Corn Palace in South Dakota, and Omaha

On our way to Corn Palace, and about an hour after leaving the Deadwood area, we suddenly realized we were passing a "Dances with Wolves" film set - a fort on the side of the road. I can't remember which one, and I'm not willing to watch the movie again, to find out. Maybe you'll recognize it from the picture... (I didn't love the movie - sorry! I am sorry for those of you who may have. If you really want to know why, I can tell you.)

Anyway - we didn't go look at the film set. I'm not a fan.

Besides, I was really anxious to get to The Corn Palace, in Mitchell SD! I mean - how can that not be intriguing!? It is, after all, the World's One and Only Corn Palace... (as per the Visit Mitchell website.)

I guess it's ridiculous to assume that someone just shows up every year with a wheelbarrow full of corn, and makes a picture by gluing corn on the side of the building and hoping for the best!

In actual fact, a local farmer grows all of the corn (12 different colors), the design team (The Corn Palace Committee) starts discussing and planning the theme months in advance, a local artist designs the mural and numbers each section according to the color of the corn, draws it onto black roofing paper, which is nailed to the wall, and then a design team nails the corn to the wall, according to the number scheme. (It's a new display every year, and the old one stays in place until they are ready to put up the new mural, at the end of August.)

Interesting. Although I was kidding about the wheelbarrow full of corn and the glue, it's still much more complicated that I originally imagined.

Originally called The Corn Belt Exposition, the tradition of the Corn Palace was established in 1892, when the farmers would display their harvest on the building to "prove the fertility of South Dakota soil." In 1921, the first festival was held at this current existing building.

As if Corn Palace isn't enough! We had the fortunate timing of visiting

Mitchell while they were doing repair work on their streets. Really, it is a pretty good idea, isn't it? to cover the fresh tar with biodegradable toilet paper, so the tar doesn't get stuck to your car!? I can't believe I've never seen this anywhere before!! BRILLIANT!

After we left Mitchell, we went over the state line into Nebraska, just to cross Nebraska off our list of places we hadn't been before. The plan was: Go to Nebraska, and do a U-turn, and come straight back out, travel across the bottom of South Dakota, through corn fields, to Iowa, and then take the I-80 across to Winterset (where the Bridges of Madison County are - this was after choosing to go to the Bridges instead of crossing across Minnesota to see the Jolly Green Giant - and we chose the Bridges, because they are old and could, potentially, fall down..over time, and we could miss our chance to see them at all!)

However, what ACTUALLY happened was: The car died. We made it safely through the corn fields (which was a relief since we passed absolutely nobody the entire time we were out in those cornfields.) The car died somewhere around the Junction of Highway 29 and Interstate 80..about 5 miles before the junction, the car completely died. So, after refilling the transmission oil, we decided to do what you are supposed to do - don't go forward, go back to where you last saw civilization - which was about a mile back at an old gas station.

When we got there, Peter wanted to see underneath the car, so he - I don't really know how to explain this - but he drove into the curb so that the car popped up and the front wheels were on the curb and the back wheels were on the dirt... so it was lifted up and he could see underneath.

Once we got the car back on the road, and turned onto the I-80, there saw a sign that said: "Next gas station, 140 miles." Yes, that DID seem adventurous, but Peter was pretty much finished with adventure that day, so we started to consider a Plan B.

On the side of the road, we decided to call U-Haul, and see about renting a little truck, camping in it, and returning it on the other side of the country. $3000!!!!! THAT was the quote!! and we had to be there (in Council Bluffs in 6 minutes.)

$3000 seemed like a lot, so we decided, instead, to just rent a car, and since we were passing a sign that said "Omaha Airport" - that seemed like a good start!! Not having "Google" back then, we didn't really know who to call, but just then! out of nowhere, I remembered the jingle to "1-800-go-Alamo"!

This is kinda crazy because we had never actually rented with Alamo before, but you know how some things seem to just work out too wonderfully? well!

