The Baseball Trip, 2012 / Day 4

Sunday, July 29

Breakfast at The Happy Hour Inn, a Sunday morning of bacon and eggs and a couple of guys pounding beers at the bar at 9:30am and some throwing dice with the bartender. The Olympics are on the big screen and people are swimming or something. It's a Sunday, so:

Favorite Sign: Jesus is Lord over all of Redwood Falls

Indeed he is, and more, as I understand it.
Today is the first hot day of the trip, temps soaring into the upper 90's. We wind our way to Walnut Grove, MN, to see the Little House on The Prairie museum. I have proof:

We actually paid money to go inside.

Laura's china set

Pa's buffalo coat

The stove where Half-pint learned how to make hotcakes.

We also stopped by an estate auction at a house along a country highway in Tracy, MN, but Randy said they were peddling the same old detritus.

Detritus. That's an awesome word, isn't it?

Here's something else that's awesome: The Corn Palace in Mitchell, South Dakota. Every inch of the facade is a mural painted on corn cobs, corn stalks, or tassels! Isn't that amazing? Look at this place:

 The corn palace is a museum dedicated to corn. Just sayin'. Here's a photo of a statue of their mascot, Cornelius:

 Here's a photo of me and the statue of Cornelius:

 Here's a photo of me and the real Cornelius:

Wow, that's enough fun for one day. We camped at Lake Francis Case, named for the Senator who pushed through all the bills to dam the Missouri river and create reservoirs. I know this is true because the park ranger told me so when he gave me a lift to the office to make sure I paid for the campsite.

Favorite Town Name: Fedora, SD

Random observation from Randy:
"On the way back through Kansas, we should do some real off-roading. Maybe break an axle. I could show you all the geographical highlights of Kansas. There are three of them."