Dances With Wind...

I'm in Belvedere, South Dakota and I've learned something today. I probably already knew it, but it was resubmitted to me in case I forgot. Driving at 75 mph in a headwind BURNS GAS! Whooee!

I called my sister and asked her if she remembered Dances With Wolves and told her it was filmed around here and that's what it looks like on this side of South Dakota. She said, "With a bunch of dead buffalo around?" I, of course , said yes. So if you're wondering why I'm inside typing this on a sunny afternoon, just picture what it looked like in that movie. Windy and without the buffalo.

"Out here" they have things done up right, with the line poles about 50 ft higher (or more.. I have always had trouble with measurement since the .."nope, it's really 8 inches, sweetie". They run the lines apart from each other by a large space, which, with this wind, makes sense.
Minnesota lines...

In South Dakota, they are on both sides near the 'big' cities.

The rest areas used to have small teepees, with cloth covers, and two people in each of them (which is remarkable, considering the towns out here are all about 40 miles apart). Now they have these monoliths, and no people... ah... progress... sigh...


One of the things I love about S.D. is it's penchant for colorful things to drag you to a small town you would pass up otherwise.

Take Mitchell.. They have the Corn Palace. They have been decorating this building since 1894 (I was here for the centennial. Inside this building is a regular basketball court and seats, and outside is covered with corn. Corn husks, corn halves, different colored corn... they change it every year with a brand spanking new theme.

Side view..

Front view..

What was missing from Mitchell this year was one of my favorite all time signs. The fist time I drove through town, which was before gambling was allowed in the state and town was much quieter and smaller, there was a street sign that said "DRIVE CAREFULL".. I loved it.. Someone,however, must have gotten on them about the grammar, so the NEXT time I went through it said "DRIVE CAREFULY" rofl!

It's gone, of course, gone the way of all good things.

I crossed the Missouri River today at the point where Lewis and Clark made portage and camp. It's a bigger river here than the Mississippi (again!!) which is about the same distance from the start... but I don't know where the Missouri starts, so maybe I"ll shut up about it.

and while were here, I have to give a hat's off to Lewis and Clark, who did a thing so remarkably brave that I can't even conceive the scope of it.


A nod to them on the wall of a rest area...

I didn't take a picture of the campground.. if you want to see what it looks like, watch the movie. Kevin Costner's cuter anyways.