We visited the Mitchell Prehistoric Indian Village in Mitchell, South Dakota, which includes a museum and a covered archeological dig site.
Exhibits in the museum:
Sculpture:
The “Archeodome” covers an archeological dig site:
Interesting stuff.
exploring
Attractions and other places we visit.
Mitchell Corn Palace
We stopped by the World’s Only Corn Palace in Mitchell, South Dakota (Wikipedia info). It’s a multi-use arena decorated in corn and other grains, with the decorations changing each year:
Inside continues the corn theme:
Sheets for coloring:
The arena was set up with swag for sale, with more corn art around the walls:
We bought some interesting popcorn:
An interesting place.
Mall of America
We visited the Mall of America in Bloomington, Minnesota, in the Minneapolis–Saint Paul metropolitan area.
According to Wikipedia, it is the largest mall in the United States, the largest in the Western Hemisphere, and the twelfth largest shopping mall in the world.
We had dinner at Shake Shack (first time we’ve seen one since we visited New York years ago):
In addition to being a huge mall, the center is filled with an amusement park:
Minnesot-ah!:
It’s an impressive mall… but still just a mall.
Baseball: Minnesota Twins vs Philadelphia Phillies
We attended a baseball game between the Minnesota Twins and the Philadelphia Phillies, playing at the Twin’s ballpark,Target Field in Minneapolis, Minnesota.
Jenn’s game summary:
A perfect day for a ballgame, but super annoying dudes behind and next to us. Twins starter Okert left early in the first inning—no idea why, which was odd so early in the game. Twins scored first with a solo home run in the 2nd, but the Phillies answered back and led for most of the game. Tied going into the bottom of the 9th, and the Twins came through with a walk-off single from Max Kepler. A walk-off win is always fun at home. A nice ballpark, and we had good seats behind home plate.
Target Field entrance:
Seating:
Selfie:
Team store:
Cheddar brats and pretzel:
A citizenship ceremony:
Map:
Ballpark from outfield:
Putting:
Winnebago camper van:
More ballpark angles:
“Win! Twins!”:
Rotating ball and big screen:
Concessions:
Mascot TC Bear, kid, “animal control” handler:
Lots of screens:
“Unapologetically Loud”:
Mascots:
Dippin’ Dots:
At one point the lineup screen showed the Mariners lineup?!
Then the screens blanked out while they fixed that:
Run scores:
Twins win:
Final score and stats:
Baseball: Field of Dreams Movie Site
We visited the Field of Dreams Movie Site in Dyersville, Iowa, location of the classic Field of Dreams baseball movie, starring Kevin Costner and James Earl Jones.
We were fortunate enough to be able to time our visit for one of the four annual Ghost Players shows.
Us in front of the house from the movie:
Corn by the numbers:
Field of Dreams swag shop:
The three messages from the movie:
Speech from the movie:
Snack shop:
The field, with the house in the background:
Ghost players emerging from the corn:
Plus some guests:
Ghost player antics:
Our seats and cart:
Selfie by the corn where the ghost players emerged:
Jenn amongst the corn:
We also signed up for a guided tour of the house from the movie (which people can actually stay at), with a bunch of memorabilia:
Switch for the field lights (in the movie):
View of the field from the house:
Sitting on the porch swing seat:
A special place for baseball movie fans.
Baseball: Cedar Rapids Kernels vs Wisconsin Timber Rattlers
We attended a game of the High-A minor league team Cedar Rapids Kernels, playing against the Wisconsin Timber Rattlers, at the Kernels’ Veterans Memorial Stadium in Cedar Rapids, Iowa.
The concourse:
Menus:
Burger and fries:
Our seats were in the front row, right behind the net:
Selfie:
Stands:
Mascot:
Other angles:
Spiderman:
You can see where our seats were; look for Jenn with the teal hat and green shirt:
A run scores:
Another run scores:
Pizza race:
3,756 attendance:
Kernels Win:
Iowa 80 truck stop
On our travel day we stopped at the world’s largest truck stop, Iowa 80 in Walcott, Iowa.
Iowa 80 Truckstop features eight restaurant choices, a convenience store, gift store, Super Truck Showroom, barber shop, chiropractor, dentist, movie theater, workout room, laundry facilities, gas islands, diesel fuel center, truck service center, Truckomat truck wash, Dogomat pet wash, CAT Scale, 24- private showers, trucking museum and more!
Lots of truck parking:
Diesel fuel:
It was indeed big, though not all that exciting.
Lincoln Home National Historic Site
We visited Lincoln Home National Historic Site in Springfield, Illinois, featuring the only house that Abraham Lincoln ever owned, and neighboring houses.
Gift store:
“The Lincolns Buy a Home”:
Floor plan:
Lincoln’s home:
Lincoln’s outhouse:
Neighboring homes:
Another look at Lincoln’s home:
Baseball: St. Louis Cardinals vs Chicago Cubs
We attended a game of St. Louis Cardinals vs Chicago Cubs, playing at the Cardinals’ ballpark, Busch Stadium in St. Louis, Missouri.
Jenn’s game summary:
Cubs won—hitting six home runs, but we only saw the first two. The temperature was 93, but the humidity was worse. Our seats were in the sun, so we only lasted a few innings. Tried standing at the top of the section with shade and a nice breeze, but it was still too uncomfortable. There were probably as many Cubs fans as Cardinals. A pretty ballpark—it would have been nice to hang out and enjoy the game, alas. The view of the Gateway Arch is a nice touch.
An interactive map:
Center field entrance:
The ballpark:
Team store:
Birb:
Perficient Perch:
Chicken and fries:
View from our seats:
Mascot and cheerleaders:
Gateway Arch:
Views from elsewhere:
Our seats were in the sun on a really hot day, so we moved to stand in the concourse:
Then we left early. It was just too hot, and we didn’t particularly care about either of the teams playing.
Gateway Arch National Park
We visited Gateway Arch National Park in St. Louis, Missouri.
The NPS map:
An interactive map:
Map sign:
Old Courthouse, currently being renovated:
Gateway Arch:
Inside the visitor center, a model tram; eight of these go up and down each leg of the arch:
Exhibits:
A model of the observation area at the top of the arch:
Line to the top:
Boarding pass:
Waiting for the tram:
Our tram:
Looking through the windows in the tram doors to the inside of the arch:
Trams at top:
Top of the arch:
630 feet high:
Jenn taking a photo out an observation window:
Views from top:
Shadow of the arch:
Waiting for the tram for the journey down:
Selfie in the tram:
Inside the arch:
Out of the tram:
Tram waiting area:
Arch store:
Arch cafe for a snack:
Under the arch:
A rather unique national park.