Tolsons' Discovery Travels: Mitchell, Badlands, Wall, & Interior, SD

Thu (8-18-11): Got up this morning and headed over to visit the Corn Palace in Mitchell, SD. We got there just in time to see an interesting movie about the Corn Palace and then got a tour of the inside with an explanation of the corn murals. Of course they have a gift shop set up just inside where you can shop after the tour--imagine that! NOTE: Just click on a picture and it will enlarge!

Corn Palace Panel

Inside of the Corn Palace

DonnaT and PattyH Shopping at the Corn Palace

We continued driving west on I90 where you could see for miles and miles because of the gentle rolling hills. Saw lots of corn and wheat fields and also fields and fields of sunflowers.

Miles and Miles of Sunflowers Along I90 in SD

We drove south thru the Badlands National Park to Interior, SD where we are camped at the Badlands/White River KOA [800-562-3897] for the next 3 nights. We ate at the campground tonight and each had an Indian Taco made on Indian Fry Bread which was very good. This was cooked by one of the Full Time Work Campers here at the park. [They were work camping in Virginia Beach up until last June.]

Fri (8-19-11): Destination today was looking for the white prairie dogs, visiting the Minuteman Missile Control Center and Silo, Wall Drug, back thru another one of the roads in the Bad Lands, and a drive thru the very depressed town on Interior, SD.

Badlands SD White Prairie Dog

Wall Drug--LarryH Checking Out the View

Remind you of Stan and Ollie?

LarryH Trying on Hats at Wall Drug

Wall Drug--PattyH and DonnaT Getting a Hug from a Cowboy!

Minuteman Missles Control Center

Door to the Control Center Where the Keys to Launch are Contained--WORLD-WIDE DELIVERY IN 10 MINUTES OR LESS OR THE NEXT ONE IS FREE!

Control Room Where the Keys Are Kept in Red Box for a Missile Launch

Minuteman Missile II Site off I90 in SD

Buffalo In the Badlands

Burrowing Owl Hiding Behind a Buffalo Chip--CUTE!

Prairie Dog With Hole Right Next to the Road

A little hard to read here, but it says: "I was born of wagons west. The oldest town in the Badlands. I've known drought and winters fierce storms. Three times fire has swept my streets yet, my rodeos were known through out the N west. Yakima Knute - Stroud - Earl Thode, champions all have ridden my arenas. The great Jim Thorpe has played my fields. The early music of Lawrence Welk has sounded in my nights. This is a land that bred great indian chiefs and mighty warriers. A land of neighbors. WELCOME - TRAVELER."

This evening it was pretty windy at the campground, so after happy hour, LarryH decided to get his trick kite out and we headed for the field behind the campground. It was fun watching his maneuvers and nose dives!

Happy Hour at Badlands/White River KOA

Larry Hellrung Flying his Trick Kite

Sat (8-20-11): Went to the Badlands Visitor Center this morning and watched an interesting film about the Badlands. Then we headed out to take another road where there were some hiking trails. We did a short trail, but it was a strenuous one almost straight up. At the end, we were high above the valley up on the meadow plateau. What a wonderful view! On the trek down, we found a fossil sticking out of the rocks. Of course we left it there, but took a picture. After all this exercise, we continued on up the road looking for an empty picnic table! Being Saturday, shaded picnic tables were hard to come by, but we finally found one.

View of Badlands from Visitor Center

Donna on Trail up to the Top of the Badlands

Looking Down from the Top of the Trail

View of the Grasslands at the Top

Fossil Sticking Out of the Rock We Found on Our Hike to the Top

Yellow Rock in Badlands

Lunch in the Badlands in the Shade--Larry and Patty Hellrung and Chuck Tolson

Swallows Nesting Under the Bridge Next to the Campground

Windmill Near the Badlands KOA

At dusk this evening, we drove back into the Badlands to a spot that we were told we might see some animals. We did see some Big Horn Sheep and a Golden Eagle in the distance but got a closeup view of wild turkeys flying up into a tree to nest for the night.