Dakota Days - the Corn Palace and heading out west

Day Four.  Thursday 22 July 2004.

"Perhaps the first day of normality - get up, go to site, dig all day...  I got bored with digging today, it was very tedious. Lins, Angie and I make a good team and have fun together, so I am happy with my group... It could have been worse (one or two names spring to mind...)

The highlight of the day was this evening.  After tea, we all planned to go into town.  For some reason, some people wanted to go back to the motel first, and amidst the confusion, we broke off from the main group - they all went back to the motel, whilst I walked into town with Tristan and Angie.  We had a lovely evening looking around the town.  Mitchell looks like a small Midwest town - exactly what it is - with shops that appear to be locally run.  The town is clean, although lacking in much greenery, and a little scruffy, although in a way this adds to the charm.  

Mitchell welcomes you!  (No, it's not a Newcastle United shirt)

Mitchell's big attraction, as they'll tell anyone who listens, is the Corn Palace, where the decoration of the exterior is made entirely of corn.  Gaudy domes on the roof, daubed in green and red paint, and the American flags hanging off it really complete the look.  it is a little surreal, but seems fitting for a town so exclusively reliant on the crop.  On the way back to the motel, we even happened upon a billboard advertising crop insurance.

Mitchell's "world famous" Corn Palace

I bought a Hershey's bar earlier - not bad chocolate (not Cadbury's, but not too bad.)  And today I also tasted some "buffalo chew" - it was salty and not that nice, but it's always good to try new things once in a while!"


Day Seven.  Sunday 25 July 2004.

"It has been a tough day so far, up and ready to leave the motel by seven for the drive west.  It took about ten hours, because we stopped at several locations:

1.  Chamberlain.  Billed as "Where the American West begins", we stopped here for breakfast and had a fantastic view of the Missouri River, which is impressively wide and very blue.

The Missouri River at Chamberlain

2.  The Badlands.  Fascinating, awe-inspiring, and breath-taking perhaps best sum this place up.  I was lost for words.  People thought I was unhappy but I wasn't - I was just so amazed.  The shapes, the landscape, the heat, the cacti - it was stunning.

The Dakota Badlands

Our group in the Badlands

3.  Wall.  A Western town devoid of any traditional character.  it was a 100% tourist town and, to be honest, a mess.  Cars parked all over the road, it was very disappointing.

Our final destination was, and is, Hot Springs, Southwest South Dakota.  I have fallen instantly in love with the town, it has a clean image and is traditional and historic.  The old prison of 1888, as Bruce points out, is old for the town.  The railway station is now a tourist office, and although the railway doesn't exist here anymore, there remains an engine of the Burlington Route.  It is a fascinating, albeit small, town.

Hot Springs in rush hour

People are tired and narked this evening, and everybody wants to go to sleep.  I've kept composed all day, but at times things grate.  I miss my bed!  I miss my TV!  I miss my fish!  But still I'm fascinated by this country and the landscape, and I'm still finding it amazing and rewarding.  I keep thinking that I will probably never be here again, and this makes me want to explore everything I can, so I'm going to remain happy and optimistic!"