Mitchell, South Dakota, Home of the Corn Palace

The gorgeous view outside the car window for miles and miles. It was like this on all sides. Can you see how big the sky is? That iPhone takes great pictures!

Gas station in Mitchell, South Dakota

Windmill on Route 90 in South Dakota

When Joshua and I took our cross country trip twenty years ago, we stopped in the place where we are right now, which is Mitchell, South Dakota, home of the Corn Palace (http://www.cornpalace.com/index.php). When we passed through two decades ago, we got a Corn Palace pen that I loved and used for years and years until it finally ran out of ink. It had a little liquid chamber where a corn cob would move up and down if you tilted the pen. I am happy to report that I was able to pick up another one, although I was a bit dismayed at the $4.99 price tag for one crappy pen! I hope this one lasts as long as the other one did. Instead of corn it has a moving bird.

Today we drove four hours from Makato to Mitchell. It was a beautiful drive full of miles and miles of corn fields, lots of windmills, slightly pink highway roads and the biggest sky you can imagine. As we drove, Joshua put on great music to accompany the ride (Bob Dylan, Greg Brown, Johnny Cash, and Neil Young). The music made me feel like something profound was happening, even though I wasn't sure what it was. I was amazed to be driving through a place that is still America and yet so incredibly different from Vermont, or Ohio, or Maryland, for example. I tried very hard to imagine what it might be like to live in South Dakota, and honestly, just couldn't do it.

Mitchell itself is kind of a sad and depressing town. Besides the Corn Palace, which isn't all that exciting, there really isn't much going on here, especially on a Sunday. We are at a hotel and were able to enjoy some time at the pool after a day of scorching sun. The rest of the week will be spent heading towards Bellingham, Washington and we will be camping the whole time. We are enjoying a last taste of showers and flushing toilets and tv movies before embarking on lots of nature. Next stop is the Badlands.....

Thank you all for your nice comments. Glad to have you on the journey with us. xo