We were still in the Black Hills of South Dakota when I last posted. We'd had a lovely visit and we spent our last day, Father's Day Sunday, resting, cleaning and watching the US Open Golf tournament.
Rob and I started our Sunday with a good run. We located another Centennial Trail trailhead and got a really good start to our morning. The CT provided us with some really good trail run options while we visited the Black Hills.
When we returned from our run, I broke out my flat skillet and made awesome pancakes and bacon. We do not eat pancakes very often because most places to do offer them Gluten Free. I had found a gluten free baking mix at Aldi so I gave it a go.
VERY YUMMY GLUTEN FREE PANCAKES AND ARTERY CLOGGING BACON
The pancakes turned out to be delicious and I will be sure to get more of the baking mix the next time I go to an Aldi.
We knew we needed to give Lewis a good going over so we spent the rest of the day working on that and watching golf. We had the outside TV going so that we could work and watch. The girls were happy to hang out with us.
We got up on Monday and started working our way east. We need to take care of some business on the east coast and, after discussing many scenarios, we decided to keep everything and everyone together and drive back. We may or may not head west later this summer. There is so much to see in this country. We are learning to not put a strict timeline on the whens and wheres of our goings and doings.
Our first stop on Monday was Wall Drugs.
Wall Drug Store, often called simply "Wall Drug," is a tourist attraction located in the town of Wall, South Dakota. It is a shopping mall consisting of a drug store, gift shop, restaurants and various other stores. Unlike a traditional shopping mall, all the stores at Wall Drug operate under a single entity instead of being individually run stores. The New York Times has described Wall Drug as "a sprawling tourist attraction of international renown [that] draws some two million annual visitors to a remote town."
The small town drugstore made its first step towards fame when it was purchased by Ted Hustead in 1931. Hustead was a Nebraska native and pharmacist who was looking for a small town with a Catholic church in which to establish his business. He bought Wall Drug, located in a 231-person town in what he referred to as "the middle of nowhere," and strove to make a living. Business was very slow until his wife, Dorothy, thought of advertising free ice water to parched travelers heading to the newly opened Mount Rushmore monument 60 miles (97 km) to the west. From that time on business was brisk. Wall Drug grew into a cowboy-themed shopping mall/department store. Wall Drug includes a western art museum, a chapel based on the one found at New Melleray Abbey near Dubuque, Iowa, and an 80-foot (24 m) apatosaurus (formerly brontosaurus) that can be seen right off Interstate 90. It was designed by Emmet Sullivan who also created the dinosaurs at Dinosaur Park in Rapid City and Dinosaur World in Arkansas.
Wall Drug is fascinating and, for me, a bit overwhelming. There is so much stuff. It is worth the stop and, if you have never visited, try to allow a bit of time to look around.
We left Wall and continued east. We did not have a particular stopping point in mind so we just drove. The landscape was changing and we were seeing less hills and more farmland. The greens of the crops and grasses were still very bright and lively. Hay had been cut and baled and we saw many fields covered with huge rolled bales.
As the day progressed, I started looking for a place to stop. We had discussed just pulling into a truck stop but I decided to look for a spot that would allow us to at least have electricity. I found a nice little camp in Mitchell, SD. It was close to the Interstate, easy to get to, had full services and very reasonably priced.
We got settled and decided to drive into Mitchell to see the famed Corn Palace.
The Corn Palace, commonly advertised as The World's Only Corn Palace and the Mitchell Corn Palace, is a multi-purpose arena/facility located in Mitchell, South Dakota, United States. 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. The Corn Palace is a popular tourist destination, visited by between 200,000 and 500,000 people each year.
The Corn Palace serves the community as a venue for concerts, sports events, exhibits and other community events. Each year, the Corn Palace is celebrated with a citywide festival, the Corn Palace Festival. Historically it was held at harvest time in September, but recently it has been held at the end of August. Other popular annual events include the Corn Palace Stampede Rodeo in July and the Corn Palace Polka Festival in September. It is also home to the Dakota Wesleyan University Tigers and the Mitchell High School Kernels basketball teams.
WILLIE NELSON MURAL MADE OF CORN
You would not want to plan your vacation around the Corn Palace. It is good for about a 30 minute visit....MAX. Having said that, if you are in the area and have time, stop and say hello.
We spent the rest of our Mitchell visit close to the RV.
Tuesday morning had us on the move and headed to Omaha, NE.
The NCAA Men's Baseball College World Series is held in Omaha around this time every year. Rob and I love baseball and particularly love the less celebrated venues. The CWS was on our list so we had tickets for Wednesday's game 9.
We rolled into Omaha on Tuesday evening. We got settled and enjoyed an evening of fireflies and gentle breezes.
We got up Wednesday morning and drove into Omaha. Rob had mapped a running route along and across the Missouri river. This route would allow us to run from Missouri to Iowa and back.
THEY KNEW WE WERE COMING SO THEY PUT UP A SIGN
HEADED TO THE PEDESTRIAN BRIDGE ACROSS THE MISSOURI RIVER
UP AND OVER
ON THE STATE LINE
AMERITRADE PARK: HOME OF THE CWS
THE BRIDGE INTRODUCING ITSELF
Our run was full of sights and it was hot. Omaha is typically temperate in the summer but not this day. The sun was blazing and the humidity was higher than we had felt in quite a while.
We got our run and headed back to Lewis. We spent the rest of the day with the girls and stayed inside where it was cool.
As game time neared, we made sure Penny and Annie got a good walk and were settled. We drove back to the city, parked, and walked to the stadium. College baseball fans were arriving in droves and the area was teeming. We walked around, did lots of people watching and then found our seats.
VIEW FROM UPPER DECK
If you are not a fan of baseball, then the CWS is probably not for you. For us, it was great and we were glad we had taken the time to make the visit.
We got back to the RV and sat outside with wine and dogs.
It is Thursday morning. We rarely shoot for an early start to our day but we got going really early.
SUNRISE
We are on the move with no particular stopping point.
Another great day in this thing we call life.
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