South Dakota Tourist sites

On our drive from Sioux Falls across South Dakota on I-90 yesterday, we stopped at two very famous tourist sites - the Corn Palace in Mitchell, SD and Wall Drug in Wall, SD. Wall Drug is what I used to call a TT2  -  a Tourist Trap squared. Everything is overpriced and it is mostly useless. However, it is a phenomenon in its own way and Ellen certainly found a treasure-trove of postcards there. The Corn Palace is amazing. It changes every year, and has done so for over a century.  Much of it is made from corn cobs - decoratively, not structurally. And its free. So it is well worth a visit. And there were postcards there too.

The Corn Palace as it looks today

This is the gymnasium inside the Corn Palace, which functions as a gift shop when there isn't a basketball game or a performance of some kind. To the right off-camera is a large seating area for spectators. The wall murals are made of corn cobs.

Close-up of a mural

Two earlier versions of the Corn Palace from the late 19th and early 20th century

The facade of Wall Drug Store (just a small part - it fills an entire block)

A main corridor inside Wall Drug - shops are on either side and there is a lot of stuff on the walls and ceiling

Part of a mechanical country music band display - not sure it was still working but it used to play every half-hour

A selfie with a friend I met at Wall Drug