We motored back out onto I-90 this morning with Mitchell, South Dakota on the radar. Along the way we spotted a giant bulls head (sort of) and had to stop, because it was ridiculous, and we needed to pee.
Turns out some farmer with moderate welding skills is also a sculptor with a sense of humor. We drove through the corn field and past the FREE TODAY sign that was obviously meant as a joke, as there would never be anybody sitting out here collecting fees from people that wouldn’t actually pay for something like this.
Little did we know at the time that this would be the highlight of the day.
We had so much fun we couldn’t stop taking pictures. So, thank-you to the random farmer that installed this in his field for all of us weary travelers to enjoy.
Mitchell—The Corn Palace. Scratch that—The World’s Only Corn Palace! I know, right? I would have traveled halfway around the world to see this. Fortunately, we grew up a mere 350 miles away.
See the excitement on our faces?
All it takes is a hot glue gun and some corn.
About now the disappointment was setting in. I mean, look at what the Corn Palace once was. It really does look like a PALACE made of corn.
Today it looks like a high-school gymnasium (which it in fact is) with a thin veneer of corn glued to two brick walls.
The town of Mitchell duped us.
The whole thing was a scam set up to get us into the gift shop where we would spend our hard earned money on state spoons and thimbles.
Seriously, though, who goes to the Corn Palace looking to buy a thimble with Florida on it? That is a sick, sick person.
The mighty Missouri. The country out here really is pretty. And best of all, nobody lives here. Miles and miles of green without a Wal-Mart in sight.
In the midst of a dirty sock war.
The fun can’t last forever. Lowe went bonkers, necessitating a very stereotypical dad meltdown where I screech to a halt, yank the kid out of the backseat, and then set him gently on the side of the road for a time-out.
Thirty-five years ago this would have been me, but instead of a time-out I would have gotten my butt whacked.
The time-out worked and before we knew it, Winner, South Dakota, could be seen through our bug splattered windshield. The kids are now saying, “Winner, winner, chicken dinner.” So that’s fun.
We fit right in here. Nobody could tell we were from out of town.
8 Comments on “Corn Palace”
YOUR IN SOUTH DAKOTA THAT BRIDGE YOU CROSSED THE MISSOURI RIVER IS THE LONGEST ON THE RIVER TWO MILES LONG AND SWAYS WHEN IT IS TOO WINDY AND AT TIMES MUST BE CLOSED FOR SAFETY WISH YOU WAS TWO OR THREE WEEKS EARLIER WE COULD HAVE TAKEN YOU SAILING ON THAT LAKE WE HAIL OUT OF FT RANDALL MARINA THE BEST SAILING ANYWHERE (ARGUBLY) WONDER WICH WAY YOU WENT IF YOU GET TO SIOUX CITY OR CLOSE GIVE A SHOUT WIFE AND I WOULD SURE LOVE TO MEET YOU
AGNES J
Still laughing about Lowe’s meltdown and side-of-the-road time out. You should do what my parents used to do, drug them! ? My sister and I still tease my mom about it. My dad was in the Air Force and consequently we were moving from one side of the country to the other fairly frequently. At that time there were three of us girls and we were pretty rowdy. Oh, and we usually had a pet or two in the back seat with us too, a mouse in a shoebox, a dog or cat or two. So, I guess they just thought we didn’t really need to see the country so they’d give us Dramamine. ? They said it was because we got car sick, who knows, we still had fun, the periods that we were awake, on those trips. Oh, and we’ve forgiven our parents, for the most part they were pretty awesome!
Love that last shot! Yep, we hit the Corn Palace last year and were underwhelmed as well. Didn’t even buy any souvenirs. Best thing we got were the photos next to that giant ear of corn. We looked a little happier than you do in your shot. 🙂
Great Pictures! You passed just 2 miles from my home farm about 20 miles east of Mitchell. It’s nice to see some pictures from back home, much different landscape then in Alaska where I live now. I always tell anyone that is visiting the Mitchell area not to waste their time at the Corn Palace, I’ve never understood why they try and make it seem so exciting on all of the billboards. There’s an old auto museum in Murdo that I enjoyed as a kid.
Clark Griswold would be proud. What’s next? Worlds largest ball of mud?
We didn’t travel a lot when we were young…. but went to see Grandma and Grandpa 70 miles away at least twice a month. My brother and I had serious rules about the back seat… we divided it half… and if anyone crossed that line shit started to happen. And when it did … dad slowed down… turned around and tried to smack the first kid he found. Funny part was we knew we had crossed the line when he started to slow down… as we both bolted and hit the floor boards. lol. He never got one of us…lol
Best thing mom ever did on long road trips to the beach..etc… was to put our pillows and bedding in the back seat… it was always so cozy … it was like being at home even though we didn’t know where were going.
My son had a couple of meltdowns when I was visiting home this summer. I did about the same thing, 5 minutes of lets talk about this and calm down. I explained to my brother that I never spanked my girls, and I wasn,t going to start with my boy. Even if he was more demanding. He sent me home with a book from Dobson. I wander what he was trying to tell me?
We’ve been tricked by the Corn Palace twice. We’ve learned our lesson – it’s not going to be better this time.