South Dakota

Judy. Some years ago Ted was working on finishing up visits to all fifty states (he still has to get to Alaska), and so we went to Minnesota, took a quick drive across a corner of South Dakota, and stopped in Fargo, North Dakota. I decided right then that I didn’t care if I ever saw South Dakota again. Flat and ugly was the description that came to mind. This year, however, on our cross-country trip, Ted wanted me to see the Black Hills, one of his favorite parts of the West, so I reluctantly agreed.

Well, in the first place, we were clearly told that South Dakota is Midwest, not West. This was the first step in my re-education.

I have to admit, eastern South Dakota is--well--farmland, with all that entails. It was flat, flooded, and not terribly exciting. If you’re from there, I hope I’m not hurting your feelings, but it is.  I did perk up when we passed a rest stop with that huge sculpture of Sacajawea that you may have seen on social media, but we didn’t stop.

South Dakota farmland

Rich and Keeley had regaled us with stories, however, about the Corn Palace in Mitchell, South Dakota (also home to George McGovern).  It seems that when the territory was becoming a state, there was not yet a capital city chosen. Mitchell bid for the rights for that honor by building a palace to display and show off their best crop: corn. Unfortunately, it wasn’t enough. Pierre was chosen, as it’s more centrally located. But Mitchell had the last laugh—hundreds of tourists pour into that city every day to get a look at the Corn Palace. Tour buses line up to drop off folks ready and willing to watch a film about its construction and explore the wonders of this castle of corn. 

Military corn murals

Corn Palace

And it’s literally a castle of corn. Every year a new theme is chosen and corn ears of different colors are made into giant mosaics around the outside of the building that are really cool to see. This year the theme is the military. Although the $5 fee is now waived and a visit is free, signs explain that it costs about $13,000 to decorate the structure with vertically split ears, so donations are encouraged and accepted. There are cutouts where tourists can have their faces photographed on an ear of corn (how could I resist?), and exhibits of creative uses of the grain, like the shoes the high school art students created. Walk up a short flight of stairs and you find yourself in a huge basketball arena. On the floor are pop-up shops with all manner of corn-made or -embellished items, so bring your credit card. All of these shops, though, can quickly come down when the concerts come to town, and the stars come:  this summer Clint Black and Trace Adkins, among others, will be performing there.  

Interior

Corny shoes

Yes, we laughed. But they have the last laugh. As I said, people flocked to see it all, as well as the nearby museum and gift shops. And it’s kinda neat to celebrate the crop that has literally fed the state for years. I’m glad we stopped there. But we skipped the museum and gift shop.

We also skipped Wall Drug. If you don’t know what that is, look it up. There’s only so much time.

Once we crossed the Missouri River that divides the state, we hit ranch country—completely different! The topography changed to rolling hills, filled with light green grass, dark green trees, and a superbloom of a beautiful yellow plant called sweet clover, often growing waist-high. A ranger told us that it’s a plague to ranchers, even though it’s a native plant, because it’s invasive, and the cattle don’t like it. Buffalo, on the other hand, love it. 

Ted in sweet clover

We stopped in Rapid City, the gateway to the Black Hills, where, among its natural beauty, you can find Mt. Rushmore and the beginnings of the massive carving of Crazy Horse. We got up early in hopes of missing the crowds at Mt. Rushmore, and arrived just after it opened. In ten minutes we had walked up to the terrace, taken a couple of photos, and walked out just as two tour buses arrived. 

Then we drove down the road to get a look at what progress was being made on the Crazy Horse sculpture, which is much larger than the carvings on Mt. Rushmore, but still has a long way to go. His face is done, and vague further shapes, but it barely resembles the model. Still, I admire the idea of honoring him. From where we stood, there was no way to get a photo.

Frankly, what really wowed me was not the carvings, but the absolute beauty of the rugged mountains—sharp boulders surrounded by dark evergreens, with snow-capped peaks just behind. The road in Custer State Park switched back and forth, and we got out for a short walk in pristine surroundings. Everyone we met was smiling and saying, “Can you believe how beautiful this is? And how about this perfect weather?” No way could a photograph do any of it justice.

There were some crowds, but not enough to make life stressful. In fact, we had two stops for delays:  one for road construction (there are two seasons here, winter and construction), and one for a buffalo jam. The first took about thirty minutes, but the second took a good hour as the herd of buffalo wandered across several sections of the road. We were up close and personal with several mamas and their babies. It was the best traffic jam I’ve ever been in!

