Two Treasures of South Dakota

 Well I am not sure everyone would agree that the two places I am mentioning here would be considered treasures, because the Badlands in that state should get a higher rating from tourists passing thru South Dakota.  What I am going to tell you about here is what some people call "tourist traps.  I am referring here to Wall Drug, and the Corn Palace.  Each are located in a southern corner of the state, Wall Drug in the western and the Corn Palace in the eastern.

We have been to Wall Drug store several times.  This was one time we just did not have much desire to explore it as extensively as we did in the past,  primarily because there was a heavy crush of people.  Very few people were wearing masks.  In case you know nothing about this store, it did start out as the only drug store in Wall, South Dakota.  The owners, Dorothy and Ted Hustead, at first were getting very little business (there was the depression going on in 1931, and a drought).  Then Dorothy got the idea in the summer of 1936 to have the store give out glasses of cold water.  That brought the people in, and the store expanded with other stores, a Western art gallery and dining areas.  A big attraction for many people are the life-size statues of people sitting on benches outside of the stores.  One that many men especially seemed to like is the statue of show-girl- I did not get a picture of her because she was kept busy with men hugging her.  I did get a picture of a little old lady playing cards.  Looked like she was waiting for someone to play a card!

Strangely, while wandering around in the different stores, I found a chapel.

Imagine having a wedding at Wall drug store!  Well, I could not see that as a destination wedding.  We had lunch and I found a drug store in the complex to purchase some Advil.  We moved on east and made a stop at the Corn Palace in Mitchell, South Dakota.  We have also visited that building several times in the past.  That place really is not a tourist trap, but just a fascinating stop.

                                                  

The Corn Palace is having its 100th anniversary this year!  Actually in the present building for that long- all total it has been 128 years.   The building has been redecorated every year with a different theme, this year it is "come and play". Thirteen different shades of corn are used to complete each picture.  About 325,00 ears of corn are sliced  lengthwise and carefully nailed into place.  Different grasses, as rye and sour dock, are used for the trim work.  In the picture below you can get a close up of the decorative mural celebrating the building's anniversary. 

                                        

We wandered around the inside of the building (munching popcorn of course) where there are many interpretive signs explaining the history of the building and the the process by which different artists through the years have been able to make the murals using corn.  The process is best described as "corn by number".  The city pays about one hundred thirty thousand dollars a year for different corn murals to be placed on the outside of the building.  The large hall on the main floor inside has been used for basketball games as well as stage shows.. So the building besides being decorative is quite useful!

Main Hall inside the Corn Palace

This concludes my postings of our trip out west, sometime the miles were long and a bit boring- but all in all it was a very enjoyable trip!