Wyoming 2017, day 1

From our house to Sheridan, Wyoming is about 1,151 miles, just over 16 hours. Once I get there, I have to drive out of town and up into the mountains another 45 minutes or so. But my destination for Day 1 is Mitchell, South Dakota, home of the world’s only Corn Palace.  Are you ready to ride?

I realized this year that I’ve been going to this place in Wyoming for over 40 summers. When we drove from Cleveland, it was an additional 6 1/2 hours, so this drive seems fairly short in addition to familiar. I love seeing the country change, from the farmlands and cities of Illinois, to the more forested Wisconsin, where I make my first stop in Mauston to stock up on cheese from Carr Valley Cheese.

Oh, I almost forgot to mention our other tradition, listening to the BBC radio production of “Lord of the Rings”, 12 hours or so of living in a different, magical place.  Not long after we got married, I found a set of cassette tapes at Half Price Books for $25, quite a lot to us in those days.  I agonized over whether or not to get it for my husband as a Christmas gift.  You know what I decided.  We’ve listened to it every year since, going to and from the cabin.  One year, our younger daughter and I listened to it once on the way out and once on the way back.  We’re now on the CD version and it’s still wonderful.

For years we drove by Mauston, Wisconsin on Interstate 90, completely unaware that all this wonderful cheese was only a few minutes away. Then I read about Carr Valley and each trip improved immeasurably.  Of course, I buy a bag of cheese curds and then additional delights, both on the way up and back.  You can buy cheese made from cow’s, sheep’s, or goat’s milk, or a combination of two or three.

Once I have cheese and gas, I’m on my way, headed to La Crosse, crossing point for the wide Mississippi.  This shot is no beauty, but considering I took it with my phone while driving and not looking at the river, I think it turned out rather well, much better than the ones I had to delete.   But there’s nowhere to stop on the bridge!

Once across the river, the road climbs steeply to the lush, open fields of Minnesota.  Besides lush farms, there are farms of other types.

Finally I get to South Dakota. My stop for the night, Mitchell, is only about an hour into the state.  Mitchell is known for a unique phenomenon: the Corn Palace, created in 1892, when Mitchell was only 12 years old.  (To see photos of previous Corn Palace designs, click here.)

The Palace is redecorated each year with naturally colored corn and other grains and native grasses to make it “the agricultural show-place of the world”. We currently use 13 different colors or shades of corn to decorate the Corn Palace: red, brown, black, blue, white, orange, calico, yellow and now we have green corn! A different theme is chosen each year, and murals are designed to reflect that theme. Ear by ear the corn is nailed to the Corn Palace to create a scene. The decorating process usually starts in late May with the removal of the rye and dock. The corn murals are stripped at the end of August and the new ones are completed by the first of October.  (From the website)

It may sound, well, corny, but it’s quite amazing.  This year, however, I was disappointed to find that for the first time,  the design was the same as last year.  The owner of the Coachlight Inn where I stayed said that’s not been a popular move, so that probably won’t happen again.  But it’s still quite a show.  The onion domes are metal this year, too.  Word is that approval is about 50-50.

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The owner also turned me on to a great grocery store about a block from the motel, County Fair Food Store.  I got some great fried chicken and fruit for a super meal at an excellent price.  Day 1 was over and it had been a good one.