Mitchell, South Dakota

Mitchell is an easy thirty miles north of our new home in Tripp. The roads are so straight and flat that driving has never been easier. The best part of all is the lack of traffic.

You can drive for miles and not see another vehicle until you get close to Mitchell. We spent two nights at the Mitchell Hampton Inn.

The hotel appears to be relatively new. It was large, clean and very welcoming. In addition to a spacious room, they offered us a free breakfast every morning. We were amazed at the selection of foods offered.

Just down the road from the hotel we located a Cabela's outfitter store. We love coming across Cabela's because we love their flannel shirts and looking at the taxidermist animals and the settings the store has created for them.

The store and hotel were both very busy with pheasant hunters. We didn't realize until we arrived that Mitchell and the entire south-central, South Dakota area is a very popular pheasant hunting locale. The hunters came from all over the country, in response to adds from local hunting guides, that are featured in many sportsmen magazines.

The big attraction in Mitchell is the Corn Palace. It was originally built to show off the fertility of South Dakota soil - and it's remained on the job, standing in downtown Mitchell for over 75 years.

It is a spectacular building, looking to be part Russian palace, with onion domes and very interesting artwork, all made out of various varieties and colors of corn.

The Corn Palace is built out of reinforced concrete, not corn. Every spring, its exterior is completely covered with thousands of bushels of native South Dakota corn, grain and grasses that are arranged into large murals.

This year's mural theme was a Salute to Rodeo 2006.

We were not able to attend a concert there, but saw their huge auditorium. Many big name musicians play there each year. I read that when it gets cold the Corn Palace is the worlds largest bird feeder. Many variety of birds come to the palace and eat the corn the murals are made of. That is a sight I would love to see.

Other attractions that we saw in Mitchell were: The Enchanted World Doll Museum, A Prehistoric Indian Village and the Dakota Discovery Museum.

Rich and I are both hoping to be back in Mitchell in July 2007 to attend their Corn Palace Stampede Rodeo. We have been told this is an annual PRCA event. Sounds like one we shouldn't miss.