THIS is amazing AND, though it was a long time ago now, has always been one of my favorite memories.

1) when I called (thanks to modern technology - even though we didn't have Internet on the cell phones yet, we DID have a cell phone!!), the man from the call center transferred me to the Omaha location, so that the nice man at the Alamo airport location could talk to me as we drove in - "about now, you should be passing a trailer park up on the hill" - and we were!!!

2) when we arrived in the airport, we passed a few car rental locations we had previously used, and actually went over to get quotes, even though the Alamo guy was holding a reservation for us.

3) the Alamo guy could see us meandering through the airport, getting quotes, and knew (somehow) we were the people with whom he'd been talking

4) the Alamo guy was very helpful about finding a tow truck to come pull our disposable car out of the parkade... but, as we were trying to figure out what to do and how to do it, with the car disposal issue, Peter said, "Unless, of course, you know someone who wants a 1984 Ford Marquis". He said, "A WHAT?? No! I don't need a car, BUT - HOLD ON!! FRANKLIN!!"

Franklin came out from the back, and the Alamo guy said, "These people have a 1984 Marquis to give you, if you want it...?"

OH GOODNESS! Franklin started to cry. Apparently, he was a new father, in the less affluent part of Omaha, and was having a really hard time getting to work and transporting his family around, and had just been saying "if only he could afford to get a car" and happened to (of all the craziest things!) love the Ford Marquis. (Seriously! I am NOT making that up!!)

We sold it to him for the appropriate $1, and threw in all of the stuff we couldn't fit in the rental - including the remaining transmission fluid and a barbecue (remember, we were camping.) (Also, he'd be driving inner-city, so, as you recall, it was fine under 30 miles (50 kms) per hour. He might never even need the transmission fluid.)

By the time we were driving away in our rental car, he was leaving to go home to show his wife his new car ...

How ironic, too, that I planned to avoid Nebraska, except that little trip in and out that we made earlier, for the sole purpose of crossing it off The List  - only to have one of my best memories of all time, take place BACK in Nebraska a few hours later!!!

...

With a brand new and fast car, we headed off in record speed to Winterset, to see the Covered Bridges!! More on Sunday.

PS. It looks like the first Iditarod musher is coming in Nome maybe today. Mitch Seavey (who I didn't mention, I don't think...?) He's an Iditarod icon - his whole family has participated in the Iditarod - his dad, his sons, and him. As a family, they've had over 30 Iditarod finishes. THIS year, his son, Dallas, is currently 4th.

Right on his heels (according to an 8pm report for March 12th, 24 minutes behind.), is Aliy Zirkle. HER website tells us: "In 2000 she was the first and only woman ever to win the Yukon Quest -- "The World's Toughest Sled Dog Race." Including her first Iditarod in 2001, Aliy has completed the 1,000+ mile race tweleve consecutive years. In 2005 and 2011 she received the Iditarod's "Humanitarian Award" for supreme care of her dog team. Her best finish was 2nd place in 2012."

(Addendum, 8 hours after publishing this blog: Not only did Mitch & Aliy finish the race (and, it seems, probably around the time I was typing, they were coming into Nome), but 9 others also did! Congratulations to all the finishers!)

Chimney Rock, Car Henge, and Mexican "food" in Alliance

So, last post (December 2), I interrupted our Big Ball of String roadtrip to go see ZooLights Calgary! But, the post before that (November 28), I was trying to get to Chimney Rock, Nebraska...

 

Chimney Rock was a landmark along the Oregon Trail (also The Mormon Trail and the California Trail.)

 

Back in the Pioneer days, they say the Spire could be seen for approximately 40 miles. Since the people had been travelling who-knows-how long, over flat, flat ground, it was probably a huge relief to see Chimney Rock! At least, they'd know that they weren't going in circles!! (Or, I suppose, they'd know they WERE going in circles, if they passed it more than once...)
 

