We left Peoria around 9:30am on Friday morning and drove to Albert Lea, Minnesota. There we pulled into a KOA campground (usually very nice - this one was) at about 5:00ish after driving ~360 miles. Saturday we were on the road by 7:30 and drove another ~450 miles to Interior, South Dakota (The Badlands!). On our journey we decided to stop at 
the famous Corn Palace, located in Mitchell, SD. The Corn Palace was built in 1892 just three years after SD became a state! Every year murals are made on the sides of the building by cutting ears of corn in half lengthwise and then nailing them to the building. All 13 varieties of corn used to make the different colors in 
the murals are locally grown and the outside murals are changed and redesigned every June! While in the corn shop my Dad felt the desire to have long, red hair... he thought it would be better than bald... Unfortunately, it was a little to "corny' and we convinced him otherwise!
the famous Corn Palace, located in Mitchell, SD. The Corn Palace was built in 1892 just three years after SD became a state! Every year murals are made on the sides of the building by cutting ears of corn in half lengthwise and then nailing them to the building. All 13 varieties of corn used to make the different colors in 
the murals are locally grown and the outside murals are changed and redesigned every June! While in the corn shop my Dad felt the desire to have long, red hair... he thought it would be better than bald... Unfortunately, it was a little to "corny' and we convinced him otherwise! Upon arriving to the Badlands KOA we got settled in, headed into town for dinner, and then called it a night! Sunday started our first day to explore the area. We woke up at 8:30ish (mountain time), listened to Peoria's church service via their new Internet site, and then went to the visitor center to get the scoop. Since it was kind of rainy we drove to the world famous Wall Drug Store located in Wall, 
SD. This store is located in a town of about 800 people and draws 10 - 15 thousand people annually. While there we had to partake of the overly advertised "FREE ICE WATER" and "5 cent Coffee" that we had been seeing signs for during the last 100 miles of our trip. We also had to split o
ne of the "worlds best doughnuts"... it was all pretty good and the shops were fun too! (I found a great sample of petrified wood!!!)
On our drive back we decided to stop and walk around and ran into a prairie dog colony. As you can see, they warmed up to Lex pretty fast... I think she already misses her pets! After Lex got her fill we headed back, made steaks for dinner, and just hung out around a fire. The day time scenery is unbelievable here, but so is the night sky! Tomorrow we are going to take few hikes to see some geology and wildlife!
SD. This store is located in a town of about 800 people and draws 10 - 15 thousand people annually. While there we had to partake of the overly advertised "FREE ICE WATER" and "5 cent Coffee" that we had been seeing signs for during the last 100 miles of our trip. We also had to split o
ne of the "worlds best doughnuts"... it was all pretty good and the shops were fun too! (I found a great sample of petrified wood!!!) On our drive back we decided to stop and walk around and ran into a prairie dog colony. As you can see, they warmed up to Lex pretty fast... I think she already misses her pets! After Lex got her fill we headed back, made steaks for dinner, and just hung out around a fire. The day time scenery is unbelievable here, but so is the night sky! Tomorrow we are going to take few hikes to see some geology and wildlife!
*If you are interested, here is a clip of the prairie dogs interacting... I just got a new camera 3 days before the trip so you should see picture and video quality improving as I read the 198 page manual (I am on page 89 after two nights of reading) Also, we are just learning the "fun" aspects of blogging so quality should improve here as well! ... *
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