Rode through the Badlands National Park today. The Badlands begins with roaming green hills that is said to be very fertile pasture lands for cattle. Farmers do not have to supplement with feed or grain due to the richness of grasses on the plains of the badlands. President Theordore Roosevelt was a cattle rancher in this area. After crossing these grassy plains, the landscape changes into a rough rocky mountainous area. These mountains are made up of soft rock that erode up to an inch a year. This mountainous area looks like giant Sand Castles. These large mountainous rocks are full of fossils that are millions of years old. Dinosaur bones, crocodiles and animals that no longer roam the earth have been found here. I mean their bones of course. Stopped by the visitor center and looked at the exhibits and watched the movie of this area. Learned a great deal.
Our next stop was Mitchell, South Dakota. We drove there to see the "Corn Palace." The Corn Palace is a multi-use facility, where activities are held. The attraction is that every year the outside of the building is decorated with different types of corn and grains produced in the state of South Dakota. Each year a different theme is constructed. Murals are also done inside with corn and grain. It is a unique site and one must marvel at how long it would take to construct such a project. This tradition began in 1892. Every year since this date, the outside and inside area of this building is being decorated. After the corn palace is decorated, the town has a Corn Palace Festival. It is a Mid-Western tradition.
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