Welcome Minnesota

The past two days have been fun---I got to go sight-seeing with the humans!  I thought that we were just moving to a new campsite, but there were some really neat things to see along the way!  We traveled east from Rapid City and drove to Wall South Dakota, the home of Wall Drug Store.  R&N went in for a look-see and ate breakfast.  The place is a maze of areas selling lots of things from drug-store items to cowboy boots.  There was lots of information about the history of the area, an extensive collection of original western art, and of course, free water.

Praire Dogs

Next we drove through Badlands National Park.  The terrain was really different---it looked like rocks just popped out of the flat ground.  These geologic deposits contain one of the world's richest fossil beds. Ancient mammals such as the rhino, horse, and saber-toothed cat once roamed there. The park's 244,000 acres protect an expanse of mixed-grass prairie where bison, bighorn sheep, deer, pronghorn, prairie dogs, and black-footed ferrets live today.  We only saw swift fox, prairie dogs, and something with horns—maybe a pronghorn or a mule deer---it was a ways away.



Interior of Corn Palace

We stopped in Mitchell for the night and then toured the Corn Palace this morning.  The first Corn Palace was built in 1892.  By 1905 the town had outgrown the first one and a new one was built.  The one we saw today was built in 1921.  The Corn Palace is used for industrial exhibits, dances, stage shows, meetings, banquets, proms, graduations as well as district, regional and state basketball tournaments.  They were setting up for a banquet when we were there.  The Palace is redecorated each year with naturally colored corn and other grains and native grasses to make it “the agricultural show-place of the world”.  Currently they use 13 different colors or shades of corn to decorate the Corn Palace.  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 early fall.  They were working on the last two today.  It is sort of painting by corn.  The artist draws the picture on the wall and numbers the different areas of color, and then the correct color is nailed up.

Our next stop was Sioux Falls SD.  They have a beautiful city park around the falls.  The Big Sioux River was low, so the falls were a trickle.  But we did get to see the foundations of Queen Bee Mill, built in 1887 and a hydroelectric plant built in 1908.

Tonight we are in Welcome, Minnesota.  We had a rainstorm after we got here; followed by a beautiful double rainbow.

 

Black Hills--Deadwood and Lead

Pit Mine.  1/2 mile wide, 1200' deep

Last day in the Black hills for us.  I got to sleep in again today while the humans went sight-seeing.  Today they went to Deadwood, Lead, and Spearfish, with a side trip to Wyoming (just to say they have been there and so they can put the sticker on the map on the side of our camper).  While in Deadwood they decided to by-pass the casinos and restaurants and go a museum about the town then on to Lead to see an old open pit gold mine. 



Main Street Deadwood SD




Road to Spearfish



Spearfish Canyon

The actual Deadwood/Lead gold rush began in 1875 and ended in 1877.   But, the Homestake Mining Company continued mining gold there for 122 years. Before its closing in 2002, Homestake Gold Mine was the oldest, largest and deepest mine in the Western Hemisphere, reaching more than 8000 feet below the town of Lead.   Now I wish I would have gone along---Ron said that the best scenic drive they had driven on the trip so far, was the road between Lead and Spearfish.  Towering granite cliffs and massive lodge pole pines lines the road for several miles.  In the middle of Spearfish canyon was a peaceful trout stream.  Spearfish has a lovely city campground, which we checked out for future trips through the area.  It is closed for the season, so we couldn’t stay there this trip.  After driving into Wyoming and turning around, they headed back to the camper so I could have my afternoon treat on time (thank you very much!)

Tomorrow it is on to The Badlands, Wall Drug and points east………

Black Hills SD, October 10, 2011

Wow what a day!  The humans left me for over 12 hours.  I was not a happy camper when they got home, but treats, lots of pets and a little lap time made things ok again.  After looking over the pictures they took, I’m glad I stayed home.  They drove all over and saw a lot of different things.  They started out the morning by visiting Bear Country.  A drive through animal park with lots of animals that I think I would have been scared of.  (Click on the slide show in the upper left corner of the blog to see lots of pictures of them.)  The animals, like bear, elk, and wolves, where all running loose and they drove through in our truck.

Next they were on to Mt. Rushmore, where they saw the heads of four Presidents carved into the side of the rocks.  They watched a movie about the building of the statues and took lots of pictures.  (As they were leaving the monument a little girl and her mother were walking towards it.  The little girl said to her mom: “Look at the silly faces someone put on those rocks!”)



Crazy Horse Memorial (work was started in 1948)



This is what the carving will look like when finished

Later they stopped at the Crazy Horse Memorial, where they are carving a statue of Crazy Horse on his horse in the side of a mountain.  It was started in 1947 and has a long way to go to look like the model they have on the grounds.  There were native American artisans selling their products.  Nancy purchased a poncho that smells a lot like a lama.



The truck fit!



They checked out Sylvan Lake and then spent several hours driving the curvy roads and looking at the needle rocks in Custer State Park and Mt Rushmore National forest.  There were several tunnels on the road.  One of them was only 8’4” wide and 12’ high. Right  after they went through that very narrow tunnel, a class A motor home came down the road towards them----I wonder what happened to it.  It couldn’t fit through the hole, and I don’t think there was a large enough place for it to turn around!

They stopped in Keystone for supper and then went back to Mt. Rushmore to see it illuminated after dark.

  

Rapid City South Dakota

We spent most of the day in the car.  All we saw were a lot of farm fields, cattle and some strange looking bare hills.  It was cloudy and rainy, but cleared up by we got to our campsite here at Happy Holiday.  We had hoped to stay in a campground that Nancy's cousin stayed in this summer, but it was closed for the season, so we are here in Rapid City instead.  After we were set up, Ron and Nancy went to check out the town, while I watched our new neighbors.  (This campground has a common  shared gazebo between every two campsites.)  I was hoping that they would come over and bring me a treat---no luck.   It all worked out ok---when the humans came home we had mac and cheese and spam for supper----I love spam!

Tomorrow the humans are going to Mt Rushmore---so I will be able to take a nice long nap.