OH, WHAT A CORNY BLOG!

Nope, there are no corny jokes here.  But you will find a lot of corn!  Black corn, red corn, brown corn, white, yellow corn.                                                     Don't let all the corn fool you.  None of the corn is edible.  It is used to cover the face of a Corn Palace.  

Where are we?  Mitchell, South Dakota at the world's only Corn Palace, a uniquely American folk art icon built in 1892.

There are murals on the inside walls of the basketball court. These murals depict the life and times of South Dakota. 

CORN BY NUMBER DECORATING:   

Each year, the exterior of the building is stripped of the previous year's murals in preparation for the coming fall's introduction to new scenes.    

Over the summer, three thousands bushels of rye, oat heads and sour dock are tied in bundles, attached as the frames of the murals.

A blueprint drawing is made of the planned mural.  It is then transferred to a panel on the exterior of the building where ears of the proper color are attached to the blueprint.  Each element of the picture has a color code.  

All summer long, visitors can watch the murals being transformed before their eyes. 

Here are some of the murals that were completed by the time we visited Mitchell. 

As you travel through South Dakota, Mitchell and it's Corn Palace is a place that you will want to visit.  After listening to the informational video, we had a new perspective of the palace and Mitchell.

Thanks to all who have purchased their goodies through our blog, at no extra expense to the buyer.

Until next time, God bless!     

VISITING FALLS PARK, SOUTH DAKOTA

Saturday found surrounded by many of the first buildings built in Sioux Falls. We were making our way to the one hundred twenty acre Falls Park, the major destination for recreation in Sioux Falls, South Dakota. 

Upon entering the park, we were greeted on this gorgeous sunny day by a Bison.  Nooo, not real, but the detail in this piece of artwork is to be admired.  This animal is truly "the monarch of the plains."

After hearing the roar of water falling off cliffs for quite some time, we had our first glimpse of the falls.  What a pretty sight! I wanted to try to take photos of the falls from every possible angle, so I had plenty of exercise walking it perimeter. 

From a distance, we could see visitors streaming over the falls on a trestle.  Thinking that it was for pedestrians, we inched our way toward and up onto the trestle.  Discovering that trains traversed this route, we were hesitant to continue. But we did since we were midway.  I would never do it again now that we saw a "No Trespassing" sign at the end.  Thank goodness it was Saturday and the train was not running.  

This was our view, from the trestle, of the Big Sioux River flowing toward the falls .  

 Now, we are finally off the trestle and on the other side of the river.  

Located throughout Sioux Falls are bronze statues.  The statues range from animals to soldiers, children, and even one replica of the Statue of David as seen in Italy.  

Two that we saw in the park were the Pledge Allegiance and the Farmer.   

web photos

 It has been along day of walking the Falls.  Oliver, Olivia, John and I thoroughly enjoyed ourselves and I got to achieve my mileage goal.  

Thanks for joining us on our remembrance tour of Falls Park. Tomorrow, we will visit the Old Courthouse Museum of Sioux Falls and Indian Art.  

Many of you have shared that you are now able to make Amazon purchases through our blog and we thank you for those purchases.  No purchase is to large or too small.  

Till next time....God bless!

AS THE WHEELS TURN........WE MAKE PROGRESS DAILY

Paul gets the ball rolling

Wednesday, December 12.... 12.12.12  We arrive at Alternative Resources and was greeted by Paul, the fearless leader of AR. 

We how have a Sioux Falls, S. D. address!   

The two front office workers were constantly busy answering the phones.  Many questions come in and courteous answers go out!  

It is beginning to look a lot like Christmas at Alternative Resources!  

I was surprised to see how many people use their mail forwarding services.  

U. S. diplomats get their mail from the United States by using a mail forwarding company.  I guess we are in good company. 

Karen at Alternative Resources

Our thanks goes out to all the bloggers that suggested A.R.  

We had a couple of glitches, but with Karen's help and a few cell phone calls back to Indiana and Kentucky, where we purchased our Tiffin), things began to work out.  

Faxes raced from South Dakota, to Indiana, Kentucky and Georgia.  Questions were quickly answered and we will receive our license plates and registration in the mail soon.  

Goodbye Snow!  California, we Are on Our Way

We obtained our driver's license with our ugly mug shots and off we went.  We told the campground they could keep the snow and left for warmer climes.  

