The best part of Friday (Aug 11) was AC’s unscheduled pit stop at the one and only Corn Palace in Mitchell, SD! AC saw billboards from the highway and, as you should when you pass signs for “the world’s only [anything]”, knew that we had to take a quick detour to see this gem.
The Corn Palace was wonderfully gaudy! It’s a combination of corn history museum and multi-purpose arena. The arena part can host basketball games, performances, and, when we were there, a gift shop. The gift shop was a treasure trove of corn, as shown in the video to the left, and I couldn’t leave without commemorating the stop with a corn ornament!
We also scooped up some ice cream on our way out, from a cute little mercantile across the street. Then we returned to our regularly scheduled programming and headed for Badlands National Park.
In Badlands, we hiked Notch Trail which is popular because of this ladder you have to ascend to reach the rest of the trail. Walking this trail felt a bit otherworldly–kind of extraterrestrial with the jagged spires of dried, crumbly clay and the white dirt that made up the path. The view at the end of Notch Trail was pretty impressive.
Next, we did a really quick “hike” out to The Window which, I would argue, was more like a door because the view wasn’t fully framed.
We decided that we didn’t want to eat dinner at a restaurant so we stopped by the grocery store on the way to our Hipcamp and picked up shrimp, rice, and mixed veggies to cook on our own.
When we finally got to our Hipcamp, we were greeted by our host, Tammy. Tammy gave us a tour and we were astounded at how nice her facilities were! We weren’t sure if we’d have hot showers or cold ones and were blown away by her amazing bathhouse with hot water showers! She also made my day by showing us the new laundry room she had just set up–it’s so new that she hasn’t even added it to her Hipcamp listing yet. I was ecstatic to learn that we could do laundry because, at this point, we had quite a pile going in the back of the truck.
Tammy also had lovely glamping tents, a couple of cabins, and some spots for BYO tent camping. Finally, there was a cooking pavilion outfitted with two gas grills, several tables with chairs, and a fire ring. It is abundantly clear that Tammy loves hosting campers and we HIGHLY recommend her place to anyone who may be passing through or near Hermosa, SD. We found her on Hipcamp, but you can book directly with her (and skip the fees) at beardencabinsandcamp.com!
We chose our tent spot, set up camp, threw in a load of laundry, and cooked dinner in the pavilion. Then we took advantage of the spacious, hot showers, and turned in.
That night was chilly! It got down to 56 and AC had to trek out to the truck in the middle of the night for longer layers. I slept pretty well until about 5:30 when the neighbor’s rooster decided it was time for everyone to rise and shine and start the day–for this future homesteader, that’s not a bad way to wake up!
Until next time,
Charli
Missed an opportunity to write the word “cornament” haha
Doh! How did I miss that one?!