some food, did the Junior Ranger book, then went for a walk. Little said she wanted to "climb a mountain" (the tall hills surrounding the campground) and she really surprised me by making it all the way. On the way down we saw a solitary buffalo meander on the road to the campground. Apparently yesterday dozens of them went right through the campground circle and all the tents.
We made some friends with some 20-something travelers, some of whom are also driving cross-country. Then we went for another hike, this one at sunset. We were warned to watch out for rattlesnakes. Thankfully, no incidents to report there.
She got antsy after climbing this hill because she wanted to set the telescope up. When we got back, it wasn't dark yet, but the sun was down and the moon was about to set too. It was a narrow crescent and very cool.
Kiddo pretty much put herself to bed, getting in the tent while I was putting something back in the car. I talked with the aforementioned travelers until the stars were all out. And holy crap, so many. And the cloudy star dust of the rest of the Milky Way... very happy me. One girl came with me to where the telescope was set up in the middle of the field. She used it a bit, but I just laid on the blanket on my back and stared straight up. We talked about random things in life. It's nice that even on the camping portion of our trip I'm meeting new random people.
We heard some crazy noises. Supposedly, it was coyotes fighting.
The two girls I met are hula hoopers, so one twirled fire on the gravel road. I shot some video, I'm glad I also shut it off to just watch the end. It's nice to document things, especially for people who aren't with you, but documenting can get in the way of experiencing.
No comments:
Post a Comment