Custer Vacation Day 2 - September 20, 2015 - We woke up in Yankton with sunny skies for day two of our South Dakota adventure. We packed quickly and drove to Gavin’s Point Dam and Lewis and Clark Lake. Built for hydroelectric power, the dam was completed in 1956 at the cost of $50 million. Lewis and Clark Lake is used for fishing, boating, irrigation, and fish and wildlife management. We had a short chat with a local fisherman who had caught a bass. I sure did wish I had a Water’s EDDGE bait with me to share! Sailboats were on the water and it was a beautiful sight. We examined a long snakeskin in the parking area then visited a small fish aquarium showcasing the local fish and reptiles. Very interesting place indeed!

 

A happy accident was driving by a roadside sign announcing an attraction called The House of Mary Shrine. We turned the HildeVan around, and were greeted by the beautiful sight of a fountain with pond in the shape of a heart. It was surrounded by flowers and along a pathway up a steep hill were pictures of various saints with their stories. There was footpath rosary one could follow along and pray.  At the top of the hill were three large wooden crosses looking out over beautiful scenery and an expansive valley. We peeked in a small chapel where Perpetual Adoration was taking place. It was a very serene and peaceful site to visit and we were very glad we had stopped at this shrine honoring the Blessed Mother.

 

A few miles down the road was a destination on our itinerary - Scotland, SD! While doing the research for our trip I learned there was a Scotland, SD, population 891.  I hoped there might be a good sign for a photo op so we could say we had been in Scotland.  Sure enough…there was! Those of you Outlander fans will know why we wanted to go to Scotland – not necessarily Scotland, SD but still - Scotland! We quickly hopped out of the HildeVan, across a ditch and as we were walking to the sign, what slithers across right in front of me but a snake! The girls laughed hysterically at the skelloch that escaped from my lips as I danced hurriedly away! I wondered out loud if my name should be Snake Finder but the girls said no, Thunder Talker it must be. There was not much else to see in Scotland but they did have a great water tower shaped similarly to the old historical tower in Orion. Scotland’s tower was emblazoned with what else…a bagpiper!

 

The miles fly by with good conversation punctuated with outbursts of laughter. The Crazy Owl tribe can make quite a lot of noise and discussions included how much hay is grown here and who may use all this hay. Which abandoned homesteads might be worth exploring if one could get into them. How difficult the pioneers must have had it crossing our country in covered wagons. More than once I heard someone say that they would have told their husbands, “Enough!” “Turn around now and take me back!” We pondered how difficult it would be to deal with cooking, walking hundreds of miles, attempting to stay clean, all the while trying not to kill your husband who drug you out to this desolate place with poor soil and endless wind. Pioneer women we are not! 70 miles per hour is more our speed, not 10 miles per day.

 

After a very yummy lunch at a Mexican restaurant, we visited the world famous Corn Palace in Mitchell. What a shock to see in September! The last time I was here it was June and there were hundreds of other people here. Today it was nearly a ghost town! Very few people were out and about and several of the shopkeepers told us that this was their last week for the season. The Corn Palace was undergoing its autumn makeover. Each year a new theme is used. We saw one section that had been completely redone and another in progress. It appears that next year will have a musical theme as we saw musical notes and a mural showing Michael Jackson doing the moon walk next to a year-old mural with a Wild West theme. We decided that we like to travel in the off season and not fight the crowds in spite of a few less places to shop and much less inventory in the shops that are open.  Li’l Pot enjoyed one of the Corn Palace’s famous popcorn balls on the next leg of our journey crunching away as the miles pass under our wheels.  We see fields of sunflowers (which are rather brownish and not very yellow as it is so late in the season), sorghum, and more round bales of hay out our windows. We also see lots of coos or kine - although none of them are the hairy Scottish Highland Cows that I can tell.

 

Our next destination and where we will stay for six nights is Custer State Park.  When our group of Yellowstone vacation travelers stayed in Custer two years ago, we remarked that this place was so nice that we needed to come back and stay awhile and now are making it happen! A few stops are made during the next several travel hours and we all agree that SD has wonderful visitor centers and very nice rest areas. Stopping at them is always an adventure and worth exploring.  As we arrive in Custer State Park it is dark and we still have to find our campground amongst the 72,000 acres consisting mostly of trees and rocks with winding roads. As we follow the Wildlife Loop around the Park we do indeed see quite a lot of wildlife as the deer were plentiful tonight! We arrived too late to make a fire and cook so we decided to go into Custer for a late supper. Alas, we arrived too late to find any restaurants open and ended up driving back to our cabin empty-bellied so we eat pasta salad and a sandwich. But all is good and no one seemed to mind after the pleasurable day we had just experienced. After all, what does it matter? We are on vacation.

 As I write, Bean Gatherer is about asleep; Seeks Pie and Li’l Pot are playing with their phones and Black Kettle is writing her blog - as am I.

I am so lucky to be here tonight in South Dakota with these wonderful women! But now it is off to bed as morning will come early and Mount Rushmore is on the schedule.