Bye, Bozo

Mission accomplished.

Day 4 1/2: Tuesday's In-Depth Gas Station Interview

Before

This is Brianna's deluxe dorm room. Soon to be even more deluxe.

Day 4: Dead Presidents

Travel back in time ... across 2 states ... to yesterday. We went to Mt. Rushmore. It was a gorgeous day and it is truly a spectacular monument.

We then drove through the Black Hills to Deadwood, thinking it would be a funky historic Western town  and a good place for lunch.

Deadwood is a sh*thole. Just a tacky excuse for slot machines and casinos and really overpriced horrible food. 

We got back on the interstate and headed for Sheridan, WY to stay with our friend Martha. 

Bozo!!

We made it.

Little Big Horn Battlefield monument

Interesting, moving and really well done monument.

Day 4 redux

Wifi stress yesterday. Small post now, more later. Enjoy the view.

Mt. Rushmore Update

So we left with plenty of time to get there and see the dramatic lighting last night. Which the interwebs and the local guide book said was at 9pm.

We were driving up the road, came around a corner and there it was ... all lit up? And all the traffic was coming back down the hill. Oops. Not sure exactly what went wrong ...

Sunday's In-Depth Gas Station Interview

Sunday's In-Depth Gas Station Interview actually took place at the Corn Palace.

Day 3: South Dakota

yeah. More corn today.

But we did get to see it put to creative use. I was abnormally excited to see the Corn Palace and it didn't disappoint.

 There were other cool sites today too. Dinosaurs, huge cows and fields of sunflowers.

We also stopped at Wall Drug. You start seeing signs for Wall Drug about 40 miles west of Sioux Falls and they continue all across the state. But they never say how far you are from Wall Drug until about 20 miles out. By the time you get there, you are completely brainwashed and you can't NOT go to Wall Drug.

Wall Drug is a block-long faux-Western repository of every imaginable kind of tourist kitsch. The ice cream was really good though.

Now we're about 20 minutes from Mt. Rushmore and getting psyched to see the patriotic light show tonight.

CORN PALACE!!!

It's like Versailles ... only with corn. Sadly, the queen wasn't in residence.

Today's In-depth Gas Station Interview

Day 2: Barns, corn and country

We covered the rest of Illinois, Wisconsin and Minnesota and wound up in Sioux Falls, South Dakota. My favorite part  was the billboard just over the Wisconsin border, for a store selling cheese and fireworks. I like Wisconsin.

We've listened to just about every country music station between Chicago and Sioux Falls. I am now familiar with many of today's popular country songs. I am particularly fond of the one about being good at drinking beer.

We've driven past unrelenting rows of corn but at least the monotony is broken up by countless acres of soybeans. The windfarm in Minnesota went on as far as your could see.

Brianna found us a mexican restaurant here in Sioux Falls and we're eating takeout and watching Harry Potter.

Handy

See Jim. Brianna is being very conscientious.

WTF Illinois

I guess you have to pay for those nice rest stops somehow. But seriously. Enough with the toll plazas.

Niiiiice

Illinois has nice rest stops. This one is actually a bridge over the highway. Ohio has nice ones too. Indiana ... not so much.

Yum

This is Brianna and our charming host Tom Kelly outside Tallgrass in Lockport, IL. We had an amazing dinner that totally exceeded expectations. And yes, Brianna is wearing a dress.

Day 1

We are safely arrived in Lockport, Illinois and looking forward to a decadent dinner at Tallgrass.

We covered four states and spent about $14 in tolls. Now I know why, where I live, it's called the FREEway. We also got familiar with exactly what kind of gas mileage the Blazer gets. I made Brianna nervous.

Guess where

It's round on each end and hi in the middle

Look Mom!

Walked right by the Burger King and Popeyes Chicken at the Ohio turnpike rest stop and got the healthy salad. No, those are NOT potato chips on top. They're dried apple.

The remainder of the bag of peanut M&Ms is in the car ...

Bye

Left White Haven before 7 am. A few tears and we headed west.

Pre-road trip training

To paraphrase an ancient Chinese philosopher, the journey of a thousand miles begins with a single ... cheesesteak? First stop from the airport: Tony Lukes.

The Route

5 days, 2,120.8 miles. Departing Friday, 8/20.

Planned highlights include a visit here: http://www.tallgrassrestaurant.com/
and here: http://tinyurl.com/25qj9ve.

But it's the unplanned that will make it memorable.