Yesterday was a busy day. In the morning, while I was writing my post, Donna alternated walking and running laps around the campground. When I get the urge to exercise, I usually lie down until the urge goes away. Despite this, because I’m more active throughout the day than before I retired, I’m continuing to lose weight and will need to buy new jeans with a smaller waist size.

After breakfast and showers, we left the campground at 9:15 am and rode the scooter to Mitchell. We rode north a few miles into Salem then headed west on highway 38 for 32 miles. The scenery was a recurring theme. Corn fields, then soy bean fields, then fallow land or grazing cattle punctuated by the occasional wooded plot. Repeat. The road was straight as an arrow for the most part. For me it was a boring ride, but Donna said she enjoyed the scenery.

Mitchell is bigger than Madison with a population of more than 15,000. My first order of business was to find a bank to deposit checks. We tried several banks and none of them had an ATM that would accept a deposit into my Chase account or my credit union. This is frustrating. I’m still holding the check for the sale of my BMW motorcycle.

After running through a few banks, we found the attorney’s office on Kimball Street. We walked in precisely at 10:30, our appointed time. The receptionist greeted us and knew who we were. She remembered talking to Donna about our new lifestyle and asked if we found parking for the RV. The estate planning with the attorney turned out to be a little more complicated than I anticipated. My affairs are simple, as most of my assets already have designated beneficiaries. Donna, on the other hand has passive income, such as royalties that will survive her. This requires the attorney to study her contracts before writing her will.

While we were in Mitchell, we decided to visit the Corn Palace. This is Mitchell’s main tourist attraction. I have to say it’s unique. The Corn Palace is basically a community center with an auditorium, basketball court and performing arts stage. They hold various events there. What makes it unique are the murals inside the building and decorating the exterior. These murals are made from corn. They are created with different colored ears of corn and stalks. The murals are stripped from the building and replaced with new ones every year. Admission is free unless a special event is being held.

Southwest corner of the Corn Palace

We saw tour buses at the Corn Palace from Tennessee and Pennsylvania. Apparently it’s a popular stop on the tour bus routes.

Corn murals on the exterior wall

One of many murals inside the palace made from corn

We had lunch in Mitchell at Pizza Hut. Donna had the salad bar while I had pizza. It’s sad to say this was the best pizza I’ve had in a while, but it’s the truth. The place in Madison or the pub pizza in Salem was that bad.

Back at the campground Donna, e-mailed her contracts to the attorney (she had scanned them all before leaving Michigan). Then she spent the next hour doing a recorded interview for “HOW” magazine on organizing and productivity. I sat outside and watched the changing of the guard while she was on the phone.

When I say changing of the guard, I’m referring to the turnover at the campground. When we returned from Mitchell, the park was nearly empty. All afternoon I watched RVs pull in to the park and set up. This park seems to be an overnight way point for many RVers. We’ve been stationary here for six days now – a new record for us.

Today we have a change of plans. No big surprise as our plans often have a way of changing. Instead of returning to Mitchell to complete our legal matters, we’ll go back to Madison. We found out that the licensing department is open there on Tuesdays. We can obtain our new driver’s licenses and also meet with the insurance agent there. I reviewed her quote yesterday and will activate new policies.

Tomorrow we will break camp and drive west in the motorhome. We’ll make a stop in Mitchell to sign our documents at the law office, then head west toward Rapid City. This makes more sense than our original plan which had us backtracking to Madison.

I found good news online. In the Rapid City area there are several credit unions that are linked with Genisys. This means I can finally deposit my checks when we get there. I’m also hoping that when we go through the Badlands and into the Black Hills, my allergies will calm down. I’ve been miserable the past few days with itchy eyes and blocked sinuses.

Time for breakfast now and then we’re off to Madison.