South Dakota isn’t really a topic most people choose to cover. Let’s face it. On the surface it isn’t the most exciting state in the country. Placed next to North Dakota, it seems like a really happening place. But if you put it next to say, Iowa… wait, Iowa is like East Dakota so forget that comparison. OK, place it next to Washington State and South Dakota seems like a pretty dull place. In fact, I wouldn’t be surprised if they had a town there named Dullsville.
My family comes from South Dakota. When I was a little boy of 4, my mother took us all back to South Dakota to meet the family there. I still marvel at the fact that my mother took four boys, aged 4 to 14, on the train. My father somehow managed to stay back home, hiding behind the fact that he had a business to run. I just don’t think he wanted to endure a long train trip with little boys running rampant from one end to the other.
It was on this trip that I lost my bottle. No, not one filled with booze. That would come later. Like a security blanket, I still had the Ba-Ba. When it came up missing, my mother blamed it on the porter on the train. I never forgave him.
Though I was very young, it was my first memories that have stayed with me. I especially remember the time I went up into the domeliner. That’s the one with the big bubble of glass where you can sit and watch the scenery go by. My brothers were up there, so me and my trusty Ba-Ba (it hadn’t been stolen yet), headed up. As I made my way up the aisle, there was suddenly an explosion of glass. A very large bird had flown into the path of the train and right into the front of the dome. Thankfully, none of us were hurt. But I can still see the images of the window blowing out and various parts of bird littering the domeliner.
I ran away from home while we were visiting Aberdeen. My mother called the police and my brothers fanned out looking for me. About an hour later, they found me. I was in a phone booth trying to call my father back in Washington. I guess I missed him. Thankfully, they didn’t seem to have a lot of child molesters in South Dakota back in the early 60s. If they did, you may not be reading this.
That was my first and only trip to South Dakota. That is, until 2004 when I moved to Florida. The drive from Seattle to Orlando is 3,125 miles, taking you through Idaho, Montana, South Dakota, Iowa, Missouri, Illinois, Kentucky, Tennessee and Georgia. Quite the road trip. It was about 84 hours of driving over three days with two overnight stops.
You see a lot of the country on this drive. Much of it is not worth writing about. I will say that I was really disappointed with the St. Louis Arch. I thought it was much bigger and went from one side of the river to the other. I saw my first fireflies in Tennessee. And, of course, the trip pretty much begins with the Rocky Mountains. Amazing and awe inspiring.
But oddly, we spent more time going through South Dakota than any other state. It wasn’t because South Dakota is particularly massive. No, it’s because it’s kind of cool.
Now, hear me out. First stop along the way was Little Big Horn. I had seen the signs and said if it was easy to access, we could visit it. Well, it’s very easy to access. Interstate 90 cuts right through it and the main part of Custer’s Last Stand is an exit and a right turn off the highway.
The weather had just begun to close in, so the clouds were getting blacker by the moment and a light rain had begun to fall. The site is a drive-thru, with interpretive markers on the loop, showing what happened when. The weather only added to the drama. You couldn’t help but wonder if these guys knew they were screwed from the get-go.
Back onto the highway we go. Next stop, Mount Rushmore. I think everyone should see Mount Rushmore once in their lifetime. This was obviously my chance. We drove in, walked up, took some photos, marvel at the monument, and moved on. Frankly, there wasn’t much else to do there unless you’re sporty and want to take the hike to the base with a guide. As we know, I’m not sporty and there was still a long way to go. And yes, blond highlights – let’s not talk about it, OK?
After stopping off to pan for gold (who’s not going to try their hand at that in the Black Hills), we went back onto the freeway. As you drive through the wheat fields, it begins to get a Little House on the Prairie on you. There’s a good reason for this. For in De Smet is the homestead that Laura Ingells and Almanzo Wilder owned. Charles and Caroline had bought the 157 acre plot for $16, which seems a little high for real estate in South Dakota. And here I always thought they lived on the back lot of a movie studio in California.
Unfortunately, this would have to await another time. For ahead of us was lots of open road to cover and very little time to do it. It wasn’t long before I saw a sign touting the Mitchell Corn Palace. A palace of corn. Who can miss seeing something like that? If you haven’t been there the Corn Palace is decorated in corn each year. It is something you have to see to believe. This particular year it the theme was Lewis and Clark. As they say, a picture is worth a thousand words, so here you go.
Later, I found out that my mother used to go dancing at the Mitchell Corn Palace in the 1930s. How cool was that? Here I was visiting it all these years later, not knowing that someone else in our family was a frequent visitor some 70 years earlier, before the war.
And with Sioux Falls now in our rearview mirror, the most exciting part of the trip had passed.
Now, I’m not necessarily recommending that you book a flight to South Dakota tomorrow. Those flights by biplane can be pretty bumpy. But if you find yourself going from here to there, or there to here, make sure you see the sights. They really make a trip across country far more interesting.
Out on the Treasure Coast, thinking about having some corn flakes for breakfast,
– Robb