Brimark Inn Sioux Falls

... doing 75-80 we hit a patch of rain for about ½ an hour. As we enter Sioux Falls we see a lot of small buildings with casino signs there is one right out in front of our motel. It appears to just be slot machines how they are run and by whom I am yet to find out.

We are fairly tired after an 800 kilometer drive and crash into bed watching a program about the world trade centers demise as today ids the anniversary of that horrific event

LABOR DAY and people were taking time to enjoy an overcast day in Sioux Falls, Falls Park. Dozens of cyclists on the river bike path, dogs and kids running about. Charlie and I sat outside at the Falls Café and had a sandwich, sharing a table with a nice couple who had come to bicycle the whole path around downtown and back.
The Big Sioux River cascades down many stepped down Sioux quartzite layers. All over, the falls were peppered with people standing in the water ...

Charlie and I began the drive through the Badlands with mouths gaping. How did anyone ever figure their way through this land. It must be full of skeletal remains. Well, turns out there were some to see. A wooden walk through a "fossil bed" appeared and we stopped. I expected to see fossils in the cracked dried mud, but they were encased in plastic topped boxes. Many signs warning "Rattlers" so we didn't step off .

The next ...

A stop over in this small town after a long day.

We called into Cracker Barrel for a meal before heading for the Holiday Inn. This was the first time visiting Cracker Barrel despite our number of trips to the US in the past. Shame really as the meal was good. It's an early start tomorrow.

Chicago tomorrow

... we know that after a short while Angus had completed ALL the laundry, while Morgan and I watched a movie on the laptop. Oh how we love our little brother! By 10 pm that night the rain turned into an all out storm complete with thunder and lightning. But if there is one thing we have learned on this trip it has been how to handle thunder and lightning, so it wasn't a big deal for us.

... the bones of nearly 60 mammoths, and they have another 45 feet of depth to study. It was great to be able to see these actual remains and learn about the process used to uncover and study them.

After Hot Springs, we drove 6 hours through the badlands to Sioux Falls. It had to be one of our longest drives through vast, bland landscape! Tomorrow we travel to our final destination, as chosen by the girls, the Mall of America. What a way to end this incredible journey!

... a run for the car!

By the time we made it to the car not only did it look like we had just taken a shower in our clothes it was freezing cold!! We headed back to Pam & Matt's place and got warmed up & had a cup of tea before calling it a night! Well, we may not have made it to a baseball game, but at least we tried!

... rattling through some country and western , wasn't too bad. However the daughter gave one of those embarrassing performances where (a) you want to roll into a ball and hide and (b) you wonder why she'd get up there and sing if she knew how bad she was. After we could take no more, it was time for bed. Day Five Stats: Mileage - 437 (1395 total) State registration plates seen - 5 (36 total) States visited - Wisconsin, Minnesota, South Dakota

... vi, og Sussi kørte et par timer og så skiftede vi tilbage igen. Landskabet gik fra træbeklædte bjerger til flade marklandskaber i South Dakota hvor vi er nu. Vi krydsede også Missisipi floden, som i kan se lidt billeder af her: Derudover erfarede vi også at ELDI (ALDI) skam også eksisterer herovre i Guds eget land. Idag var vi ogs ...

... this time back north.

This trip only took me 2 days, although I did go a little fast in NM, and got a warning ticket...LOL I spent a month in CO, then after being assured that my SIL was able to take care of my niece again (she was home for almost 2 weeks before I left), I drove back to Texas. My hubby was there by that time, with a van-load of the rest of our stuff except for furniture, so we commenced job-hunting.