DAY 04 - "I'd rather get my face painted..."

Today was a big day for Steven as we planned on hitting two of his must-sees: The Corn Palace and Wall Drug.

David took the morning reigns again, guiding us out of Minnesota and into South Dakota directly to the front doors of the highly anticipated Corn Palace.

Looked a bit like a peasant’s version of St. Basil’s Cathedral in Moscow…and it was awesome!

It was also closed.

But…after taking obligatory cheesy (amazing) photos out front, I tried the door and guess what? 

Open!

The lobby was dark and devoid of human activity; anyone could have waltzed in and stolen everything out of the concession stand…seemed like an oddly placed thing: a concession stand…until I crept up the stairs that opened up to reveal a basketball stadium!

The absolute last thing I ever expected to find inside the Corn Palace…a basketball court surrounded by massive, floor to ceiling murals made of corn parts.  Who knew?!  Fantabulous.

Completely satisfied with our Corn Palace trespassing escapade, we were starved and unsure of our lunchabilities, so we opted for brunch at Marlin’s…a diner attached to a gas station.  Is there any better combination on the planet?  No.  (See Klamath Falls, Oregon…Mollies…(RIP))

After indulging in eggs over easy with bacon and the short stack (a silent homage to “A Goofy Movie”), Steven took the wheel for the next 199 miles to The Badlands National Park.

The road to The Badlands was like driving through the Windows XP default “Bliss” wallpaper.

We started seeing vast grassland prairies emerge between seemingly ‘dead corn’ and sunflower crops.  And then, on the horizon, you could see it…The Badlands.

Entering the National Park off the 90 at the Northeast Entrance, we drove the 39-mile loop, stopping at lookout spots whenever we pleased…which was often.

The 37-million-year-old sedimentary striations in the rocks were practically ocular illusions…it was like the printer was running out of ink…causing all of these flawlessly disruptive yet superbly symmetrical horizontal lines in absolutely everything solid the eye could see.

We took our time, stopping often, enjoying the silly prairie dogs, the big horn sheep, and roaming buffalo.

The park reminded me a little bit of Captain Jack’s and the Lava Beds National Monument in that you can stop and hike as far and as often as you wish…and…we practically had the place to ourselves.  There were few barriers, fewer rules, just…don’t be stupid.

It really was breathtaking; all of it.

And as it does, the sun slowly beginning to sink in the October sky…streams of light ebbing and flowing through the clouds with agonizing perfection.

The only thing that could pull us away from the natural beauty of The Badlands was the promise of 5¢ coffee at Wall Drug Store, which has been in operation since 1931.

The place got its start boasting “free ice water” and utilized advertising signage miles and miles away…both tactics remain and over 2 million people visit Wall Drug each year.

Unfortunately, we were all a bit disappointed as the place wasn’t the small, charming drugstore of years past, no Mr. Gower behind the counter. Nope, it has transformed into a garish indoor mall…think London’s Camden Market, but with keychains and cowboy boots for days.

Doesn’t mean we won’t go back!

We grabbed coffee and a donut and hopped back in the car as I drove us the 54 miles to the day’s destination, Rapid City.

Tomorrow: great faces, grace places.  South Dakota, I think I love you.

DAY 05