So...
After our week in Hoven, we headed to White Lake, population: 375.
We had another GREAT group of kids here. They were funny and smart and super excited. Like a lot of our schools, they only get to bring Dakota Players in every other year. So, the kids really anticipate this project and treat it as a privilege. It was one of those weeks where everything went so smoothly that you were almost holding your breath, waiting for something to go wrong. But it didn't and they put on a wonderful show on Friday night.
Perhaps my favorite student story of the week was when a little first grade boy approached me to ask about his costume. We don't let them see their costumes until the very end of the week and it is absolute TORTURE for most of them. Anyway, this particular boy wanted to know - "Are there going to be pretties on my costume?" Pretties. This is a direct quote. Believe me. I asked to be sure I had heard him correctly. "Like feathers and beads", he followed up. I didn't have the heart to tell him his costume was primarily composed of a brown tie-dye t-shirt. (Sidenote: those costumes are actually quite cute. And he did get to hold a dreamcatcher which had a few beads and a single feather on it. In the end, I hope the "Pretties" quota was satisfied.)
We stayed at this delightful little (6 rooms, so...little) motel and RV park called Siding 36. It is the sight of a historic stretch of Railroad track, also called siding. The town of White Lake was founded after the Railroad depot was established. It is located mid-track between Chamberlain and Mitchell. It is named for it's 36 mile proximity to Mitchell, SD. It was a wonderful place to stay.
At the front desk, there was a sign that read - "No Cleaning Birds in Room". My immediate interpretation of this was, of course, birds that clean. What did have against the Snow White method? - I wondered. And had this really been a big problem in the past? (The only reason I don't feel like a giant idiot is because Harrison was confused enough to ask them what that meant.) We found out that, in fact, we were in "the heart of Pheasant Country", and they were requesting that people did not clean their recently killed fowl in their motel rooms. This seemed like a more reasonable and more horrifying request.
When our week was finished, we headed to Sioux Falls for the weekend. 36 miles down the road, though, we had to make a quick stop in Mitchell, home to my beloved Corn Palace. We had the pleasure of seeing them working on one of the newer corn murals. Such a treat! You can really see the design element at work. It's like a giant color-by-number.......but with Corn!
If I am not mistaken, we spend a week in Mitchell later in our tour, so you will see and hear so much more about this awe-inspiring structure. After all, it is Palace covered in Corn!!!!!
Upon making it to Sioux Falls, we had the pleasure of attending a local theater's production of "Sleepy Hollow: a musical tale." It was a cute way to launch into this Halloween season. Afterward, we walked around down by this little Boardwalk they have, and found this dinky little fountain. As some of you know, Downtown Olympia is home to the Heritage Park Fountain which is a huge splashpad-type fountain where water shoots up from the ground from different spouts in different intervals. It is pure magic - one of my favorite places. Here is a picture of me playing in THAT fountain 5 years ago.
Well, the Sioux Falls fountain was a similar concept, on a much smaller scale. Regardless, we attempted to take a photo, so we could feel transported. But, it just ended up looking like Harrison had antennae.
We love you all. Good night. (Or morning, afternoon, or evening as it well may be when you read this.)
C&H
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