2016 Trip - 10) Plankinton, SD to Rapid City, SD

Sat. 7/2… (Plankinton, SD)  We slept in this morning and after giving Bailey a good walk we set out for Mitchell, SD.  We booked into Plankinton basically for the price and planned on doubling back to Mitchell, which we passed through yesterday.  Lydia and I have been through this part of the country before but we have never stopped at the corn palace. After driving back (actually Rick drove today) and seeing the structure for the first time, I was glad we made the trip. Once we found the building we parked in one of the closest lots and used the handicap placard.  Interesting signs on the building.

 

Guess you can park in the handicap space but no, wait, you have to be away from the building! 

The Corn Palace building is covered every year in a new design – all from corn products. You see corn stalks and corn cobs all over!  It is cool!  This year they displayed images of Elvis and Willie.

 

I didn’t know what to expect when I went inside and was really surprised to find out this is actually an arena.  You enter on a lower level and go up into the seating area.  Then you can walk down to the (basketball) floor and visit the vendor area.  They also have some hands-on displays for the kids.  The high school students run the concessions. I asked and their team name is intimidating - The Kernels!  We took some photos and watched a video and got a brief tour to see some of the inside murals.  These inside pictures stay on the walls for some time – up to 15 years, before they rebuild them with new corn. I also found a tractor to drive!

 

Afterward we walked the main street and visited a few shops (antique, 5-10 to name a few) and then drove to The Depot for a nice lunch.  We then found a local supermarket (Coborn’s) and then went to (Menard’s) and bought a few things.  I’ve always liked Menard’s.  It’s like a Lowe’s on steroids!  We made the 20 mile drive back to Plankinton and I walked the dog. She played with a 5 month old Brittany spaniel puppy (Ruby) until they were both tired.  Yesterday we found a pond on the property that had a nice little beach and the water was pretty clean.  So I went back today and let Bailey swim a bit.  The water sure cooled her off and after her romp with Ruby and her swim she is now sound asleep. Here’s a picture just before….

 

Lydia fixed squiggly noodle casserole which is one of my favorites and was as good as always.  The weather is a bit cooler here today and the wind is blowing so we didn’t sit out in the evening. I caught up on some races and Lydia watched some of her shows. We called it a night pretty early.        

 

Sun. 7/3… (Rapid City, SD)    HAPPY BIRTHDAY BILL! HAPPY BIRTHDAY BRIAN! This morning’s drive was 258 miles through the Badlands and into the Black Hills of South Dakota.  This is really beautiful country.  But you have to like farmland and cattle ranges.  We saw a lot of corn and hay in the fields for miles and miles.  But it’s better than brown rocks like you see in the desert! We also went back into the Mountain Time Zone so we gained an hour. While on the road we called Bill to wish him a happy b-day. And we also called Brian (Lydia’s boss) – it’s his b-day today too! We stopped once at a rest area for the dogs then stopped again at Wall Drug.   Hey, it’s a required stop! Rick and I walked the dogs outside the shops while L&J shopped. We hit the road after that short stop and drove right into a major storm cell which gave us rain, lightning, thunder and hail!  We outran it to the campground but it hit us later when we were trying to get set up.  These were marble sized nuggets!

 

We are now at Happy Holiday Resort (tl $42x4), in Rapid City, SD.

 

 

We are here for four nights. Our sites are not together as requested and rather tight but we’re good to go! We rested a bit and drove off to find a place for dinner.  We had seen signs on the road advertising The Firehouse Brewery so I made the decision to go and find it.  Hey, it’s a BREWERY and they have BEER!  It was worth it!  They had several micro brews and Rick and I chose one (ok 2) to try.  The food was terrific and we had Malakai (sp?) as our waiter and he helped steer us to the right menu items.  We will go back again! 

 

We got back and walked the dogs again before relaxing for the night. Once in bed (around 10:30) we heard some fireworks going off.  It sounded like they were right next door!  A few minutes after everything quieted down the wind picked up.  It was really strong and we woke up the next morning to find we had to re-set our satellite dish as the wind skewed it a bit. But no worries.

 

Mon. 7/4… (Rapid City, SD)   HAPPY 4^th OF JULY!!!!   We decided to go to breakfast this morning.  And we headed back into Rapid City.  We found Millstone Family Restaurant.  The place was crowded but we got in quickly.  The food was good.  Afterward, we headed home to walk the dogs and make pit stops and then we headed up to Mt Rushmore.  I had spoken earlier to a local who said he would be headed to the city (Rapid City) which would be empty on this holiday.  He was right.  There was a huge line to get in and we pretty much had already decided not to go today.  We continued on to see Crazy Horse.  The price per car was $28. and that only gets you to the visitor center and we already knew we weren’t going in.  We took a few pictures and headed back. 

 

We stopped at a Christmas store where Lydia found something (she almost always does!).  Here is a picture with ‘Manny’ outside the store although we’re not sure why it was there….

 

After returning home we sat out a while and rested. I hosed down Bailey to cool her off.  She likes chasing rabbits.  I’ll have to take a picture of that if I can. We decided to stick around the campground tonight.  It is supposed to rain later and then again after dark. I grilled the steaks tonight. Janie brought the corn and baked potatoes.  For dessert I grilled peach halves and finished them with butter, brown sugar, and cinnamon.  Everybody loved them! 

The rain did come so we called it a night.  The families around the park still found breaks in the weather to shoot off fireworks.  It was noisy late into the night but remember it doesn’t get dark here until 9:15 or so.pm!