Corn Palace - Mitchell, SD - YOU'RE THERE! WHY NOT!
Take I-90 Exit 332 and follow the signs.

This attraction may prove irresistible due to the plentiful road signs touting its existence. With it's onion domes and decorative pointed minarets, the building appears to be of Czarist Russian architectural design... in the middle of SOUTH DAKOTA, no less! The Corn Palace was established in 1892. Early settlers displayed the fruits of their harvest on the building exterior in order to prove the fertility of South Dakota soil. The third and present building was completed for it first festival at the present location in 1921. The exterior decorations are completely stripped down and new murals are created each year. The exterior and interior murals are designed by local artists and created each year from thousands of bushels of corn, grain, grasses, wild oats, rye, straw and wheat.

The Corn Palace is used for performing arts, in fact, Neil Sedaka was scheduled to play the Corn Palace shortly after our visit. The Palace is also a sports arena, serving as the home court for the local high school basketball team, "The Kernals". When there is no basketball game or concert in progress, the basketball court is completely covered with tables and displays filled with expensive and delightfully tacky tourist souvenirs.

Enigma that it is, the Corn Palace is a neat little break during that long drive across I-90. Admission is free, but souvenirs are expensive. There is food, ice cream and souvenirs available in the shops across the street. Allow at least an hour to visit. Getting off and on I-90 takes several minutes... longer that you'd think it ought to, but directions to the Corn Palace are clearly marked although at times, you may feel like a rat in a maze.

We visited about 3 PM on a Tuesday in August, 2002
Weather: Sunny and hot with moderate humidity
Ease of Accessibility: C
Parking: C
Cost: A
Quality: C
Crowds: C
Kid-Friendliness: B
Handicap Accessibility: C
Overall Experience: B-

Wall Drug - Wall, SD - DO IT FOR THE KIDS!
Take I-90 exit 110 and follow the signs.

The phrase "tourist trap" is not often used in a complimentary manner, however Wall Drug has taken the concept to heights never before seen... creating a "tourist oasis" in the middle of the South Dakota Prairie. Wall Drug is a wonderful story of American entrepreneurship. Looking for a way to attract business in the 30's, Ted Hustead acted upon his wife's suggestion to offer free ice water to hot, thirsty motorists traveling cross-country in their un-air-conditioned vehicles. The idea worked and opened a floodgate of ideas designed to attract tourists which continues to this day.

Today you will find a giant snorting smoke-belching Tyrannosaurus Rex, the performing faux-cowboys called the Chuck Wagon Four, a miniature Mount Rushmore photo opportunity (your family provides the faces), a traveler's chapel, a restaurant, a huge fiberglass jackalope, an animated Indian village... and that's just a few. There are seemingly endless gift shops filled with overpriced, yet irresistible souvenirs from rattlesnake ash trays to stuffed jackalopes to Wall Drug toothpick holders. The kids will love the novelties, the shopping, the fiberglass animals and the animated singing mannequins... and admit it, you like that kind of stuff a little bit too, don't you?

Wall Drug is also known for its creative advertising, the famous road signs. Although highway beautification laws have eliminated most of these signs, they are still alive and well across the highways of South Dakota.

We had the breakfast buffet at the Wall Drug Café in the middle of the complex. Even at 8 AM, it was very crowded. The food was mediocre at best (but not horrible). They have all the usual breakfast fare... bacon, sausage, scrambled eggs, hash browns, sausage gravy and biscuits, etc. The breakfast buffet is $6.95 per person plus beverage. Donuts and a few other items are extra. Our bill came to about $36 for the four of us. You might want to stick with McD's for breakfast.

Wall Drug does not charge admission, but again, the souvenirs and food are quite expensive. Ice water and one bumper sticker are free. Also, the staged photo opportunities are free. We visited late Tuesday evening and early Wednesday morning and it was extremely crowded both times. I can only imagine what the crowds are like in the middle of the day. Parking is also at a premium, although we were fortunate enough to park in front of the building both times. On-street parking is available, but difficult to find a spot. Downtown Wall (population 800) has a few parking lots meant for Wall Drug patrons, and if you can't find a spot on the street, you might have a short hike from one of these lots.

