Our time in South Dakota included several tourist spots. Phil and I differed on our feelings about them. I saw Mt Rushmore as a tourist "trap" in the sense that its purpose was to bring tourists to South Dakota. To me, this puts it in the same category as Wall Drug or the Corn Palace. I found the Corn Palace to be more interesting as a folklorist because it is a part of a 19th century regional phenomenon. Cities built corn palaces, which are buildings decorated with massive amounts of corn and other grains, to show off their wealth and also attract tourists. This one, the only one left, is also a basketball court and community center, right next door to city hall. So it is used by the people in Mitchell and isn't just a tourist trap. Phil liked Mt Rushmore and didn't see it as a tourist trap, but did not like the corn palace.
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