There is discrepancy about the height, and it seems to depend on who measures it, and when, due to, in part, erosion. The marker says that it's 470 feet above the North Platte River Valley and 325 feet from tip to base, and another report also includes that it's 120 feet for the spire.
http://www.historyglobe.com/ot/chimneyrock.htm

 

Many 19th century accounts stated that Chimney Rock was losing its height due to erosion. But some measurements recorded back then are very close to the modern measurement of 325 feet from tip to base and 120 feet for the spire.

 

You can visit the Chimney Rock National Historic Site & Visitor Center - the information is found at
http://www.nebraskahistory.org/sites/rock/.
(I recommend you also go to the "More Information on Chimney Rock" link once you are in the like I've included...for additional information...)

I can't find anything about rules about hiking up to Chimney Rock...either rules against, or information for.. I suppose if you go to the Visitor Center, you can ask there!
 

We left there, and headed north towards Alliance. (The decision to go north to Alliance instead of east towards Cheyenne was confirmed when we found out that 1) Cheyenne had a weather warnings - hail & flooding, and
2) Alliance has Car Henge!)
 

 

Alliance turned out to be a very interesting town, full of character people approximately 8500, according to the 2010 census.)

 

For example, we went for Mexican food (I've decided not to tell where...If ever you go to Alliance, and want to know where not to go, you can email me privately. I wasn't going to talk about it at all, except that it really was part of the experience!) We asked around and were recommended this place and we were excited! You may recall (blog November 11, 2012) - we are always searching for the best Mexican food. This was not it.

 

For starters, almost the entire back page of the menu was different kinds of yummy drinks, but when I ordered a margarita, it turns out that they didn't have a liquor license...

 

Also, my enchiladas had what, I can only guess, might be melted processed cheese...and Peter's chili relleno was a burrito, with something kind of runny and brown (it was not mole).

 

I would've been horribly disappointed, BUT, THEN! The man from the table beside us (probably about 30-35 years old), finished his dinner, took out his teeth and wiped them on his jeans!

YES HE DID!! You can't beat that for ambiance!!! It was so gross and so intriguing at the same time! that I felt the entire experience was a success!!

(Speaking of Mexican food - in the November 11th blog, I did mention Paloma, as far as Mexican food in Calgary and we did go and it was pretty yummy!!! I had chicken enchiladas with mole.

http://www.palomamexicanrestaurant.ca/en/

Also, I remembered that I actually really enjoyed the enchiladas and ambiance at Salt & Peppers, La Cantina, in Inglewood, in Calgary - I forgot about it (I'm sorry!!) but I was there on a cool but sunny day in the May or June, and it was great! Also, they supplied Mexican blankets for those of us that insisted on sitting on the patio. http://www.saltnpepper.ca/)

 

The biggest claim-to-fame, as far as I'm concerned, for Alliance was Car Henge. Apparently, Car Henge has been voted the "No. 2 Wackiest Attraction" in the United States. Yes, it did make me instantly wonder what was the first wackiest - by this report, it's in San Antonio, Texas.  (http://www.1011now.com/news/headlines/64481802.html).

 

 Car Henge is a 38 car replica of Stone Henge...I guess it claims to be similar dimensions, but I will have to take their word for it, since I've yet to go to Stone Henge.. This was a cool sight, though. AND, apparently, if you want to, you can plant your own car on the Car Art Reserve area... hmm...

(http://www.carhenge.com/about_us.htm)

 

The history of Alliance is pretty interesting! Apparently, it was founded in 1888, and it's growth was partly due to the railroads coming in, and partly settled because land was free. They also gave land away to soldiers who'd served in the Civil War. Alot of history followed (you can read all about it at http://www.cityofalliance.net/DocumentView.aspx?DID=128) and it seems to be summed up in a "slow but sure" sort of way...always steady.  

