Microtel Sioux Falls

... we see hundreds of windmill generators dotted throughout the corn fields.

Just before we cross from Wisconsin into Minnesota we cross the Mississippi river Cath spies a drive-inn diner complete with waitresses on roller skates. We couldn’t have lunch as our van was too tall to fit under the awning oh well we will try to find another

Next we cross the bridge over the Mississippi and we go under it to explore here we ...

... and it went bankrupt. Two additional owners failed at the same thing. My brain was tired enough to gleefully say to myself “Citizen foils Banker” and chuckle. I later realized that a lot investors probably got hurt as well, thinking the bank knew what it was doing. Hum!
On the way out of downtown, I passed a large quartzite building title “Minnehaha County Admin”. That did make me chuckle. Oh... Ashley. I am feeling as one with Steinbeck. Thanks.

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.

... great to see buffalo at last after spending two days in Wyoming and South Dakota buffalo country.

In Hot Springs we toured an active archaeological dig, the Mammoth Site. This site was discovered by contractors in the 1970's. Apparently they uncovered what was an ancient sink hole that had been filled with warm waters during the last ice age. Both Columbian and Woolly Mammoths had roamed the area, and wandered into the water, but were unable to get out. So far they have ...

... 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!

... trees, and loads of sky. The weather today was hot and clear, with scattered cotton-candy clouds dotted across the azure dome of the sky - perfect weather for driving really really fast with the windows down and the stereo way up. Clearly the SD state legislators have sensed that this confluence of landscape and weather result in the need for speed, and have accommodated by setting the speed limit at 75 on most roads. Of course, when you're tooling along at ...

... the stop.(if you've got some time to kill) We got in to Sioux Falls, SD around 5pm. The boys have been waiting to get new bikes, so we picked one up for Collin at Wal-Mart. We had to go to Toys-R-Us for Keegan's. They loved their bikes and were very grateful. Staying at Wal-Mart tonight, because we'll be on the rode first thing in the morning for Minneapolis.

I left South Dakota when there was snow still on the ground, to drive to Dallas, TX. I had a car full of stuff to move, and my cockatiel, Buddy II (he learned to whistle 'Hotel California' since that's pretty much the only album I played all the way down!). I stayed at a rest area one night, where a couple of truckers pulled their trucks close enough to my car so no one could break in while I was sleeping, and they gave me ...