We spent the night at Super 8 in Wall. It was expensive by Super 8 standards (~$80), and the quality was low for a Super 8 (a tad run-down, no pool, not enough parking, bad floor layout, surly front desk person). If you are just passing through, cheaper and more abundant lodging is available in Rapid City, 50 miles to the west. If you're traveling 1-90 with kids... sure... why not spend an hour at Wall Drug. It's no problem at all getting off and on I-90.

Wall Drug is not culturally, spiritually nor intellectually enriching, but hey... it's kinda fun and you'll never forget it.

We visited Tuesday evening and Wednesday morning in August, 2002
Weather: Warm and pleasant evening and sunny, pleasant morning
Ease of Accessibility: A
Parking: C
Cost: C
Quality: C
Crowds: D
Kid-Friendliness: B
Handicap Accessibility: C
Overall Experience: C

America's Shrine to Music Museum - University Of South Dakota - Vermillion, SD
About 8 miles west of I-29 Exit 26 (SR 50). Corner of Clark & Yale Streets in Vermilion.

This delightful and unusual little museum is an oasis along a relatively uninteresting stretch of interstate 29. It is situated on the edge of the quaint and attractive University Of South Dakota campus in sleepy Vermillion, South Dakota.

In a former Carnegie Library, The Shrine to Music Museum features an amazing variety of musical instruments of all types from all eras. As you enter the front door, you are met with a giant 10-foot long drum from Thailand. The museum has about a dozen galleries, each dedicated to a different theme or instrument family... such as American instruments, European woodwinds, European strings, European brass and percussion, European keyboards, non-western instruments and a few more.

Most of the instruments are very ornate and are as much works of art as functional instruments. Some are quite unusual, such as the double-belled tenor horn. They are all beautifully displayed along with text describing each instrument or group of instrument's history.

Being a music enthusiast, I had the desire to pluck, strum, honk and basically try to play each instrument. Of course, that cannot be permitted, so the museum has come up with the next best thing. They provide a compact disc player and headset, so visitors can hear the sound of selected instruments along with some history about the exhibit. The Shrine to Music Museum is crammed full of hundreds upon hundreds of beautiful musical instruments. My kids (9 and 11) loved it. One of my favorite photos is that of my 9-year old daughter seated on the floor, looking up intently at an unusual stringed instrument while listening through her headset.

Admission is free, however donations are encouraged. We visited at 9:00 AM, right when they opened. Since our visit was so early in the day, it's difficult to estimate parking sufficiency or crowd size during peak visitation times. However, when we left at about 11:00, the crowd was very small (no waiting or crowding around each exhibit) and the small parking lot still had plenty of spaces. There's no question that it's a bit out of the way, but your 15-minute round trip on and off I-29 is perhaps preferable to traffic jams and huge parking lots associated with more well-known or urban attractions.

The Shrine to Music Museum is a must-see for those with even a casual interest in music and a nice family pit-stop to break the monotony of a cross-country drive. Allow 1 ˝ to 2 hours for your visit. (605) 677-5306

We visited from 9-11 AM on a Monday in August, 2002
Weather: Sunny and comfortable
Ease of Accessibility: B-
Parking: B
Cost: A
Quality: A
Crowds: A
Kid-Friendliness: B
Handicap Accessibility: B
Overall Experience: A

Shrine To Music, Corn Palace and Wall Drug photos are posted on my website:
http://users.saferinternet.com/wildebeest/mike.htm


Check out my other South Dakota reviews:
Great Plains Zoo / Sioux Falls:
http://www.epinions.com/content_89253121668
Badlands / Black Hills:
http://www.epinions.com/content_89356144260




Recommended:
Yes

Best Suited For: Families
Best Time to Travel Here: Anytime