  

The Natives are Restless

The trip back into Iowa, Nebraska then to Oklahoma was uneventful.  Maybe I should say boring?  You can see here that Noah and Olivia were so bored that a dog, cat wrestling match entertained John and I.  

The highlight of the drive?  Wind.  It was trying to push us back to South Dakota, but we prevailed.  We were in search of sunshine, warm air and palm trees.

Achoo!

But first, we had to drive through Texas!  Texas has many dust storms.  Dust can make your throat dry and you can sneeze over and over!  Excuse me, Bless you were the words most spoken.

Horizon meets the ground....dust storm

At one point, it seemed to be clear, but we could not see the sky ahead.  The dusty camouflaged the sky and horizon.  

We took Sunday off.  John stayed in all day and the only times I went out was to take the Oliver and Olivia out to do their duties.  The wind was so bad that they did not want to be out there any more than I.  I did learn to use the motorhome as a  wind break.  Now that made life more pleasant.  

Got Gas?

The rigs drilling for natural gas were doing their work, but  We seemed to be too far north to see any oil rigs.  

We have seen a few of these in Southern Indiana.  

Our first day in New Mexico offered contrast to our travels.  I enjoy the diversity our country has to offer.  Diversity not only in scenery, but also people.   

It seems the construction of the interstate almost destroyed this little building.  I am so glad that it did not.  This picture does not do it justice. 

We drove later than usual Monday.  It was dark and we could see lights across the horizon.  I kept trying to remember the name of a movie that had a scene similar.  

When we pulled into Roswell, New Mexico and saw all the UFO hype in business windows and on the marquee of the theater

Has Anyone Seen ET in Roswell, NM?

Artwork at Underpasses near Roswell, NM

Roswell, New Mexico was a hoot!  Their movie theater is named the UFO.  Wal Mart welcomes their guests with artwork of space creatures.    Alien artwork even graced the underpasses of the interstate.  I never did see ET though.

Leaving Roswell sent us in search of White Sands National Monument Tuesday morning.  

Desert White Sands in the Horizon-miles and miles away.

Again, across the horizon I saw this white line. Neither John nor I could decide if it was Desert White Sands. 

Visitor's Center Sign

We toured the visitor's center, read the information on display, then decided to drive loop tour of the dunes. 

Desert White Sands National Monument

The visitor's center was educational.  The volunteer was eager to answer our questions and guide us to the places that she considered essential to see on the tour.  

The Dunes of  White Sands New Mexico

White Sand tries to Occupy the Road

The Dunes

Adaptable Vegetation in White Sands

More Dunes

White Sands New Mexico

What a Beautiful Place

Wind Blown Dunes Through Streaky Windshield

White Sand as Far as The Eye Can See

Wind's Art in the Sand

Plants and wild life have, over the years adapted to the harsh living conditions.  They thrive in the high desert of White Sands New Mexico.

Hardy Plants Adapt to the High Desert - Over 5000 ft.

A Yucca Tries it's Best to Survive

Young Yucca

The Yucca will try to survive by increasing it's root system upward as the white sands grow higher around the plant.  But after a few years it will not be able to pull enough moisture from the earth and will die.  

Other plant life has a deeper root system and will be able to survive longer, but the dunes keep moving and occupying more of the desert floor.  

High winds were expected the next day.  We knew that the scenery would change and we wanted to stay for another day.  We will be back.  I am sure that we will not be able to recognize what we left behind yesterday.  

Oliver Finally is Able to Run!

The fur kids, for the first time since we left Indiana, were able to run without the encumbrance of a lead.  They ran and jumped on each other and ran some more.  They played tag and hide and seek.

Olivia Looking for Wildlife

The sand is packed so that their footsteps sounded like horses galloping.  It was just downright cool!

John Climbs a Dune in White Sands, N.M. 

Just seven months after John was on life support and then back in the hospital over Thanksgiving, he is out climbing the dunes.  God it good.  

Of Course, He Must Look for Rocks

Oh yes,  he is always on the lookout for rocks.  He even had a trip planned for yesterday to visit the Rockhound State Park in Arizona.

Paradise!

I believe this man is like the plants at White Sands National Monument.  He digs deep and has his roots firmly planted in God.  This day has made Christmas even more special for us this year.  

The End of Our Day at White Sands, N. M.  

We left White Sands knowing that we will return.  Soon.  

The perfect ending to a perfect day!  

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God bless you all in your travels and you all that are enjoying your homes.