As we checked out of our room at the motel/fishing lodge, we took a last walk around to revel in the unique character of the place (even the wallpaper was decorated in a fish pattern!). Then we went into town to look at the Missouri River and to explore the Chamberlain community before getting a fresh tank of gas and heading out onto the freeway.
With 450 miles to go, today is the biggest driving day of the oddyzee. We have a wedding to attend tomorrow, so that defines our return deadline. We have to be home tonight.
Halfway to the Minnesota state line we pulled off at Mitchell, home of the Corn Palace. The inside of the Corn Palace is a typical municipal convention center/basketball arena/concert auditorium… a nice but common amenity for a city this size. But what makes this building special is how it looks from the outside.
The entire outside of the Corn Palace is decorated with corn and other local grains. Ears of corn of varying shapes and colors are arranged to produce some very complex artwork. There are several murals and a thematic motif, and the artwork changes every year.
Inside there is a long hallway lined with pictures of the Corn Palace from each year going back to the 1890’s. The Corn Palace is kind of corny, but it’s free, and draws enough passing tourists for the rest of Mitchell to prosper.
Sturgis was obviously winding down and emptying out as we made our way east. Everything that passed us was either a motorcycle, or something carrying motorcycles.
Holstein cows are a common site in our home region. When we saw some holsteins grazing near the Minnesota state line, we realized how long it had been since we’d seen any. We took in the sunset just before we passed Rochester, at a rest area as we watched the bikers rumble by.
The ambient sounds of the last week of our oddyzee stayed with us as we backed into our driveway at 10 pm Friday night. We unloaded the truck to the sounds of Harleys rumbling through town. But this time we had a room that they couldn’t take away from us … we are home.