Albert Lea, MN to Mitchell, SD June 2014

Friday, June 13, 2014 Today is Friday the 13th and we have a full moon which we won’t see again until August 2049. Check it out tonight! The sun was out in full force this morning—not one cloud in the endless blue sky. The temp was 58 degrees upon waking–Brrr! Thank goodness for heat in the trailer. We had breakfast and were ready to leave by 8:15. The forecast is for light winds this morning, so we wanted to get an early start. I-90 through Minnesota is one long, straight road flanked by farmlands as far as the eye can see. There were many fields of wind generators along this stretch of highway, but they weren’t turning very fast, due to the light winds we were experiencing.

There was very little traffic and few semis on this highway. In fact, there were more RVs than semis. We crossed the border into South Dakota around 11:30.

We checked into our campground, Lake Mitchell Campground, and settled in.

The skies were cloudy now as we took a ride into Mitchell. A trip to South Dakota wouldn’t be complete without a stop at the Corn Palace! We are finally ear! (Get it?)

The Corn Palace is getting a major renovation where the outside will look entirely different. This is how it looks in 2014.

The hostess said that it will take a year to complete it. Normally, it takes about 3 months to redo the outside each year with a different theme. This is how it will look next year when it’s all done.

It’s so cool to see how each of these murals is made with different colored corn cobs. The first picture shows the murals on the outside of the building. The second picture shows one of the many murals on the inside.

The inside displays are permanent, but the gift shop inside is only there for the summer months. Otherwise, they use it as a gymnasium for basketball games, concerts, proms, graduations, and other functions. It’s amazing! Bob and I had some fun in the gift shop! Here he is trying on one of the “corn” hats.

I found this gift for Auggie, but Bob didn’t think he would like it!

We left the Corn Palace and crossed Main Street. This is looking at downtown Mitchell.

We wanted to check out the Indian tacos that were advertised at the Moonlight Bar and Lounge. We tried them years ago and they were very tasty.

We went inside to ask about them and found a really unique oldtime bar. We didn’t stay as it was too early for dinner. We’ll have other opportunities to eat Indian tacos while we’re here in South Dakota. 

We headed back to the campground and took a walk to the lake. Auggie found a groundhog hole and stuck his nose right down in it until his head almost disappeared! Luckily, no one was home!

The campground is located on the southern end of this huge lake. There is boating, swimming, and fishing available. The campers kept filing in all day long….a lot of huge fifth-wheels. It will be a busy weekend. Auggie caught some ZZZZZs after his hike!

We watched the news before dinner. Bob grilled pork chops and we took another walk with Auggie to see how full the campground was tonight. Once it got dark, we checked out the full moon and watched some TV. Tomorrow we’re off to Wall, SD where we’ll spend 2 days in the Badlands. I found this postcard at the Corn Palace that highlights the sights here in South Dakota. We can check off the first one with our visit to the Corn Palace today. 

This is a saying that I absolutely love. I found it in the gift shop. You’ve probably seen it before, but everyone needs to go and find those moments. We hope to experience a lot of those moments on this trip!