Day 8: Corn Palace and Laura Ingalls Wilder

Corn Palace, Mitchell, South Dakota

At the Corn Palace all the murals are made from 12 different colors or shades of corn.  Rye, Sour Dock, Grasses, and Milo are used in the trim work of the designs.  Each year the designs are removed and replaced with new ones.

This mural was inside the gym (a volleyball game was going on while we were there!)

Close-up view of a design on the outside of the building.  Can you see the individual ears of corn?  Each ear is cut in half lengthwise and nailed in place.   It costs $130,000 each year to decorate the Corn Palace!

Grasses used around the design done by an elementary student.

Cheerleaders!

Young man removing each corn cob with a hammer to get it ready for a new mural - a new theme is decided and new murals designed and nailed in place during September.

World's Largest Pheasant

Laura Ingalls Wilder's Little Town on the Prairie

DeSmet, South Dakota

Laura and Carrie went to school in DeSmet's first school house.

Tour guide telling the story of when Laura and Carrie got sent home from school for rocking the school desks!

Original blackboard uncovered when renovating old DeSmet school - it was turned into a home until 1995 when the historical society bought it and began restoration.

A boat drawn on the blackboard that was uncovered during renovation.

Replica of first school house Laura taught in at age 15 in Brewster, SD.

Inside Brewster School.

Pa and Laura twisted grasses during the "long winter" to use for fuel.  Do you see the potato?  Children would carry a partially baked potato to school in their pocket, it kept their hands warm, and then place it on the school stove to finish cooking.  It might be the only lunch they had that day.

Pa Ingalls built this house for his family and it is the last house he, Ma, and Mary lived in.  All three are buried in the DeSmet Cemetery along with Carrie, an infant son of Laura and Almanzo, and Nathan and Grace Ingalls Dow. 

This the the original store (Olsen's) where Laura bought Pa's Christmas present.

Do you want to read more about Laura Ingalls Wilder's life on the prairie?  Read Little House on the Prairie or The Long Winter, both are set in DeSmet.  If you've never read one of her books start with Little House in the  Big Woods - it's the first in a series of 9.  There are several picture books too!  Check the library or ask your teacher.

Day 7: The Badlands

Mount Rushmore from Iron Mountain Overlook

Mount Rushmore

We drove over Iron Mountain again, a beautiful drive to Mt. Rushmore, and then left for the Badlands.  Stopped at the famous Wall Drug for lunch and postcards before entering the Badlands. 

Badlands

97 degrees and not at all hospitable...

At the top of these striped hills it's flat and the prairie goes on for miles; then another cut in the earth and more badlands.

Can you find the tee-off green?  Just don't hit your ball in the rough!

Close-up view of the earth - water and wind erodes the sandstone leaving large and small cracks.

We drove I-90 for another 100 miles through corn, sunflower, and sorghum fields to reach Kennebec for the night.  My first time pulling into a campground, or anywhere for that matter, that I was told where to meet in case of severe thunderstorms or even tornados...  At this KOA it's the laundry room - don't think I'll forget that!  If it's a severe threat, and there is time, management has keys to the courthouse a quarter mile away!  Hmmm... wonder how I'll sleep tonight?

Today we added 3 more states New Hampshire, Kansas, and Arkansas.

Day 6: NEEDLES HIGHWAY

Cathedral Spires across the valley from Needles Scenic Highway in Custer State Park.

Amazing rock formations all along this very narrow highway.

We passed through 3 tunnels; this is the smallest - 8' 4" wide and 12' tall.  I told Scott to wait for me and I'd jump in the truck after my photo - ended up walking through the entire tunnel.  Why?  Too narrow to open the door! 

When we got to the other side we got out to see the panoramic view and watched as a tour bus inched it's way through the needles eye.

A nice surprise - George Washington's profile!                  

Facts about George; his face is 60 feet tall, each eye is 11 feet wide, his nose is 21 feet long (all the other noses are only 20 feet!), and Washington's mouth is 18 feet wide.

Added the state of Maine today.

Day 5: SOUTH DAKOTA

JEWEL CAVE NATIONAL MONUMENT

On the extreme cave tour you must be able to fit through this 17 1/2 x 24 inch hole...  Scott didn't even come close.  

We followed this vein throughout our tour and it got wider as we went deeper into the cave.

Nailhead Spar - most of Jewel Cave is made up of this rock formation.

Caramel Waterfall - the orange color is from the iron-oxide in the stone.

Jewel Cave was interesting but not as beautiful as other caves I've visited because it's a dry cave so we saw very few stalactites and stalagmites.  And we walked 723 stairs - whew!  Two brothers were out riding horses when they discovered the cave entrance in 1900 and now 170 miles of passageways have been mapped.  Scientists still go down in the cave for up to 4 days and continue to survey and map more area, about 3 miles per year.  If you discover a new room you get to name it!  Why only 4 days?  Because what you pack in, you must pack out, including your own waste.  YUCK!

CRAZY HORSE MEMORIAL

Crazy Horse - the head is 87 1/2 feet tall!

CUSTER STATE PARK

We thought it was hilarious that the buffalo were found at the "Game Lodge".  

In this picture the police (white truck) are actually herding buffalo to get them off the road.  You could hear the policeman say over his PA system, "Now move along, sweetheart..."  It was too funny!

Along the road... Custer State Park is home to 1,500 North American bison.

Female with calf

Bull scratching himself on this tree.  Bulls can be 6 feet tall and weigh more than 2,000 pounds.

These pronghorn antelope crossed the road right in front of us.

This homely guy didn't know whether to cross the road or not - he just gave me a funny look!

Custer State Park in the Black Hills.  This was an awesome drive and we saw lots of animals; buffalo, deer, antelope, wild turkeys, and prairie dogs.  

MOUNT RUSHMORE AT NIGHT

Drove Iron Mountain to Mt. Rushmore to see the evening lighting ceremony.  It was very patriotic; at the end they asked servicemen to come up on the stage to be recognized - there must have been more than 50 people from all branches of the military.

Six state license plates today:  Illinois, Virginia, Minnesota, Missouri, Nebraska, and Pennsylvania.

Day 4: Little Bighorn, Devils Tower, and Prairie Dogs

We saw the site of the Battle of Little Bighorn also known as Custer's Last Stand - spent all morning reliving the battle.  It took 2 days in June of 1876 to bury the 260 fallen soldiers; their resting places were marked with teepee poles cut to size.  In 1890 the Army erected white marble headstones making this the only battlefield where soldiers are buried where they fell.  George Armstrong Custer died here but his body was later moved to West Point.

Drove to Devils Tower in Wyoming, an amazing monolith!  To see the Kiowa legend of how Devils Tower came to be go to www.nps.gov/forteachers/upload/K-4_DISCOVER-KiowaLegend.pdf

 I also saw my first prairie dog town and the little guys were very curious; would come right up to me so I could take their picture!

These are black-tailed prairie dogs.  Can you see the black tip on his tail?  They get their name from their bark-like call.  They whistled and barked to communicate with each other the entire time we watched them.

Saw 8 new license plates again today, must be our lucky number - Iowa, Wisconsin, New York, Utah, Maryland, Indiana, New Mexico, and Georgia.