Day 10: Omaha, Nebraska to Mission, South Dakota

I dropped my mom off at the Omaha Airport this morning around 7:45, so I got an early start on the road. My plan leaving Omaha was to cross back over into Council Bluffs, Iowa, and then take the Loess Hills National Scenic Byway, which crosses through some hills in western Iowa. I got a little mixed up getting out of Omaha, though, so I had to use a little intuition to finally find my way. The Scenic Byway was a little difficult to follow; it is not one specific road, but is a path through the hills over various county roads and state highways, which aren't very well marked as being part of the bypass. It wasn't too much trouble to follow, though, and the hills and farmland were very beautiful in the morning light. Originally I had planned on making this my entire drive today, but at 10:30 I was almost to Sioux City, which was my last stop in Iowa. At this point I started to seriously consider finishing out the drive today.

The only place I stopped to take a picture along the Scenic Byway was not very scenic; this is Onawa, Iowa, home of the widest main street int the world according to the signs. My grandfather (is that right, Mom?) grew up here. I probably should have taken a picture as I rolled into town, because that would have been a lot more attractive. It was typical, flat Midwestern farmland.

I lost track of the Byway in Onawa, so I took the insterstate direct to Sioux City. I decided to get off in Sioux City to have a bit of a look around, but there wasn't a whole lot of interest. The AAA book said there was an overlook in a state park outside of town from which you could see Nebraska, Iowa, and South Dakota, so I wanted to check that out. I found the park, but I never found the overlook.

A different overlook at the park, with a view of the Missouri and Sioux River Valleys.

Coming out of Sioux City, I decided not to take the interstate, but just continued on some backroads for a while north before cutting to the west. I crossed over to South Dakota in the middle of nowhere. As soon as I crossed the border, though, the road conditions became terrible.

Crossing in to my new home state. Check out the ruts on that road.

My next stop was Sioux Falls, South Dakota. With a population of 120,000, it is the largest city in the state. This was orginally going to be my resting place for the night, but since I got into town at 12:30, that seemed pretty pointless. I was pretty unexcited by Sioux Falls at first; my first stop was the mall, where the visitor information center was located. I don't like malls. Then I ate lunch downtown at a restaurant listed in an old book my parents had given me. The food was okay, but the place was a bit fancier than I expected, so I felt a bit out of place in my ratty t-shirt, dining alone.

After lunch I checked out the Visual Art Center at the Washington Pavilion of Arts and Sciences. The exhibits were touch-and-go; some of the art was terrible, but some of it was pretty good. There was one exhibit on loan from the collection of contemporary Indian art at the Red Cloud School, which is in Pine Ridge, so that was interesting to see.

Sioux Falls also has a pretty nice downtown for pedestrians. It might be worth coming back for a weekend if I need a refresher.

I would say that the highlight of Sioux Falls is Falls Park, which is very well maintained. This is a view of the falls and the park from the observation tower.

Up closer to the falls.

Leaving Sioux Falls, I took I-90 across the state. I-90 is the mother road, straight west across the state, linking coast to coast. I was talking to my sister the other day, and she asked if I was enjoying the flatness of Iowa. It wasn't actually flat then, but once I hit eastern South Dakota, it sure was. Corn as far as the eye could see.

A little bit after getting onto I-90, I passed these giant strawberries. I wasn't sure what they were until i got by them and read on the side "Berry Go Round." I guess it is some kind of ride. Later I stopped in Mitchell to check out the Corn Palace (see below). As I was walking out of the Palace, the Berry Go Round pulled by me in downtown Mitchell. I guess it was coming to town for the Corn Palace Festival.

The corn palace is a South Dakota classic; it is decorated in designs constructed entirely out of cobs of corn. There are 12 different varities used, allowing a palatte of 12 colors. The less elaborate portions are decorated with straw. The design changes every year; this year, as you can see, the theme is Rodeo. Apparently they light the place up at night, which would be pretty cool to see.

Inside there is a basketball court. LeAnn Rimes is going to be playing here in a few days for the Corn Palace Festival that I mentioned; too bad I missed that.

A close-up of one of the designs inside. If you look closely you will get some idea of how the corn cobs work.

Also in Mitchell is the Prehistoric Indian Village and Museum. Not nearly as many people seemed interested in the Indian Village, so I had the museum mostly to myself. I didn't stay too long, since I wanted to get on the road and back on the reservation, but it was pretty impressive. At the end of my tour I got to try throwing this special kind of spear that the prehistoric Indians used.

This is the archeodome, which you can go inside. It houses an actual archeological dig at the site.

The dig inside the dome.

My next stop after Mitchell was Al's Desert Oasis in Oacoma. The great thing about driving across South Dakota, besides the landscape--which I am actually really growing to love--is the billboards, which will advertise a place from miles away. The model is Wall Drug, a drug store that advertised so effectively that it turned itself into a tourist attraction. I saw signs for Wall Drug starting in Iowa. I first decided to stop at Al's Oasis back in July, when I drove out to Aberdeen for the coaching clinic and I saw so many advertisements that I broke down and knew I had to go.
You see signs like this for hundres of miles.

The place basically consists of a restaurant, a really tacky gift store, and a grocery store, all behind these faux-Western storefronts. None of them were particularly impressive, but somehow I am still glad I stopped.

A view of the Missouri River, across the street from Al's Oasis. The view of the river from the highway was actually really dramatic; I came down a hill and then suddenly the river opened up in front of me. This picture doesn't at all do it justice.

From Al's Oasis it was 2 hours to Mission. I arrived around 8:30. I'm crashing with my friend and former roommate Russ for the night, since I don't have a key to my house yet. Tomorrow it's an easy hour drive to Wanblee, and then time to get cracking.

South Dakota landscape in the early evening, as seen from a highway rest stop.