Alaskan Adventure: Post 2 of ? The first four days and three nights of travel got us to Wall, South Dakota and covered a bit over 1,000 miles of the Great Plains. We are now two time zones away from Indy, on Mountain Time. The green cornfields of Indiana, Illinois, and Iowa, changed gradually to the rolling pasturelands of South Dakota. Then suddenly, there is a “wall” of crazy eroded ridges and spires marking The Badlands National Park. The next post will be about the Badlands but that is where Wall, SD got it’s name.

Nathan took this pic of us all hooked up and ready to drive off. We are so thankful he is willing to keep the lawn mowed and watch over the house as we travel.

A dashcam is new for this trip. Here’s the first few seconds of the trip leaving our street.

People have asked: “Why do you want to go to Alaska?” I’m hoping we have a good answer by the time we finish but here is a start. I saw this photo on some Facebook or Instagram page taken along the Alaskan Highway and thought that would be worth some effort to see. Running through my head is Louis Armstrong singing in his deep, melodious voice; “and I think to myself, what a wonderful world”

First stop for National Parks Stamp was in the little town of West Branch, Iowa at the birthplace of President Herbert Hoover.

The very small two room birthplace (and childhood until age 11) home of Herbert (Bert) Hoover. Mom, Dad, and 3 kids lived in a space about the size of our RV. His parents (and most of the community) were Quakers. The 3 children were split up and sent to different relatives when both parents died.

We didn’t know much about Herbert Hoover, which is a good reason to stop and learn something. I was struck by his humility.

This sampler quilt was on display at the Visitors Center. It is called the “Birthplace Centennial Quilt”. Each square was created by women in the West Branch, IA area and combined at a local quilt shop. The blocks represent National Park Units in all 50 States.

Another stamp for the National Parks Passport book.

The Corn Palace in Mitchell, South Dakota. This was surprisingly fascinating…

That’s right, it’s all CORN.

I have photographed a lot of gymnasiums – this one is crazy. The walls are covered in murals of CORN. When it is not being used for basketball, it is a giant gift shop of all things CORN.

The entrance lobby has columns with columns emulating CORN.

Interesting Corn Palace history.

Continuing West on I-90 we arrived at the Chamberlin Exit; an interesting welcome-center/rest-stop on a tall bluff overlooking the Missouri River. A 50 foot tall statue called “Dignity of Earth and Sky” is the main attraction but there is also a nice visitors center and small museum about the Lewis & Clark Expedition that camped near this location on the river. The quilt “blanket” pattern is called “Lone Star”.

We thought it was a lake but it’s just the really wide Missouri River.

Next stop was the Minuteman Missile National Historic Site. A sobering visit to consider all things related to the Cold War period, Cuban Missile Crisis, etc. The Minuteman Missile had a solid rocket propellant that could be launched immediately from underground silos. The previous missiles (Atlas and Titan) had liquid propellants and needed preparation time to launch. This was interesting to me because my dad helped design the Atlas guidance system back in the 60’s when he worked for Bendix. He would sometimes be gone on trips to White Sands, NM to testing.

Dashcam shot of our first glimpse of the Badlands “Wall” as we were arriving at the Town of Wall.

Finally arriving in Wall, SD we passed this enormous Jackalope.

There are thousands of billboards advertising Wall Drug Store. We knew it would be ‘touristy’ but after a few minutes inside this giant warehouse of gift shop junk we were done. Not even a 5 cent coffee will entice us to come back.

Stormy but colorful sunset from our campsite in Wall, SD. Tomorrow we will explore The Badlands.