Our South Dakota Adventure

First of all, I have to split this adventure up into more than one entry. Second, I know I said I would write more often, but we did not have internet service while we were gone. When we came home, the service here at the campground was really slow. We had some really nasty weather for a couple of days. Most people were inside and on their computers. Tom had a pretty hard time downloading pictures. When he got up this morning he did them in a few minutes.
Today has been a beautiful fall day. The only thing that was bad about today was that Penn State lost. The Mets won, though, so 1 out of 2 isn't bad.So, back to the adventure....
We took off last Saturday for South Dakota. Tom and I are now citizens of the State of Great Faces and Great Places. Many RVers become citizens there. There are many good tax advantages, among other reasons. There are no state inspections, drivers' licenses cost $8.00 every 5 years, and there is no state income tax. Those are just some of the reasons. We did this all in Madison. It took only about a half hour to change the plates on the Tracker, and about the same to get our drivers' licenses the next day. Very quick and easy. Emily's plates will come later. After all that, we went over to Mitchell, S.D. The home of the Corn Palace. As you will see in the pictures, all of the murals on the outside of the Palace are made from different colors of corn, with other grains to add texture. Tom got some really good pics to show you. There are a few of those tourist trap shops that we all love to visit, and we ate in a saloon. The sandwiches were pretty good, and they gave a nice pile of fries to go with it.
While we were in the Palace, they were in the midst of a Polka Rally. The clubs were having the parade of flags , so we stopped to watch. After the U.S. flag came in, in came the Canadian flag, South Dakota, Poland, and the flag of the club. Then all of the state flags came in in alphabetical order. The folks carrying them bowed to the U.S. flag and went on. The polka band played patriotic songs in the background. When they were done, they formed a horseshoe. We sang the Star Spangled Banner, and then they retired the colors. It was nice to see. Out in the hallway they have state books. Tom found the Pennsylvania book and singed our names. We bought a couple of things for Connor in the gift shop, I bought a pair of earrings (turquiose and gold flecks) and we were on our way.
Our next stop was to an archaeological site. It was the site which was an old Indian village thousands of years ago. We went in and paid the small fee, and signed the book. I was really surprised to see the name just above mine was Joyce Roberts. That's my Mom's name. I knew for sure she was in New York State. It was weird. We went on a short walking tour of the facility, and then went into the building where the digging was done. It was really interesting to see how they go about finding what they find, and how they take such care, and what they do with it all. It was well worth the trip out to the site.
On back to the campground we went. We stayed at Lake Herman State park. It was quiet, with large sites. We were just about by ourselves. There was only one other camper there after Sunday afternoon. It was chilly, but really nice. Right next to the State Park was a little place called Prairie Village. We would have liked to go there, but it was closed after Labor Day. We did see a little old engine, but not much else. I'm sure it would have been a great place to see.
Tom will post the pictures later. The rest of the trip will be posted tomorrow.
http://picasaweb.google.com/tnank101/TheCornPalace
http://picasaweb.google.com/tnank101/PrehistoricIndianVillageDig