On Sunday we went to Mitchell, South Dakota, to see the Corn Palace. The Corn Palace is covered in corn, along with rye milo, oat heads, and sour dock (whatever that is). This year's theme is transportation through the ages, so there are large murals on the building made with corn that depict planes, wagons, cars, motorcycles, etc., etc. It sounds kind of hokey--and it is--but it's also extremely well done and quite stunning. Google it and you'll see what I mean. It was started in the 1880s by the townspeople to help boost Mitchell, and it's been famous ever since. Every year the old designs are stripped off and new designs are done. The town has quite a festival doing it. We missed it by a week. There are corn murals inside the building, but because they're not exposed to the elements, they have to be changed only every 15 years. Inside the building is an arena that hosts big-name entertainment, basketball games, proms, and who knows what else. Don't miss it on your trip to South Dakota. We overnighted in Albert Lea, Minnesota.
This morning, in Albert Lea, we walked along one of Minnesota's 10,000 lakes, then headed to Austin, MN, to the SPAM Museum. Another great spot. Everybody makes fun of SPAM (and Hormel acknowledges that), but it's a hugely successful product all over the world. They make 21,000 cans of the stuff every hour to keep up with demand. During WWII, Hormel supplied SPAM to the troops in such quantities that they ate it for virtually every meal. So they started to make fun of its ubiquity. And it's been the butt of jokes ever since. But people keep eating it. We watched a video of a Korean chef using it in a recipe with kimchee. A very sophisticated, fun museum.
We're now in Madison, Wisconsin. On the way, we rode along the Mississippi River and watched some boats go through one of the locks. Very cool. Tomorrow we head for Milwaukee to walk in the footsteps of Laverne and Shirley.
I have been thinking that I would share some random impressions of the trip on this blog after I get home, but I know I'll forget them by then, or simply be too lazy to post them. So I'll start now, as I think of them. In no particular order or level of importance:
- We continue to meet people with connections to where we live. I mentioned the guy in Montana (or was it Wyoming?) with the Upper Marlboro t-shirt. The clerk in the SPAM Museum who was born in DC and lived in Bowie. The guy in the hunting equipment store in Montana whose daughter lives in Annapolis. And many more examples.
- Somewhere in east Texas we began to see huge hay farms. Huge stocks of it piled neatly in shed-like enclosures. Lots of hay throughout the Southwest, up the Pacific coast, through Washington, Montana, Wyoming, and most of South Dakota. It wasn't until we reached eastern SD that we started to see corn. Now, in Wisconsin, we see corn everywhere. But it doesn't compare to the hay we've seen.
- The thickest regional accent we heard was in Mobile, AL. But after that they pretty much disappeared.
- At the end of the day, it's easier to drive east than it is to drive west. Then sun is a killer when you're coming down a mountain and you're blinded at every hairpin turn.
- Gas is considerably more expensive in California and the Northwest than it is in the rest of the country.
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