South Dakota, A Hidden Gem

We left Sioux Falls pretty early and it was bitterly cold. We heard good things about the Corn Palace and were excited to see our first attraction of the day. What we expected is not what we got! We expected to drive through the middle of nowhere to a field where this attraction would be. Instead we headed through a regular little town with everyday people.

The Corn Palace, a brick building literally decorated by stacks and stacks of corn and redecorated yearly. There were tons of different designs made with the corn which is like nothing I've ever seen. While we enjoyed photographs of previous years, I craved popcorn. What can I say that corn smell was strong!

We drove onward, and there were tons of billboards pointing us to the 1880 Old Town Museum. Rewind to the 19th century, and we were literally walking around old Western Times. If you really used your imagination, you could see this place alive with cowboys. My favorite part was the saloon. Old fashioned red wallpaper covered the inside, along with a bar, a piano table, and small round tables. If only we could have flicked a switch to see how people really lived at the time. The place is so authentic that the movie Dances with wolves borrowed many props from the museum.


A few hours later brought us to The Badlands National Park. This drive was the most peaceful and scenic so far. It took about 45 minutes to drive through and see all sizes of mud formations in the badlands and you really get a sense of how vast the area is.
We also saw little prairie dogs that are the cutest little creatures as they bury themselves in the sand.

Driving through South Dakota has been the most fun so far because it's flat and has higher speed limits. The billboards keep you entertained and hypnotized. Steve was particularly drawn to the Firehouse Grill billboards because each one had a real old fire truck underneath, so that's where we ate dinner.

We checked into the next motel which was situated in Keystone, and again designed similar to an old western movie.

The next morning we drove up the steep hills and parked at Mount Rushmore. The monument is breathtaking. I still can't fathom that these faces were carved in rocks. It is truly amazing, no matter how many times you have seen the images, it's not the same as standing right in front of it. We spent at least an hour reading all the interesting facts that surround it. All in all South Dakota really impressed us and was quite the adventure. Our next stop would be somewhere in the middle of nowhere, Wyoming.