Back to North    Meet the Riders    Bamacyclist Home

Day 26
Just a corny day!

ROUTE: Chamberlain to Mitchell SD DISTANCE: 72 Miles WINDS: SW 10...quartering tailwinds
WEATHER: Sunny and warm.  Hi 88...just another perfect day. TERRAIN:  An early climb out of the motel then overall dropping...gentle rollers TOTAL CLIMBING: 1170 Feet

DAILY REPORT: 

It's nice to have an easy day once in a while...today was just that.  After a leisurely load, the riders headed downtown for a hearty breakfast buffet to get them started.  Karen was sweep today so I rode with her to keep her company.  We release the sweep after the last SAG or until we get everyone within manageable range of the vans.  We took time from bouncing off the back riders to tour a couple towns like Pukwana and White Lake on our way to our only Sag today.  I really enjoy seeing the small western towns...they are still viable to some extent and still have a proud heritage.  They are so small that many of their streets are not even paved...usually only the main street through town is paved and all the neighborhoods are gravel. 

One thing we found interesting was that Pukwana had lawnmower races on Saturday evenings...now that would be something not to miss.  As Karen and I rode by, a lady was walking and she confirmed that fact..."You folks should come back and see the races this weekend.  You would be glad if you did," She said.  I wonder if they have different categories...maybe riding, self propelled, or push mowers...3 horsepower category...who knows?  I wonder if the contestants are graded on the uniformity of the cut of grass...do they have a bag category?  I'm sure someone like Oscar Greengrass is the local favorite and he usually just mows down the competition...this could go on and on and...

Today's route only reinforced my opinion of South Dakota as the state with the most roads that go off into nowhere.  I know, I've said that before, but it seems to keep coming up. At least today riders saw some trees lining the roadway, but several times the road was so straight and flat that it seemed to go on forever. Over the course of the entire 71-mile route today, I think riders saw maybe 3 stores, until they arrived in Mitchell. It's really desolate out here, but they ARE improving the roads as we were confronted with 2 road closures today.  Both times we were able to get through with the bikes.  One road was gone for about a quarter mile through an overpass construction project and another was a crew putting in a drainage pipe under the highway...they had dug a 10 foot trench across the road.  I thought about bunny hoping it...the workers were taunting, but I resisted the urge to break my neck for their entertainment. 

Our destination today was "a-maize-ing" Mitchell, SD, a little corn crazy prairie town (its radio call letters are KORN) and home to the world's one-and-only Corn Palace.  The citizens of Mitchell built the first Corn Palace in 1892 when some of the early settlers decided to put some of their harvest on rather than in the concrete reinforced building with its dome and four turrets.  Now, every spring, about 20 local residents are contracted to redecorate the exterior of the building with with over 275,000 ears of native South Dakota corn along with native grain and grasses arranged into large murals.  Each color of corn (and they use 11 different color varieties) is grown in separate fields so it won't cross-pollinate by local corn grower extraordinaire, Dean Strand.  One might say it's a large "corn by numbers" project as the pattern is drawn on black roofing paper and is marked with which color goes where to make the design. 

The Corn Palace serves more than just one purpose...it's a tourist draw, it's a huge auditorium for touring celebrities, it's a sports arena for the various Kernels teams, and it's the locus of Corn Palace Week, the high water mark of Mitchell's yearly social calendar.  As a sports arena, it is often referred to as the "Boston Garden of the Midwest."  Corn Palace Week marks the end of the harvest--and the beginning of planning for next year's Palace theme.  The Corn Palace has one more title: World's Largest Bird Feeder. After Corn Palace Week ends and winter sets in, local pigeons, squirrels, and birds make a feast of the murals.

Almost everyone got in early today (some well before noon) and spent the afternoon sightseeing downtown...or eating ice cream (right).  The town has an interesting historical district but mostly it's a tourist trap around the Corn Palace.  This was the first year I have gone to see the inside...interesting...well worth the trip from Astoria to see.

We have only one more day in SD before we have another day off.  I'm ready and I'm sure the riders are too.  Tomorrow we ride to Sioux Falls...See you then.   

 

DID I REALLY SAY THAT?:

"We are the benchmark for the group."
"What do you mean?"
"Well, we're always last to load, last on the road, last to eat...last to just about everything.  If we'd ever show up early for anything, the group would have a coronary thinking they were late."

"Boy, you shouldn't have done that."
"You won't tell Mike will you?"
"No, but I need to tell Barb."
"Oh no!!!  Tell Mike...Please don't tell Barb!"
 

DID I REALLY DO THAT?: The citizens of Pukwana have a sense of humor.  They have signs all over welcoming race fans...you'd think it was a big NASCAR event...but no!

 

and their bar

DID I REALLY SEE THAT?

Lewis and Clark were a little confused at this juncture...that way...no, the arrow says that way.

 

Must have been a good shoe sale!

Whew...glad I have aluminum wheels or I'd have to find another way to go.

Beautiful home on the plain...the manure spreader adds a nice touch to the landscaping.

Penny mentioned to me today that lately she'd been so hungry that even people on the street reminded her of  food.

The farm equipment around here is pretty big...I rode right under this crop sprayer.

Copyright © 2007 by Bamacyclist  
All rights reserved.