woodbury to wall. miles 1557-2117ish.

(i'm so going to be better about posting on time. or more on time. really!)

well, i didn't quite make it as far across south dakota as i'd hoped - i started a bit later than i should have, probably, and i AM the most distractable person i know. this has continued to prove true throughout the drive across south dakota. minnesota was fairly familiar, as i'd already driven down to faribault, and once i re-joined I-90, i was pretty comfortable driving through the fields and farms and pretty of south-western minnesota. plus, wind mills!

and my very first wall drug sign. i was so excited.

for those of you who've never heard of wall drug, it's essentially a touristy souvenier shop on steroids in the middle of the badlands. what's the big deal, you ask? they start advertising for hundreds of miles in every direction. (and also, according to several signs, in kenya and london.) when i first heard of this, i thought they were all the "wall drug! 240 miles." followed by "wall drug! 232 miles." and so on. but this is not so! they have a great many signs, advertising all sorts of interesting things - dinosaurs, mining, cowboys, free ice water, and the BEST OF ALL: the 5 cent coffee. oh yes. i definitely was looking forward to wall drug.

it's actually a pretty ingenious campaign, because after hundreds of miles of seeing these signs every mile or so, you seriously can't pass through wall without seeing what all the fuss is about. and wall drug isn't the only attraction that uses this kind of sign campgain - most of the ridiculous attractions in south dakota do the same thing. which, for the easily distracted and amused, is FANTASTIC! i wasn't bored once during the whole 5 hours of south dakota. it was pretty great. any time i'd start to wander, another crop of signs would show up and i'd start thinking about all the different places i should really go see! reptile palace? oh yeah! the flinstones camping resort? you betcha! THE CORN PALACE?! most definitely.

actually, the corn palace was already on the schedule. i'd heard about it enough from ashley and, well, anyone who's passed through south dakota, that i knew i had to stop. it is everything you can imagine a corn palace to be, and more. i'll let the pictures tell the story.

there's a different theme every year. 2008-2009: everyday heroes.


when not a souvenir store, the corn palace is also home to the mitchell high school basketball team. who would've guessed?


this is zeke. he invited me to take a picture with him.

after the corn palace, i was back on the road headed toward wall and the badlands. at one point, you go up over this hill and then suddenly look out over this huge valley. gorgeous. turns out it's the missouri river. thankfully, they had a rest stop advertising "scenic overlook." for future reference, about 90% of the time when they tell you there's a scenic overlook ahead - TRUST THEM. especially in south dakota and wyoming. so far, they've been pretty reliable.

there was a pretty big storm brewing somewhere ahead, and i didn't exactly have reservations anywhere, so i opted to head directly to wall rather than taking the scenic detour through badlands national park. wall was quite a town - all four blocks of it. wall drug itself is kind of ridiculous and touristy, but you DO get a chance to ride a jackalope. and all the 5 cent coffees you can afford! mmmm.

nice sunset, too :)

and karla, this one's for you.