Art Writ Large

      

    On our way to our hotel in Chamberlain, South Dakota, we had two stops in mind. One was the Porter Sculpture Park, a gigantic field full of metal sculptures made by Wayne Porter. It was so cool, the other stop got postponed until the next day.

    Wayne, the son of a blacksmith, creates whimsical, graceful, terrifying, and often massive metal sculptures at his shop about ninety minutes away from Chamberlain and then trucks them to a field right off I-90. Considering the size of some of the pieces, that process must be a work of art and engineering in itself.  

    As you pull up the long driveway, past a herd of grazing cattle ("the most photographed herd in South Dakota"), Wayne is there himself to greet you and take your small entrance fee. He’ll tell you all about each sculpture, if you ask, and give you some local history and tips on places to see in the area to boot. It is definitely one of those random roadside attractions to stop at, but absolutely, totally worth it.

    The next day we visited another gigantic metal sculpture, simply called Dignity. This one was created by Dale Claude Lamphere and is installed on a rise of land overlooking the Missouri River, conveniently located at a South Dakota visitor center and rest stop. While a little more touristy due to its location, the sculpture itself, depicting a native woman holding a beautiful star quilt, is moving.

    True, we are on this trip mostly for the National Parks and the natural beauty, but places like this are yet another chance to see something we’ll never see anywhere else. This big old country of ours is full of surprises. Some of them are enormous.