Hello folks,
It was a beautiful day in South Dakota. I left my hotel in Wall at 8:00 this morning Mountain Time. It was only a few miles down the road that I lost an hour crossing back into the Central Time Zone. My first stop of the day was 150 miles down the road in Chamberlain where I visited the rest area off Interstate 90. "Dignity of Earth and Sky" is a sculpture on a bluff overlooking the Missouri River at this rest area. The 50-foot high stainless steel statue by South Dakota artist laureate Dale Lamphere depicts an Indigenous woman in Plains-style dress receiving a star quilt. According to Lamphere, the sculpture honors the culture of the Lakota and Dakota peoples who are indigenous to South Dakota.
Right behind her you get a nice view of the Missouri River.
My next stop was 75 more miles down the road in Mitchell. George McGovern was a U.S. representative, U.S. senator, and the Democratic Party presidential nominee in the 1972 presidential election. McGovern grew up in Mitchell, South Dakota. I visited his library which is on the campus of Dakota Wesleyan University.
There is a statue of George and his wife Eleanor outside the main entrance.
But Mitchell's #1 claim to fame is the Corn Palace.
The World's Only Corn Palace is a multi-purpose arena. The Moorish Revival building is decorated with crop art; the murals and designs covering the building are made from corn and other grains, and a new design is constructed each year.
Seventy five more miles down the road brought me to Sioux Falls where I visited Falls Park.
Falls Park is located in north central Sioux Falls, South Dakota, surrounding the city's falls. Through it runs the Big Sioux River, and it includes a caf�, observation tower, and the remains of an old mill.
After leaving the falls I checked into the Ramkota Best Western Plus Hotel here in Sioux Falls. This evening I got my dinner from Slim Chickens. This is a fast-casual restaurant chain which specializes in chicken tenders and wings. It was founded in 2003 in Fayetteville, Arkansas and they have 69 locations. This is the first that I have heard of them.
I had grilled and fried tenders. They were both good. But my favorite part of the meal was the strawberry cheesecake jar desert. It was delicious.
7665 miles down and about 765 to go. I'm just driving for home at this point. I have no stops scheduled for the rest of the trip until I get home.
That's it for today,
Tim
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