This past Thursday I went on a drive and I ended up in South Dakota; the far west part of SD just across the border from Wyoming, that is. My adventure ended up being cut short and more rushed than I was planning, but things changed without notice.

I drove around five hours north up I-29, through Missouri and Iowa before crossing another border and staying the night in Vermillion, SD. There was quite a bit of much-needed road construction on I-29. The trip north was pretty rough in a few spots.

This is a fairly rural area. Vermillion is one of the bigger towns in the area and is the home of the University of South Dakota. The people that I dealt with were nice, and for a guy with a ponytail and 10 earrings in a rural area of America that is usually not the case.

I there was not much to watch on TV so I left it on AccuWeather since I wanted to see the forecast for the next day’s travels. They have an interesting channel – along the borders is the weather info and in the center they run stories about various topics. I saw a few and there were some interesting ones.

After one story about space and our solar system, there was one about travel. They were talking about road trips here in America and said that even though other types to travel to other countries was slowing a bit, domestic road trips were increasing. This means that the prices are stable and even rising in some places.

I found that to be oh-so-true on my hotel check-in. I was quoted about $145 with taxes. FOR A BEST WESTERN! It certainly was not more than a 3-star hotel so that was outrageous. On top of that, it was $15 for each of my dogs. We’re talking Hilton money now. I balked at the price and the lady lowered it down to a more palatable sum.

I also found that fuel prices were high up there as well. Around my house unleaded runs about $2.55 to $2.75/gallon. Up there it was about $3.00/gallon and a few places I paid $3.39 only out of necessity.

I have not done a road trip here in the States in a while so maybe this has been happening a while. Even when I do go on a road trip and stay I am usually camping in my trailer so I am fairly out of touch on hotel prices here. Still, it was good to get on the road again and a hotel is usually a treat.

After waking up at 4:20 (!), I got up the next morning and had some free breakfast. It was not health food but it was good and if I eat something not on my usual menu requirements I keep myself under control. It can be tough to do but I just keep reminding myself about my health. No more fistfuls of bacon!

I hit the road around 8:15 and headed west. I-90 is miles and miles of miles and miles. Gas can be sparse so fuel up when you get down to a half tank. One thing not sparse along the way is the relentless billboards. FFS…how many times do I need to see signs for free ice water and 5 cent coffee at Wall Drug and the story of Mt. Rushmore. SD needs to slam the brakes on the advertising – it really detracts from the wide-open spaces to the point it is basically one 500 mile long sign on each side of the highway.

Along the way to where I was going something else came up that was the final trip-shortener. Between that and the prices of the hotels and fuel I unfortunately decided to just go back. It was disappointing because after driving six hours this morning I wanted to spend time in certain places and get some hiking in and see some new places I had not been or spent very much time in.

It was such a joy to see the mountains and pine trees again! I was grinning ear to ear inside and out on that first glance east of Rapid City. Damn I miss seeing that out the window every day.

Maybe again someday…

I drove past Sturgis and on to Spearfish, which was where I wanted to hang out this time, but I will have to come back. I have spent lots of time in Spearfish before but I want to hike and explore more of the Black Hills area. I HAVE seen many places and the “must-sees” around this area before (Rushmore, Custer SP, Crazy Horse, Sturgis during the Rally, Dances with Wolves sites, Deadwood, etc.) and posted some of the pictures in my blog in years past. It is such a geologically unique and beautiful area that I want to see more of the backroads.

So, I basically got to Sturgis and did a “turn-n-burn” and went right back the way I came. As I drove back east, looking at all the same damn signs ad nauseum, I was trying to figure out what I was going to do on the way back. It was around 4:00 PM so daylight was going to get nothing but shorter heading east and I would need sleep at some point.

I decided that with the crazy prices I was not paying for another hotel. I would drive as far as I could, pull over in a truck stop, and catch a nap and roll on south.

Now, I quit marathon driving some years back; I usually stop after no more than five hours these days. Used to be I could drive 16 hours but between towing a trailer and the simple fact that I don’t HAVE to be somewhere since I don’t work I don’t do that any longer. It gives you a nice, leisurely afternoon/evening to relax, have some dinner, and maybe a fire later on to mesmerize while contemplating life.

During all tis driving I got back to I-29 and that road sucks going south out of Sioux Falls, SD. Every effing expansion joint is sticking up and it just sucks. I would not ride that long on a bike – it would be really dangerous on two wheels. It went on for miles then I got to the construction and it was better.

I drove. And drove. And drove. Then…I drove some more. I drove until 4:00 Saturday morning. I have always found that once the sun starts to rise it is my 2nd wind. Sunrise was still a few hours off and I was so tired (not hallucinating tired) I just could not go any farther. I was in Missouri, only two hours from home, and I was spent. I got an hour nap in and actually felt pretty good after about 10 minutes. The dogs copped a squat and we hit the road. It’s not much longer now.

I got back around 8:30 AM and the dogs were more than happy to get out and run. Rider always claims shotgun but he’s too big to fit in the seat comfortably, yet the back seat is folded down but he won’t go back there because Rumor will take his seating position. He ain’t having that. It’s his own damn fault he is cramped.

Myself…I felt pretty good but started dropping power around 4:00 in the afternoon and fell asleep for about 90 minutes. I have been working around the house getting my parents’ things cleaned out finally after having to distance from it for a while for my sanity (not literally).

I really just want to finally get it done & dusted. I was fairly useless that day I got back but I was busy before & have been since and I am making pretty good progress.

After that I will be able to get back out to travel.

And see pine trees and my beloved mountains. Be nice to see the salt water again with the other two.

See you next time.

Shawn