Family Vacation, Part One -- Getting There is Half the Fun

To help ease the loss of our son to Penn State (Pierce should be a junior by Christmas, still 17), our family has taken in an exchange student from Spain--Irene (pronounced ee-RAY-nay). Her English is outstanding, and she fits in well. Over the MEA 4-day weekend, my wife wanted to surprise her by showing her the sites in the Mountain Time Zone such as Rushmore and Yellowstone. Each month, we are planning a mini-vacation to show her the country.

So Wednesday night after work and school, we took off. The fields of wind turbines were amazing, but the whole town that smelled like fertilizer did not impress her. My daughter, Emily, got some night driving time in toward earning her license. We vowed to go back to the state's biggest candy store during basketball season. Our group made it as far as Mitchell, South Dakota the first night. 

Big signs on the hotel said "Welcome hunters." Although they advertised a pool, it had been completely drained and the only chairs in the common area were littered with empty beer cans.

What's there to see on the way to our goal? We started with the Corn Palace--a basketball/performing arena decorated with, you guessed it, corn. Hey, it was free and had several Pokemon Go spin spots. 

Inside, they had a corn rendition of Mount Rushmore so authentic that we almost canceled the rest of the trip. What could possibly compare?

Overlooking the Missouri River, Tammy found a monument to the dignity of women and her favorite hobby--quilting. We also found more fast-food places to inflict on Irene.

On the road, we read "the Darwin Awards II" aloud to each other, sang Disney songs in two languages, and devoured Star Crunch snacks. Emily enjoyed driving 80 for the first time on roads where no one else could be seen. 

Next, we stopped at the MOST advertised tourist attraction in the state--Wall Drug, in the town of Wall! Here Irene bought postcards and other souvenirs. She learned how jackalopes helped pioneers explore the West like Sacajawea.

Since my Internet has suddenly turned glacial, I'll upload the big tourist site tomorrow and continue the story of our intrepid explorers.