One of my favorite parts of the article is when it talks about needing school teachers - actually, here's the quote from the article - no sense in summarizing it: "The schools and churches started in Grand Lake were continued in Alliance and were joined by more. One of the areas worst problems was created with the need for teachers. The school board soon discovered any young female was quickly married. For a time, school boards even publicized in Eastern newspapers for young women of plain and homely countenance to come West and teach. But even the less beautiful married quickly. Frustrated school boards then hit upon another solution. Contracts often included a clause preventing a teacher from marrying for two years. For its time, a restrictive but necessary clause."

 

...To quote Forrest Gump: "That's all I have to say about that." (Not true - I have so much more to say, but probably you are all thinking anything I could say anyway...and if you aren't, you would be thinking it, if you'd been to Alliance.)
Speaking of "characters" - on to Crazy Horse Monument on Sunday!!



Nebraska, The Cornhusker State

Are you sick of me talking about the heat? The day we arrived in Council Bluffs, Iowa, the thermometer in our car registered 110 degrees Fahrenheit (43.3 degrees Celsius)! - of course, that was in a parking lot, after the car had sat for a bit (the store, Camping World, let us bring the puppies into the store with us), but that's HOT!!! We were tired. We were sick of the heat. We were on our way home and wishing we were already there. (Now, as I write this, it's winter, and it's cold & snowing, and I can't remember what I was complaining about in the summer...no...I remember ... I love summer, but I'm like Goldilocks - "too hot, too cold, just right".)
 

Last time we were in Nebraska, we were on a one way road trip from Calgary to Halifax (mentioned in my Jolly Green Giant blog, Oct. 17, 2012). We went into Nebraska just to say we were there, and I bought a postcard IN Nebraska that says on the back: "There's a reason it's called a plain state. Road-weary pioneers just gave up and stayed."

 

But, despite the intriguing sales pitch, I read somewhere that there was, in fact, a "Big Ball of String" reason to go to Nebraska - Chimney Rock.

 

We stayed at the West Omaha KOA (http://koa.com/campgrounds/west-omaha/), and I got caught up on laundry. (I have had interesting visits with other travellers in the laundry rooms at the KOA's. The people in this one were reading a murder mystery romance book out loud, to pass the time. I was torn between leaving the laundry room (which was like a sauna) and staying and listening to the story!! I did leave, though, because, for one thing, I realized that I wouldn't get to hear the end anyway...and the other compelling reason is that we were having pizza delivered.)

 

Yes! Made-to-order pizza and delivery is actually something that THAT particular KOA offered/offers! It was great! (Technically, I was right beside the kitchen when I was doing laundry, and could've picked it up, but didn't want to miss out on the experience of having the pizza delivered to the Airstream!

 

That night, a miracle happened. The temperature dropped to a tolerable mid-90's range. It was aMAZing!!! Who could've guessed that one of the biggest highlights of a 8000+ km road trip was going to be the temperature cooling down!!

 

That morning, we headed west - towards Chimney Rock. First things first, though - with "cooler" temperatures, we celebrated by finding the closest Starbucks, which happened to be in Lincoln, Nebraska. The one we chose had no parking, but we didn't care - Peter circled the block while I picked up our coffee. Mmmmmmmmm. (I had a venti white mocha with a shot of raspberry.)

 

I had no expectations of the drive across Nebraska, and to tell the truth, we had planned to go through South Dakota and decided to go across Nebraska as sort of a whim, when we saw "Chimney Rock" in a brochure I picked up at a gas station, so I hadn't researched it properly.

