People always say that when traveling the Great Plains, expect vast dull, flat prairies, and corn. Lots and lots of corn. We expected our drive across Interstate 90 through South Dakota to be extremely boring, but it turns out it was anything but that! Thanks to Atlas Obscura and our Boondockers Welcome membership, the trip became fairly entertaining as we cruised this uncharted (by us) territory. We left St. Paul for a four hour drive just west of Sioux Falls to our overnight stay at Porter Sculpture Park. If you aren't aware of it, it's easy to miss this quirky stop right off the interstate, especially with the current construction and closure of any eastbound exits for 20 miles. We had made prior arrangements with Wayne, the owner, to boondock here, so we were on the lookout--and still missed our exit! Wayne learned blacksmithing from his father and has been building art with metal ever since. His home in Pierre doesn't bring much tourism, so he bought the property along I-90 just over twenty years ago. He moved his artwork to this roadside attraction and now spends his summers camped out at the visitor's center and his winters back home creating more additions to the site. Visitors can walk the trail, admiring the sculptures and poetry, taking a trip through the human experience of highs and lows; pain and joy. We spent a beautiful night overlooking the hills, watching the cows graze, and listening to the crickets and the sound of Interstate 90 in the background. The next day, with a list of interesting road stops and a very giddy husband (this type of journey feeds his soul), we hit 90 in search of The Corn Palace. An architectural marvel and folk art icon, the world's one and only Corn Palace has been astonishing tourists and locals alike since 1892 with it's murals made of--can you guess? Corn! Every single year, the last year's corn is removed in May to July and replaced with the current harvest's bounty. Thirteen shades of locally grown, colored corn cobs are shaped and stapled into new artwork, often submitted by local artists. Approximately 275,000 ears of corn are used annually.
Atlas Obscura also recommended a ghost town around Okaton, touting great photo opportunities. True, this ville is full of crumbling homes, but at least one, maybe two, families still live there and, as we drove through (and passed another RV tourist), I felt largely embarrassed driving our brand new 2022 F350 and carrying our nice new home behind us, when the people who lived there weren't near as fortunate. Further down the road, we passed a few fun sculptures, including a man walking a dinosaur skeleton. By that time, most of us just wanted to get to park our house and be out of the car for a while, so when Dusty wanted to get off the interstate to see a twelve foot prairie dog, I almost put my foot down. Fortunately for him, it was at our exit to our campground, so he got his wish! And in the process, we learned that instead of just driving by a ridiculous prairie dog sculpture, we would also have the chance to feed a colony of prairie dogs peanuts as we passed. The kids loved getting close to these cute little guys and listening to their calls to each other. Having been fed for years on end, the chubby rodents were not shy and walked right up to us asking for food. The stop at the Badlands Ranch Store was worth it after all.
There may be a stretch of South Dakota interstate that is fairly dull, but roadside attractions will keep you on your toes. Whether billboards provide entertainment to wake you up on a long drive, or the stops give you a place to stretch your legs, South Dakota will welcome you to the Wild Wild West, educate you on their way of life, and sell you lots of kitschy souvenirs to add to your collection.
3 Comments
8/17/2022 08:17:00 pm
I feel like I just took a tour. Wow. Never heard of all this. Enjoy.
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Joni Ramsey
8/19/2022 12:06:56 am
Dusty had so much fun with this trip. He was like a giddy little school boy excited to see what came next! LOL.
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