Dakota Days

Believe it or not, it's ten years ago today that we all climbed aboard that Northwest Airlines plane and flew to South Dakota.  Or rather, we flew to Minneapolis, and then drove on to South Dakota, to a little Corn Belt town called Mitchell.

For those who didn't know me back then, I was on a University fieldtrip with a  bunch of other intrepid Archaeology students.  Our dig, for a month, was the Prehistoric Indian Village, a Native American settlement abandoned around 1000 years ago, and now set in an modern archaeology park and visitor centre, covered by the impressive (not to mention air-conditioned) "Archeodome."  We were the first year to get this opportunity, but I think it's now an annual exercise, a collaboration between the University of Exeter and Augustana College, Sioux Falls.

So, how to mark this momentous passing of a decade?  I have decided, over the next month, to throw open the pages of my Dakota diary, to explore the town, the dig, and the state again through the eyes of my 19-year-old self, and to share it for the first time with others.  I won't be blogging every page or every day, but a select few that best represent the trip for me.  

In 2004, we didn't use Facebook, we didn't Tweet, and we didn't keep blogs.  Cameras took poor-quality digital photos (we thought them excellent at the time), you could get nearly two dollars to the pound, Blair was our Prime Minister, Bush was in the White House, Torquay United were playing League One football, and the world was a very different place...


Day One.  Monday 19 July 2004

"A day of experiences.  First the flight - never flown before!  The initial sensation of take-off soon dulled into an eight-hour boredom.  What to do on a flight of that length?

However, we eventually reached Minneapolis, and at the time of writing, we've just pulled out of a service station.  I bought a double cheeseburger - they don't sell single ones!  First impressions of America is that the people are un-shy, even rude, and always with an eye for the dollar - the airport here charges $3 to get a baggage trolley - free at Gatwick this morning!  However, their customer service is second-to-none.

Northwest Airlines flight at Gatwick

As for the landscape - it is farm country, miles of relatively flat countryside with the occasional barn or silo.  This landscape is interspersed with the odd shopping centre, housing estate, or retail outlet (furniture, farm supplies.)  Food is a major factor - since beginning to write this entry, we've already passed another McDonalds!

The climate is something else - hot and humid, but not sticky, like a reptile house without the discomfort.  This is accentuated by the air conditioning inside the coach, meaning that when we get outside, it feels like we're stepping into a swimming pool.  All in all, though, I think this trip will fascinate me."

Somewhere in the South Dakotan countryside

Day Two.  Tuesday 20 July 2004

"An interesting day...  I woke at 8 after a relatively good sleep, and we headed over to the Holiday Inn for breakfast.  We were placed in the boardroom, where pictures of horses and bison hung from the walls.  The room was central to the complex, so there were no windows.  I ate French toast, which came with maple syrup and a creamy-butter thing.  This was a nice start to the day, but at $5-a-head, the breakfast plan is already changing - the department can't afford so much money.

After that 'event', we were taken to the Prehistoric Indian Village - it contained a small museum, and the Archeodome.  We were given a trowel and assigned into groups of three for the work - I got Lindsay and Angie, which was a lucky draw.  Our tour also included lunch, which included crisps, or 'chips Dakota style' that were labelled as 'industrial style' - very odd!

Mitchell Prehistoric Indian Village entrance

To today's main event - the hurricane.  Or rather, a lack of.  The severe weather warnings were out on TV...  The clouds were building outside...  The town siren sounded in Mitchell...  It was a sunny afternoon after we had been swimming, and I came across Bruce Bradley talking about the clouds.  Then Tristan came to our room saying that we were being driven to the Holiday Inn for the evening meal because of the bad weather.  People saw lightening as we departed for the 200-yard trip, and outside the Inn, we watched the clouds swirl around in circles.  We went into the boardroom to eat, popping out ten minutes later to watch the rain come down, heavily.  By the time we had finished the meal, the sun was out again - the hurricane had missed Mitchell, but it provided a quick and sobering realisation of the dangerous natural forces at work here."

Storm clouds over Mitchell