There's So Much Land!

Good evening followers.

All I can say right now is: There's so much land, it is unbelievable!

We left Austin this morning at approximately noon time after spending a few hours in the morning at the local DMV in Austin, then on the phone with the DMV in Florida, and then at the post office to mail "priority over night shipment"the forms to request issuing of a new plate.

I still can't get over the fact that someone stole my plate! I picture it in some teenager's room hanging on the wall like a trophy! Yes, it was a pretty nice plate, I really loved it, and now I have to think about some other combinations for the new one when we get back at the end of August.


We didn't visit the SPAM Museum, we did the math, and we thought we would have been better off driving west to somewhere close to Rapid City, SD, so to be able NOT to hit the huge crowds of 4th of July at Mount Rushmore.

I'm willing to bet it is going to be a mob scene anyway, even tomorrow (July 3rd), but hey, I HAVE TO see Mount Rushmore and the four presidents, I can't wait to get there, put the top down and just drive around, take some good shots, and visit some other natural landmarks around the area.

This afternoon our first stop has been Mitchell, SD, where they have the "Corn Palace"!
I must admit that at the beginning I thought it was going to be another of those tourist traps like "South Of The Border" or "Wall Drug", but I'm glad to say it was not.

Before I continue, yes, we crossed another border, and we therefore add another state to our trip:



The "palace" very nice, both from the outside and inside. We arrived just in time for a tour of the building (FREE), given by one of the most pleasant high school girls I've ever seen. She was fun, a very good sense of humor, with the right thing to say at the right time.

She explained how the palace was built, she gave us some facts and numbers about the corn they use to "decorate" the palace (a different theme) every year. This year's decoration theme is "Everyday Heroes", therefore, we're talking about firefighters, policemen, teachers, etc..

Inside the palace they have a permanent exhibition with several different pictures from the past to show the different decorations throughout the years, and how the palace has changed shape and size since it was first built in the late 1800s.

After this pleasant visit to the Corn Palace in Mitchell, SD, we got back into the car and drove to where we currently are, Murdo, SD.

Tomorrow is another 140 miles to Rapid City and Mount Rushmore, Larry, a friend of ours gave us some suggestions as on where to go, we will try to follow his advice, because it sounded like a nice route.

And now let me get into the Jacuzzi, we have one in the room this evening!

Good night,
Nico