Downtown Mitchell
Left:
It was homecoming at the local high school, when I arrived.
Below:
The side of the Corn palace, is as extensively embellished as the front. The only place you will not see corn is on the roof, or so I assume.
Gambling is legal in South Dakota, and casinos abound, throughout the state, though some areas have local ordinances against them.
Below:
Another look down Main Street.
The former train depot has been turned into a sort of a mini mall. But it is time to hit the road again, and head out of town. I was hoping to make the Missouri river by nightfall.
Left:
The towns are great, can be quirky, offer many attractions, people to meet, and things to do; but the road offers it's own brand of entertainment. I decided to stop at the Missouri River for a while, at this rest stop and information center.
Below:
A look back towards the rest area, from a spot among one of the many trails leading down to the river.
Left:The tipi has become sort of the unofficial symbol of South Dakota. It is very appropriate. Large reservations still exist here, and this was one of the last areas where Indian wars were fought, and rebellions occurred, as late as the 1960's. Many of the tribes, most notably the Lakota's, were not native to this area, but had been transplanted here by the government, after having taken over their lands, east of the Mississippi. Like most government outrages, displacement of the Indians was said to be for their own good. The Indians were moved out here, to separate them from the Europeans, who would settle the eastern lands. It was thought that the two cultures could not coexist, and that the Indians would be happier with "their own kind." It was certainly true, that the whites preferred the arrangement. This was the first instance of Separate But Equal, a strategy which would be attempted a century latter, with American blacks, with about the same results - rebellion, rioting, poverty, misery, degradation, cultural loss, and a distrust that will last for generations. The Indian reservations might be looked at as the first housing projects - places where the benevolently superior sooth their collective conscience by storing or otherwise disposing of those, for whom they have no use; but I digress.
Below:
A look out, over the Missouri River, offers quite a vista. A pair of visitors seem to stand at the edge of the known world, which is what this place once was. To Lewis and Clark, as well as other explorers, everything west of here was mysterious, possibly dangerous, and filled with potential. Today's visitor, by keeping an open mind, and sharp senses, can get a bit of that wonder back.
Here is something that you don't see every day - a building with a boat sticking out of it. This is a reproduction of one of the keel boats used in the Lewis and Clark Expedition.
Below:
Crossing the Missouri.
Farther down:
The road can drive you crazy, and make you see some pretty strange things, if you travel far enough.
Now here's something you don't see every day - a man out walking his dinosaur. So, how do I know he's a man? Don't ask!
Left:
That's a pretty big prairie dog.
Below:
Dinosaurs are a pretty big deal out here, because of the area's reputation as a fossil hunting ground, because they are neat and the tourists like them, and just because.
