Toby Book

This is a continuation of the chapter from last week.  I am posting it in parts.


     We got up early the next morning and headed west.  We decided to make a quick stop in Mitchell to visit their number one attraction, the Corn Palace.  We didn't stay too long because we wanted to make it to Rapid City by the evening. 
     The Corn Palace is a really interesting place.  It is definitely worth a visit.  The outside facade of the building is decorated in a different picture each year.  All of the decoration is made of corn and some other grains.  If I remember right, the building is mainly used as an auditorium.
     Our next stop was Chamberlain by the Missouri River.  I live near Kansas City, so I've seen the Missouri River many times.  However, the river at Chamberlain is extremely wide.  The water seemed to be much clearer than down by where I live.  The surrounding scenery is also much more eye pleasing. 
     We came across a nice rest area.  It was situated on top of a hill that afforded a grand view of the river and the surrounding countryside.  This area had several picnic tables that were covered by steel poles in order to resemble a giant tee-pee.  Toby and I walked all around through the park and had an enjoyable lunch.  I was going to go farther, but Toby was getting too hot.  He never could stand very much heat.
     The next stop on our South Dakota excursion was the Badlands.  This is a spectacular sight.  One can drive through the area and see the devastating effects of erosion on the Great Plains.  The area looks like a section of mini-mountains carved out of the barren landscape that surrounds it. 
     Toby and I got out to explore.  We walked quite a way down one of the trails taking in the sights.  I was worried about rattlesnakes, so I didn't want to go to far.  Toby was crazy when it came to going after things.  Once, there was a big black snake in the back yard by the garden.   Toby went after that snake barking.  Toby was in the fenced part of the yard, and the snake crawled just outside the fence.  However, it started turning back towards Toby.  I dispatched the snake.  Black snakes aren't poisonous, I didn't want to mess with a snake that was.
     When we arrived in Rapid City, we had a hard time finding a place to stay that accepted pets.  We finally found a place that on the outside appeared to be a dump, but the rooms were very nice.  The restaurant's buffet was great.  Toby and I ate our dinner, and then we went for a long walk.  We really enjoyed South Dakota. 
     The next morning, we decided to explore around Rapid City.  We went to a place called Dinosaur Park.  At this park, there are several life-size dinosaurs made from concrete.  The park is up on a little hill.  My Dad is so scared of heights, that he wouldn't even get out of the care.  As we were coming down from the park, my Dad buried his head in his lap so he didn't have to look out the window.  Toby must have thought that my Dad looked ridiculous because Toby jumped up into the front seat and kept licking my Dad's head  and barking until my Dad sat back up in the seat. 
     Traveling through the Black Hills was fun.  Toby and I stopped at one place and looked at the bison.  One of the bison at the farm was friendly and let me pet him.  He and Toby sniffed one another.  Knowing Toby, I thought that he might decide to try to go after the bison, so I got him out of there in short order.
     After more sight seeing in nature, we stopped at Mt. Rushmore.  This was the one part of the trip that I did not enjoy.  It was so crowded, you couldn't hardly move.  Toby came with me, they allowed dogs at that time.  We couldn't walk five feet without someone bothering Toby.  People would reach down and try to pet him without even asking.  One person poked him in the eye.  Toby growled.  Who can blame him?  The two of us got the heck out of there.  Another thing that I hated about the place is that at least twenty people must have asked me if that was the kind of dog Queen Elizabeth has.  I was about ready to put a sign on Toby saying, Queen Elizabeth has a corgi like this.   We went back to the car and escaped the madness.  Mom and Dad came back an hour or so later and said how great a time they had.  The best time that Toby and I had there was our nap time when we got back to the car.
     We left South Dakota and arrived for an uneventful stay at my Grandma's house.  We did go out to visit my uncle's ranch about 40 miles outside of Cheyenne.  We were supposed to have a picnic at his house.  All the time we were there, my uncle kept telling me about how many rattlesnakes were around the place.  Toby and I wished we had stayed in town.  We couldn't even enjoy our meal.  I kept watching for those darn snakes.  Needless to say, when everyone decided to walk around the ranch, we stayed at the house.   Neither one of us cared much for the outdoors.  I remember someone saying once that they were an avid indoorsman.  That would describe Toby and me. 
     We returned from our trip through Nebraska which is about as exciting as Kansas.  Toby and I never went back to visit South Dakota.  I wish we would have.  It is a nice place.