First day on the road

Well, we made it to Mitchell, South Dakota today - which was our planned stop and everything went smoothly. Seven hours of very good roads and not much traffic. We followed I70 to I29 under cloudy, warm and sticky skies when we left KC. And we tried to slip out of the house without looking the fuzzies in the eye!
We enjoyed a biwing plane (crop duster) around Fairfax, Missouri pretty yellow and white and he swooped by showing from all sides.
Corn looks good and everything is very green but lots of these crops have "wet feet" and there is standing water everywhere. The sun peeked through mid morning and started warming everything up.
Beautiful farms through here on I29 - farm house and barns - one house had their front yard filled with sheep. Must smell wonderful on warm humid days. I29 follows the Missouri River and in some areas it looks small then widens out.
We passed through Sioux City, Iowa and McDonalds catered our gourmet lunch. The Information center when we entered South Dakota is great!
Heading to Mitchell, we saw a great "art project" on I90 - the Porter Sculpture Park - took a dirt road to see it but for $6.00 dollars a head enjoyed it from the gate.
Mitchell, SD - we picked this town because it was about 7 hours drive and it has the ONLY Corn Palace in the World. There has been one here since 1872 - when Mitchell was only 12 years old. The city fathers wanted to put Mitchell on the map. When Lewis and Clark came through this area of the northern plains in 1805 they wrote in their journals that this area was a great American desert suitable only for buffalo. And that no man could ever make a living farming here. Wanting to prove them wrong and entice settlers the Corn Belt Real Estate Association built the first Corn Palace to showcase all of the crops that could be grown in the rich Dakota soil.
New building - new festival. In late September to celebrate the harvest. Entertainment was brought in and counties exhibited crops grown and goods manufactured in their county. Now, over 100 years later this tradition continues.
The first one here was a wood 100x60' structure at a cost of $2976.48. By 1905 the first Corn Palace had become such a success that the building had been outgrown. The old one was torn down and a new one built in 55 days (125'x142'). It was built for $15k. Both of these were wood and had no electricity and dirt floors. Since they were wood they could be decorated from the top to the bottom. In 1919 safety in buildings became a concern and laws were passed that large groups of people could not congregate in wooden structures. By 1921 the third Corn Palace was built made entirely of steel and brick. Today it hosts over 500,000 tourists each summer and is used by the community the rest of the year for basketball games, stage shows, trade shows, the Shrine Circus and has the larges stage in S Dakota.
Each year the Palace is completely redecorated with a new theme. During the Depression, WWI and WWII and Mitchell's centennial year are exceptions. The decorative materials are all native corn, grasses and grains. About 20 local residents are hired each year to redecorate the Palace.
The process begins in early summer when all the grasses and grains are removed and then replaced. 3000 bushels of milo, rye, oak heads and sour dock are tied into bundles and nailed to the building. When the corn matures the murals are replaced. The new scenes are drawn on black roofing paper and a "corn by number". About 275,000 ears of corn are sawed in half and nailed flat side to the building. It takes 3 monthes and about $100,000 each year. Today they use 3 shades of red, 2 shades of brown, white, black, blue, calico and yellow.
Dinner was at "The Brig" a steakhouse. Steak is very popular here. The owners were taking photos for menu pics and Ric jumped in and helped them take better photos - we were served the appitizer and shrimp and scallop dish. The owner moved here and bought the restaurant 10 years ago from a town of 50.
Well I will post photos and then off until tomorrow.