The Mitchell Corn Palace
Once you get into South Dakota, there's a bunch of billboards advertising tourist traps with mid-west themes. One of these is the Corn Palace. Initially I really didn't want to go here, considering our plan to hit up Wall Drug in the same day. But Allison convinced me (well, she was driving so I didn't have much choice). This place was actually pretty cool. When Lewis and Clark passed through this area of the state, they said something like "This place is completely worthless". The residents of Mitchell didn't take too kindly to that, and so came up with the idea of a building which could showcase the bountiful fruits of the land that South Dakota had to offer (CORN). Thus, in the late 1800's, the corn palace was born. Its a big building which the people of the town decorate with halved corn cobs of different colors each year.
The first couple of corn palaces they built (above) look pretty impressive!
This baby is mad corny, yo.
Today's corn palace (not as cool).
1880 Town
We didn't go inside. They had a bunch of Dances with Wolves crap in there.
Wall Drug
A drug store which wasn't doing so well in the 1930's, so they came up with the idea of giving out free ice water. This rapidly evolved into a giant crappy western theme park. Its like the tourist trap to end all tourist traps. Perhaps rivaled only by South of the Border in the Carolinas.
They have pretty darned good beef sandwiches though. Yee Ha!
Jackalope!
Poor Buffalo..
Shoot stuff!
They have a very cool collection of old west photos. This is about 1/5 of the collection.
Not creepy at all.
Well don't you look sharp!
Mount Rushmore
They have some mountain up here with some president's heads carved into them. Who knew?
The presidential crevasse.
They actually carved boogers into Jefferson's nose.
Boy, isn't the wild west fun? Yee haw!
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