A Day of Dakotas. It's nothing short of astonishing that I didn't need
half a white Valium, having had to drive 150+ miles on each of Interstates
90, 94, and US Highway 83. That's a whole lotta really, really boring
miles. But I got to watch a mediocre display of illuminating Mt. Rushmore,
so I guess all's not lost. I guess.
|
| 5:40am |
The alarm went off. Much to my surprise, the sound of it caused
motion amongst those in my presence. |
| 6:02am |
Significant activity cause me to celebrate by nodding off as Tubby
prepared himself. |
| 6:36am |
We're on the road. All things considered, including a 10 minute
warm-up for the car (mostly to get the interior to a decent temperature).
With no traffic to speak of, navigation was a breeze, and locking
the cruise control at 83 MPH a cinch. |
| 6:42am |
For about three minutes. Then we hit the first of several construction
zones that reduced the two lane [each way] Interstate 29 down to one
lane in our direction, and a speed of 45 MPH. Drat. |
| 7:41am |
I deftly navigate us from I-29 to westbound I-94, to begin the 150
or so mile trip from here (Fargo area) to Bismarck. |
| 10:10am |
We arrive in the capitol city of Bismarck
to look around, since my last visit (May 2002) was cut short due to
a scheduling problem. This visit was far more leisurely pursued. |
| 10:46am |
It was time to hit the road again, bound slowly in a homeward direction,
but with two and a half days yet of wandering between here and the
home nest. |
| 11:11am |
A stop for fuel in Sterling left us with the impression that Sterling
would be a town. Aside from a second gas station, one visible house
and grain elevator near the train tracks, we couldn't find the town.
Drat. |
| 11:19am |
It occurred to us both that lunch time was approaching. And we had
no strong food options between us and the next major city except 180
miles of hunger pains. |
| 11:41am |
The first city of any significance was Hazelton,
and although I'm sure they'd meant well, we found nothing. |
| 12:08pm |
Lifton. Nothing. But there are tons of sunflowers
in fields, being grown as an alternate to corn. (I'm guessing it's
part of the field rotation thing.) |
| 12:18pm |
Strausberg, the birth place of Lawrence Welk. They were sure to
let you know of this being his birth home, but no lunch options to
speak of. |
| 12:40pm |
We crossed over from North Dakota to South Dakota. But still hungry. |
| 12:55pm |
The county seat, Mound Hill, proved to be no option. And with 86
people claimed on the town's sign, the options were scant at best. |
| 12:58pm |
A consultation of the map found Mobridge was typed in bold type,
and the map book claimed 3,700+ people. Surely they had to eat, which
was enough to give us cause to wander 17 miles off course to check
it out. |
| 1:24pm |
Success! A Dairy Queen at that, but food is food. After only 13
minutes from entry to exit, we left with burgers, fries, a soda and
a Blizzard. (Fast food restrictions be damned, I was hungry.) |
| 1:37pm |
We're back on the road -- obviously. 1:24 + 13 minutes is 1:37pm. |
| 3:12pm |
We reach South Dakota's capitol city of Pierre.
After fueling the car and the cooler with frozen water (e.g. ice),
we were off for Interstate 90. |
| 3:23pm / 2:23pm |
While driving along, we're informed it's now Mountain Time. Curious. |
| 2:25pm / 3:25pm |
Due to a time zone line placement issue, we're again in Central
Time. Only in America, eh, comrade? |
| 3:53pm |
Finishing with US Highway 83, we manage to navigate our way back
to Interstate 90, and the run of 150 miles or so to Rapid City, which
is our target ending location. |
| 4:11pm / 3:11pm |
For the last time, we cross from Central to Mountain Time, right
around mile marker 191. Noteworthy only in that there's nothing else
noteworthy about the point where the time zone change occurs. |
| 4:52pm |
We arrive in Rapid City, and by arrive here, I mean we drive straight
on through to Mt. Rushmore. Being this close -- 23 miles -- it seems
un-American to not go see it. And despite not being worried about
appearances, I went anyway, dragging Tubby with me. |
| 5:27pm |
Mt. Rushmore now
has a very nice parking structure I don't recall, nor do I recall
paying $8 to park. Virgil was kind enough to alleviate Tubby of his
hard[ly] earned money, in exchange for a parking pass we could use
for the next 12 months. Which means now we have to come back. |
| 5:46pm |
I'm bored. But the rumored illumination at 9pm has me intrigued.
I formulate the plan to go into Keystone (the town at the bottom of
the park's entrance) for food, and possibly a room. Back to the car! |
| 6:02pm |
We check out one of the newer places that advertise $49.99/single
for the night, and check into it. Of course, the singles are all full,
but we could get a room for $84.99 plus tax and such. We thanked Toby,
and left. Sounds like Motel 6 in Rapid City is going to be the answer. |
| 6:17pm |
After wandering along the covered sidewalk, we end up in a restaurant/buffet
place. Ordering the usual (bacon cheeseburger for Tubby, and Saltines
for me), we nibble happily. The server, Shaun, seems a bit bored in
his job. |
| 6:53pm |
All done, and Shaun seems to perk up when giving us the bill. I
don't know if it's because we're leaving, he likes sticking people
with the check, or our acerbic wit finally got through to him. In
any event, his flat personality was reflected in the tip. |
| 7:09pm |
We are back at Mt. Rushmore, and waiting for the 9pm event in the
cafeteria seating area. (They have power for my laptop, and shiny
things in the gift shop to entertain Tubby.) I also note the "illumination"
is just turning on the lights at 9:30pm... the 9pm is the beginning
of the 30 minute monologue about it all. I decide not to let on this
detail to Tubby, who's expecting fireworks at 9pm sharp. |
| 9:19pm |
Looking out the windows from the air-conditioned room, the lights
still aren't on. Curious. And why is it air conditioned at this hour,
anyway? |
| 9:31pm |
The lighting occurred, and honestly, it was little more than what
you'd expect: a bunch of spotlights pointed at the monument. But we
waited out here for it, so we looked at them all
light up. |
| 9:39pm |
Beating out most of the crowd, we began the dash back to Rapid City,
rapidly, to cover the 17 miles back to town. |
| 10:14pm |
And the first place we saw was a Travelodge, and rather than wander
and meander, we just grabbed it. Mary Jane and her husband, Oliver,
run this particular lodge. Oliver was off watching TV, but Mary Jane
helped book us into room 318. Which is in back along the deck -- there's
no third floor, or even a second floor, really. |
| 10:29pm |
All settled in, and two days of updates updated, I set about letting
the computer do it's internet sending thing. I'm going to float about
in the tub; I feel my dorsal feathers getting all nappy today. |
| 11:07pm |
Postings posted, I'm shutting down and shutting down (the computer
and my eyes, respectively). |
| |
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