Mississippi River Trip: Art Alley by MVP

One of the most charming features of Rapid City is an alley that has been given over entirely to free art. The walls, doors, trash cans, power lines –all of it is covered with art ranging from weak graffiti (Sasquatch was here/I hate Ginelle/U cant spel) to a series of hand painted excerpts from the Tao of Buddah to some excellent pop and classical artwork. Larisa and I spent 45 minutes wandering though it and probably would have spent more if we hadn’t been tired and looking for a place to sleep. 

We got in on a Sunday and almost every business in the Main Street area is closed, so there wasn’t much to hold our attention and we moved on.

Just outside of the city center we found a little festival happening in the city park.   From the road it looked like a mish mash of multicolored tents and wandering people – exactly our thing!  We parked on a  side road and headed to the fair.  It was great mainly for the intimacy of it – everyone was very friendly, and most of the stalls held some kind of handmade craft or home made food.  Several photogrpahers were displaying their wares and Larisa and I stopped to browse, to critique, and to ask where they shot their shots.   None were willing to point us to specific locations.  See if they get my help if they’re ever in DC!  

2 photos of Rapid City - Past & Present - cool! Look at the hous with red roof-it's still there!

After wandering in the hot sun we decided to snack on something.  Larisa chose Ribbon Fries.  Ribbon fries, for those who don’t know, are made by sticking a drill bit into the end of a potato and running it at high speed against a blade to make one long, thin strip.  The strip is stuck into a fry basket and fried until it’s halfway between French fries and potato chips.  It was fantastically bad for us given the grease left behind, but the salt and ketchup and cool drinks went with it perfectly.  About ten minutes after buying them we were trying to figure out who had come and eaten the rest of them, because we don’t remember doing it.  Tasty treat!  

Since it was Father’s Day  I had demanded politely requested both a hot shower and dinner at a Mexican Restaurant to celebrate.  Larisa told me that she’d check with the kids since I wasn’t her father.  I remided her that Mother’s Day could consist of me drinking beer and watching TV, and suddenly she was looking up campsites.  We settled on a cheapo place that was crowded – the tent sites were about 12x12 and right next to each other.  BUT there were hto showers and we got some laundry done.  Our last shower had been five days before – in the interim we’d been bathing out of a pitcher to keep reletivly clean.  Each of our showers lated about 40 minutes and consisted of the hottest water the place could generate.  We laughed to learn that we had both washed our hair twice, and scrubbed our feet until they were pink.  After the shower we went to dinner at Ixtaca Mexican restaurant, which was recommended by one of the locals.

Let me tell you about Ixtaca.  It was the strangest combination of excellent and mediocre I’ve ever witnessed.  The décor was great – lots of pictures of Spanish scenes and paitnings on the wall, but the furniture looked like it had come out of a bargain basement store – that had gone out of business.  We were seated in a booth, had our drink orders taken, and were promptly forgotten.  Ten minutes later the waiter wandered back into the room to seat another couple and Larisa reminded him about our drinks.  They came right away.  The other family got their chips and salsa, but no drinks.  Larisa asked for chips and salsa.  It finally came and we ordered out food.  I got the steak fajitas (on special of Father’s Day) and Larisa got the veggie version of the same.  

The salsa was fantastic, as were the chips.  Obviously freshly made, delicately spiced, with a hint of fire to the sauce.  Yummy.  In addition they brought a bean dip that was flavored with chilies and bacon – again freshly made and fantastic.  We were really looking forward to the entrees.  When they came the steak fajitas looked anemic and overdone, and they were.  The meat had evidently been marinating for weeks because there was no flavor but the marinade, which was salt and perhaps pepper.  The plate held a lot of onions, but only a few pepper slices.  The salsa helped the falvor a lot.  Larisa’s veggie fajitas were better, but still too salty for my taste.  And here again came a contradiction:  I ordered flour tortillas with my meal, Larisa corn, and both were well made and delicious.  The guacamole was also very fresh and well made.  Overall the service was about what you’d expect in a ghost town.  In the end, it was okay, but not what I wanted for my dinner.  

We retired to the campground and got some rest, expecting to head into the Black Hills early in the morning.