Mitchell, South Dakota: Valtiroty Shiloh's Tabernacle (Closed)

Advertised as a "Bible Playground." We were anxious to see just what those Biblical children were playing with. Who knew that they had plastic slides and a plastic crocodile, complete with plastic multicolored eggs, all neatly arranged in a pen?

I couldn't disagree more with the previous comments. I stumbled across this gem of a place when I went to see the Corn Palace. It is directly across the street. The owners are wonderful people who do speak with accents since they were born in Pakistan. They are so interesting and have invested so much to bring biblical teachings to life. They have ancient artifacts on display and have commissioned artists to recreate, to scale, important items in Christian history. This is a wonderful place to really see something that can't be found anywhere else.

This place was downright spooky. When we entered, the guy running it was singing in what I assume might be Hebrew, and he spoke with a very heavy accent. Walking through the back area, we saw mannequins dressed like biblical figures and a plastic sheep laying on a fire pit. There was also a Garden of Eden area in a separate room that we didn't enter because there was a mother having a "birds and the bees" talk with her daughter in there.

As we were leaving, the proprietor dropped his heavy accent.

Oh my, went in for the kid's jungle, stayed for the sheer crazy. If you want a Jesus t-shirt, this is the place to go. Focused on kids area, a couple slides, crocodile in a bed of giant eggs, cardboard castle surrounded by dragons, wraparound catwalk through the "jungle" with cattle wire enclosure (for "safety?"). Very clear signs stating enter at your own risk, not liable for injuries. Get your tetanus shot first.

Proprietor seems very friendly and willing to tell you all about hell. Luckily he had ensnared another couple, so we quickly snuck out.