Wednesday morning started off with a little bit of light rain, but it quickly moved off to the northeast and left another hot and sunny day in its wake. I was on the road by 7:30am or so and on my way to Mitchell, SD to see the “world’s only Corn Palace.” The Corn Palace is in its 3rd iteration, having been rebuilt twice because of the need for more space and larger occupancy limits. It serves as both a concert hall and a high school sports arena for basketball games, but its truly unique feature is the large murals both outside and inside that are made entirely of corn…thus the name “Corn Palace.” In the late 1800’s, Mitchell was in a battle with Pierre to become the state capital of South Dakota and the Corn Palace was built to help draw more people to Mitchell and promote the young and growing city’s image. Of course, Mitchell lost the race for state capital but forever won recognition for its unique landmark. Every year the murals outside, as well as the rest of the exterior are torn down and rebuilt, with new mural designs each year – this year’s theme is America’s Destinations, so the exterior features many well-known American landmarks, including the St. Louis Arch, the Golden Gate Bridge, Mount Rushmore, Washington DC, New York, and many others. All of the murals are made entirely of different colored corn (full cobs cut in half lengthwise) and corn stalks, rye grass, and other natural materials, with the artist’s patterns laid out ahead of time in a “corn-by-numbers” pattern. The murals inside show a compare and contrast between native American ways and the ways of the early settlers, ultimately reaching a reconciliation between the two sides. Those murals remain the same year to year as a tribute to the Lakota Sioux artist who originally designed them.
Next it was on to a gas stop in Chamberlain, SD and a trip across the Missouri River, long before it joins up with the Mississippi further south. It was a long ride from Mitchell to Wall, SD with just the Wall Drug billboards for entertainment. If any of you are familiar with South of the Border on I-95 in South Carolina, Wall Drug is the midwest’s version – lots and lots of advertising, sometimes several signs in a row, which reminded me of the old Burma Shave signs! I finally made it to Wall around 1:30 – well, it was 1:30 after I set my watch back another hour to account for my passage into the mountain time zone. After a quick perusal of the various parts of Wall Drug it was back on I-90, through Rapid City, to Sturgis, home of the world’s largest motorcycle rally every August – it’s impact is felt within a 100-mile radius of Sturgis each year. My dad met me in Sturgis so he could show me around town – it’s a really small town – and then he led the way back to Spearfish. Dad and Ellen are in Spearfish for the Motorcycle Touring Association rally this year, so it was convenient that I had planned to come here to stay with Mom’s friend Peggy and her husband Bill. We had a wonderful time catching up over dinner and throughout the evening, but I was falling asleep watching the 10:00 news, so it was time to rest up for Thursday’s ride with the MTA group to Devil’s Tower, Wyoming.
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