I was very excited to discover that somewhere around Kearney, NE, we were on the Pony Express Route! (Which is also the Oregon Trail, the Mormon Trail, and the California Trail!!) http://www.ponyexpressdoc.com/pages/the-pony-express

 

The first interesting place that we passed was the Great Platte River Road Archway, somewhere near Kearney. The Archway pays tribute to the pioneers who travelled along that route from 1843 to 1869, highlighting their perseverance and determination. (We didn't stop, and I had to Google it, to find out what it is...but a piece of history I hadn't expected to see out there! http://www.archway.org/)

 

The next place we came across was an original Pony Express Station, in Gothenburg. In its hay-day, it was actually at another area in Gothenburg, but was moved to a new location (Ehman Park) in 1931. It is now a museum and a post office, so OF COURSE, I had to mail myself a Pony Express postcard from the Station! (They have a leather mail bag hanging on the wall beside the door, into which you just drop your mail.)


For those of you who don't know all about the Pony Express, the link above is pretty informative, but if you don't have time to look it up, here's a few details in summary:

 

The Pony Express was a relay system of horses and their riders, who carried mail from St. Joseph, Missouri to Sacramento, California (and back again), from April 1860 through October 1861. It was the fastest way to deliver mail at that time, taking an average of 10 days from one end to the other (almost 2000 miles), but the fastest time recorded was 7 days, 13 hours, and carried Abraham Lincoln's first inaugural address. Riders typically rode 75-100 miles before another rider took over, and horses usually were changed out every 10-15 miles.

 

There were between 100-200 Pony Express Stations enroute (I've read "over 100", "approximately 165" and "184 stations" - so, I don't really know) ~ this is one of them!

After that, and back out on the highway, we passed a sign for Buffalo Bill Ranch...

 

Technically, I "know" about Buffalo Bill (who's real name is William F. Cody), but not really. Apparently, he's mostly famous because of his acting troupe "Buffalo Bill's Wild West" (which is portrayed in the movie Hidalgo http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0317648/), which performed all over the US and Europe.

 

A few other things for which he is known:

• He got his nickname because he killed over 4,000 buffalo within 18 months (so says reports), apparently for food for the Kansas Pacific Railroad workers (1867-1868)
• He was a Pony Express rider when he was around 14 years old, in 1860
• He was an advocate for Women's Rights, including the right to vote. In 1898, he's quoted as saying: "Set [it] down in big black type that Buffalo Bill favors woman’s suffrage.…Mind you, I believe in marriage and children and home, but I’m not one of the kind that think that God made women to do nothing but sit at home in the ashes and tend to babies...If a woman can do the same work that a man can do and do it just as well she should have the same pay."
• Although he was involved in the Indian Wars, he had a high regard for the Indian tribes around him and credited them with fighting to protect their families and ways of life. He was close friends with many - in fact, when Sitting Bull was introduced to the US people, Buffalo Bill was always beside him. Chief Red Fox is quoted as saying after Buffalo Bill had died: "In my imagination, I can see his noble spirit winging over the lofty peak, and I bow my head in memory of one who always impressed me with kindness and compassion, and enriched me with the deeply entrenched integrity of his character."
• Guest starring on his show "Buffalo Bill's Wild West" (and/or personal friends of his) include the likes of: Sitting Bull, Annie Oakley, Wild Bill Hickok (who was shot & killed in Deadwood - the subject of a future blog, since we did visit his grave site on the previously mentioned 1-way roadtrip of 2005), and Gustave Eiffel (who designed the Eiffel Tower!!!)

There are thousands of articles about him, and I just read probably...30, but here's a couple... http://www.biography.com/people/buffalo-bill-cody-9252268 and http://www.buffalobill.org/

After all of that...I know you'll be shocked to know that we didn't even stop at the Buffalo Bill Ranch. Another regret, but I didn't know what we were missing. We'll have to go back. Hopefully, we'll just be passing that way - I don't think I want to make a special trip to Nebraska. (That being said, this was my 3rd time in the State, and thought I'd only be there once, for 2 minutes, just to say "I've been there".)

 

I feel that I've talked enough today. I really thought we'd make it all the way to Chimney Rock, but I didn't realize I'd have so much to talk about!

 

So, Sunday! We'll start with Chimney Rock!