On the last homeward leg of our journey, we crossed the border back into Colorado with a sigh to be home again. Here are the fun facts I didn’t give you about Wisconsin and South Dakota.

We did notice that all the fuel stops in Wisconsin had the usual candy bars and packs of gum, but they also had various kinds of cheese curds! Did you know that Wisconsin offers a three-year program to earn the title of ‘Master Cheesemaker?’ To even apply, you must have ten years of cheesemaking experience. There is an icon reserved for those few to put on their cheeses to market. Ninety percent of the milk produced in Wisconsin is used to make cheese!

South Dakota is a great state. Beautiful grasslands go on forever! We stopped in Mitchell to see the Corn Palace that I remembered from a childhood trip. It was not anything like what I remembered as the town has grown into a city and does not have the feel I’ve thought so fondly so many times. The Palace is still impressive with all the dried corn ears designed into incredible murals, but it just wasn’t the same.

The geographic center of the United States in located in Belle Fourche, South Dakota. Mount Rushmore took 14 years to build at a cost of one million dollars. One of the largest and most complete skeletons of a T-rex was found near Faith, SD. We did not make to the side of the state where you can see the badlands, Mt.Rushmore and go to Wall Drug. That will have to wait for another trip.