On our way out of the park, we stopped in the Valley of the Donkeys (thanks, Terry, for the suggestion), where crowds of families fed the begging donkeys. I tried to pet one, but he sensed that I had no food and headed for more promising tourists.

These folks brought food

After a late lunch in the town of Custer, we headed back to the hotel and reveled in the sights we’d seen. An old high school buddy who used to live near there told me he thought Custer State Park was the prettiest State Park in the country. I believe he may be right.

Seeing America

Judy. After a three-month stay in Georgia, complete with cataract surgery (fantastic!) and precious time with family, I admit I was ready to leave. We decided this summer on a stay in the US, so we booked an airbnb in Missoula, Montana, and planned a two-week road trip to get there, thinking it would be a leisurely drive. Well, not so much. Beautiful, but definitely NOT leisurely.

The last time I drove cross-country was when my friend Terry moved to Las Vegas and asked three of us to help him move and get settled. I had forgotten how magnificent this country is, and how much the landscape changes from one region to another. We took the middle of the country route, across Arkansas, Oklahoma, Texas, New Mexico, and on up to Nevada, and each state took us by delight. (Except the barbequed baloney in Oklahoma. That was not a delight.)

Ted and I headed north on this trip before heading west, driving long hours—to Tennessee to see Murray, up through the Cumberland Mountains and into Bluegrass Country, and on to, as Ted pointed out, the flooded farms in Ohio. There we got to spend a couple of days with the same Terry who invited me to ride out to Las Vegas.

Isn’t it wonderful to visit friends you haven’t seen in awhile and just pick up where you left off? Terry, a theatre teacher and costume designer, now works scheduling events in the John Legend Theatre at the Dome in Springfield, Ohio. If you haven’t heard of the Dome, look it up. They have amazing arts opportunities for kids in a city that’s struggling to maintain itself in a changing world. Although Terry retired from teaching a couple of years ago, the bug is still with him, and he’s going back to teaching part time, a blessing for him and for the kids there. 

Ice cream to top off a rainy day

As a costumer, Terry taught me a lot about thrift store shopping, and we hit them all when we get together. He can look at the oddest pieces of clothing and see a costume that will knock your socks off.  We were able to get a visit in just before he headed to Nebraska for the International Thespian Festival.

So we headed to Chicago. The original plan was to visit with my brother, who is working there for a few days, but our timing was just off, and, anyway, the cost of the hotel rooms in Chi-town was too rich for us to wait around, so we drove through the city to the far side, where we spent the night in Elgin. 

Foggy Chicago

Chicago was dealing with some strange weather. It was cold with a lake fog. We love the city, but the weather and cost had us moving on. Once we hit Elgin, we holed up in our hotel room, had snacks and wine for dinner, and played some gin rummy. Definitely the relaxing night we needed after a long day.

 

Gin rummy

While the next day started off with heavy rains, once we got into Wisconsin the skies cleared and we had a lovely ride through farm country. And the minute we crossed into Minnesota, we hit another deluge!  

Now we’re in Minneapolis, a city we enjoyed very much on our last visit several years ago. We did a lot of sightseeing then, but now are just enjoying our airbnb and lovely Seward neighborhood. We’re back to walking in this cool weather, and walked along the Mississippi River to a restaurant where we met up with Clark and Cindy. 

Clark and Cindy

I went to grad school with Clark, and it’s always great to get together. Clark knows a lot about craft beer, so he suggested a brewpub where he and Ted drank smoked porters, and Cindy and I had “Minneapolis Mules.” And the food was as good as the conversation.

Bigos and Polish sausage

No visit to Minneapolis is complete without a visit to Kramarczuk's, a Ukrainian restaurant and butcher shop. Closest thing to Polish soul food!

Another day we had breakfast with another of my theatre buddies, Rich, and his wife Keeley. Rich is directing a show I’d really love to see, but it opens next week, when we’ll be well on our way west. The two of them also love travel, so there’s always lots to talk about. In fact, they had some great suggestions for our trip through South Dakota—and more on that later. 

With Keeley and Rich

I was very aware in the Seward area of the number of people who have chosen to have “prairie lawns” instead of grass and shrubs. I’ve heard of this trend to attract honeybees, but had not seen it before. 

 

Prairie yard

On a cloudy afternoon we visited the Minneapolis Art Institute, or MIA. Wow! We were surprised by the variety of the collection. I think we could have gone every day for a week and still not seen it all.

Still, Clark and Cindy and Keeley and Rich had some great suggestions of more things to do in Minneapolis. Sigh. Next time.