Day 26 Friday, July 17th, chamberlin, SD (1900') to Mitchell, SD (1313')

Today I felt very close to home. this area is more like central Illinois than any place we have been so far. Corn.

wheat, and new mown hay waiting to be baled in the fields. Large herds of feeder cattle grazing. we were headed East and the wind was primarily from the North, but we got a little push now and then. Flat roads with no shoulder, again like home and you could see cars coming up behind for miles. I stopped at a store and met the couple operating it. they came to the town of White Lake 25years ago to help her brother who was a

minister. They are still there

running the store/gas station and an adjoining motel which

really only does much business during pheasant season. from him I learned that the adjoining towns re 12 miles apart because in the early days of railroads the tains had no tenders and could only go 12 miles before stopping fr water. And so it was.Kimball at mile 22., white Lake at mile 35.3, Plankinton at mile 46.7 and Mt. Vernon at mile 57.7 and finally (our destination) Mitchell (Home of the Corn Palace) at mile 68.8. Now you have had your History lesson for today. One more day and we have a day off in Sioux Falls. that will give our bodies a chance to recover and heal. We have been on 8 days one off, on 9 days and one off and now 8 more days on the bike, so I think we are all ready for a day off. So far we have gone about 1870 miles. The pictures are Wheat close up, a wheat field of several hundred acres with confinement buildings in the distance, and finally, Sue if you are following the last picture is for Joe. All green, all John Deere, combine, tractor and one very large grain wagon. On the edge of town there was a huge IH dealership and then a equally large John Deere dealership. I think Tom will jump on now and give you his impression of the Corn Palace.

Tom says: Ken has already thoroughly covered the ride today, so I'll add only a couple of thoughts: after climbing out of the Missouri River valley at Chamberlain this morning, it seems we had clearly left the West and entered the Midwest. I took no images enroute because the scenery was so like Illinois. The only western thing I remember seeing was a small group of buffalo running together amongst horses and cattle behind a fence. The corn fields are very much like Illinois, and, by the way, are very welcome sights when nature calls!

Speaking of corn, the Corn Palace seems to be Mitchell's claim to fame. I paid it a visit and attened a couple of explanatory tours. It was initially built to differentiate Mitchell from neighboring towns and thereby attract more industry and growth. The first palace was built soon after Mitchell's founding. All the art work in these images is made from corn and corn products and they are designed by local artists. This is "don't miss" Americana if one is in Mitchell.

The palace or assembly hall is the site of many big name performances and it's a great honor for high school basketball teams to play here.