Mitchell to Wall, South Dakota
Occasionally, you just happen onto an unexpected treat while traveling, and such is the rest stop on I-90 near Chamberlain, SD. The state has transformed the rest stop into a Lewis and Clark Information Center. According to the displays there, the building sits very near the spot the expedition crossed the Missouri River.
The rest stops along I-90 have all had huge concrete tee pee sculptures on the grounds. The one here overlooks the river with informative displays beneath. As you enter the building, your eye is drawn upward to the keelboat extending from the wall. The imaginative designer planned it so the stairs ascend through the bottom of the boat to the viewing deck above.Even the crates upstairs have lids that lift up to displays.
The deck overlooks the crossing of the river towards Chamberlain.Several other displays were in the center.
Crossing the river, we drove through rolling hills
seeing cattle and hay fields. Iowa and South Dakota are high wind areas, and are using many of the modern windmills to provide energy. The size of the windmill blades always amaze us when we pass a truck transporting one. Mitchell seems to be a place that attracts cheesy tourist attractions (more about that in the next blog) but you never know what you might spot next, such as this sight, (almost missed it)or these