I planned to drive west through the very northern stretches of Nebraska, or the southern edge of South Dakota. I ended up driving the tried and true I-90 from Sioux Falls to Rapid City. There are just too many stops to make on this main stretch of road that can only
be found on the highways and byways of this strange state. One thing is for certain: through all the farmland and monotonous hills, South Dakota, markets its' quirks with a passion that can only be found in this Midwest state. I wonder how many signs there are for the Corn Palace in Mitchell alone, never mind for Wall Drug and it's international signage (I think I even saw a Wall Drug sticker in Antarctica)!
My favorite part of the day was spending a couple of hours in Badlands National Park. I got out of the car and took a 2 mile hike through the strange eroded landscape. The weather was warm after all the rain from Iowa, and it felt good to negotiate the terrain.
I remember being in the Badlands with my family some years back. It was hot and we got out to take a walk around some "fossils" that had been placed along the trail in various spots for some sort of educational purpose, I suppose. The memories of that little jaunt was a bit disingenuous, but this time I avoided that trek and just enjoyed God's Creative work. I also read about some real paleontological digs going on in the layers of this dirt.
The drive through the park is pretty amazing. The scenic route is laid out among the peaks and valleys. Parts of the pavement dip into the valleys and others climb to plateaus above the pinnacles. There is one portion of the road that traverses some colorful layers of soil (I missed this part last time I was here).
I finished the day with a stay in Rapid City at a hotel. The sun peaked under the clouds as it set and set a brilliant rainbow on the horizon. It was a long day of driving, but I am looking forward to the rest of my trip and seeing Char tomorrow night in Bozeman, Montana. So far, all plans are on schedule. The car is running. My only casualty was the water bottle I forgot to take off my bike-whoops.
I planned to drive west through the very northern stretches of Nebraska, or the southern edge of South Dakota. I ended up driving the tried and true I-90 from Sioux Falls to Rapid City. There are just too many stops to make on this main stretch of road that can only 
be found on the highways and byways of this strange state. One thing is for certain: through all the farmland and monotonous hills, South Dakota, markets its' quirks with a passion that can only be found in this Midwest state. I wonder how many signs there are for the Corn Palace in Mitchell alone, never mind for Wall Drug and it's international signage (I think I even saw a Wall Drug sticker in Antarctica)!
My favorite part of the day was spending a couple of hours in Badlands National Park. I got out of the car and took a 2 mile hike through the strange eroded landscape. The weather was warm after all the rain from Iowa, and it felt good to negotiate the terrain.
I remember being in the Badlands with my family some years back. It was hot and we got out to take a walk around some "fossils" that had been placed along the trail in various spots for some sort of educational purpose, I suppose. The memories of that little jaunt was a bit disingenuous, but this time I avoided that trek and just enjoyed God's Creative work. I also read about some real paleontological digs going on in the layers of this dirt.
The drive through the park is pretty amazing. The scenic route is laid out among the peaks and valleys. Parts of the pavement dip into the valleys and others climb to plateaus above the pinnacles. There is one portion of the road that traverses some colorful layers of soil (I missed this part last time I was here).
I finished the day with a stay in Rapid City at a hotel. The sun peaked under the clouds as it set and set a brilliant rainbow on the horizon. It was a long day of driving, but I am looking forward to the rest of my trip and seeing Char tomorrow night in Bozeman, Montana. So far, all plans are on schedule. The car is running. My only casualty was the water bottle I forgot to take off my bike-whoops.
