Day 3 -- Busy Day Followed by a Long Drive

Cosmos

Cosmos

Mount Rshmore "Friends and Companions"

Chief Crazy Horse Memorial

We are safely into a Super 8 near Morningside Lutheran College in Sioux City, Iowa. We were so busy doing things around Rapid City this morning that we didn't leave very early. We drove the 40 or so miles to the Wall Drug Store and then took the loop through the Badlands. We didn't leave that area until 4:30 and we crossed into Central time along the way so that translated into a 5:30 departure. We had already reserved a room here in Sioux City, so we had a good seven-hour drive ahead of us. We did fine even with the miles of road construction and single lanes -- not too much traffic and very few motorcycles!
I think I'll wait till the morning to finish today's story. I left the camera in the car so I can't send pictures tonight and besides, my brain is fuzzy.

One thing I am thankful for (other than a safe arrival, of course) --
this motel room has A/C . It is HOT and muggy ouside -- feels like the bathroom after a hot shower;

• there are closed windows in this room. There are grasshoppers everywhere outside, jumping around and crunching underfoot -- totally grossing out Lila! I received a bunch of critter (?) bites while I was pumping gas just a few miles before we arrived.

Things looks brighter this morning, I must say! I'll try to recount a bit of yesterday's adventures before we leave.

We began the day with a trip out to the Crazy Horse memorial about 30 miles south of Rapid City. This mountain carving, begun in 1948, will rival Mount Rushmore when it is done. We joined hundreds of bikers for a short visit, even though one could spend days looking at the museum dedicated to the history and contributions of the American Indian.

JUST SEEM TO HAVE LOST EVERYTHING I WROTE AND DOWNLOADED! MAYBE I'LL TRY TO RECALL IT LATER, BUT FOR NOW, IT'S TIME TO LEAVE.

Sorry about the repetition.

Here we are in Moline, Illinois at a Super 8 Motel. I think I now know what I did to lose all my data. I'll try not to do it a third time!

So, if I knew how to make sure the pictures I upload would appear where I want them, I would insert Crazy Horse pictues here. As it is, I guess I'll just post them at the top.

The next visit was to the famous Mount Rushmore. Once more, we joined our biker friends to gaze at the amazing engineering feat of carving huge faces on top of a mountain! One could spend time learning more about the technology and the geology, but Lila and I opted to quickly check out the gift shop and head out for adventure number 3 for the day. (Actually, Lila almost bought a Sturgis motorcycle T-shirt, but delayed that important purchase till later in the day.)

For those of you who have visited Cosmos in Rapid City or the Mystery Spot in southern Oregon, you will know that it is pretty hard to descibe the experience of not being able to believe your eyes and feeling out of control as you attempt to stand or walk on an apparently level floor. It's a place where people's relative size changes based on their position on a level cement pad. It's a place where you almost feel nauseated because up isn't exactly up and your head feels dizzy. Tennis balls roll up rather than down, as does water. You'll see from the pictures that in order to stand "up" we have to lean way back or to the side, yet we could make swan-like poses from the wall of the cabin. Obviously there is much that has been done in order to fool us, but there do seem to be funny things going on! It was a ton of fun and we thoroughly enjoyed being mystified.

By the time we finished playing around with the mysteries of Cosmos, it was getting late. We had made reservations for Sioux City, but rather than miss anything, we decided we would just make the six or seven hour trip later in the day. We drove to Wall Drug Store -- about 50 miles east of Rapid City. There we looked at jewelry, leather goods, jewelry, souvenirs, jewelry, junky little items for prizes, and more jewelry. Before leaving, we smugly hooked up to an unsecured wireless network next to Sunshine Inn, and checked for the address of the motel we had booked. We added that to the GPS and left Wall.

We weren't quite ready to get back on I-90, however, because we wanted to drive through the Badlands Loop. I know there are all kinds of scientific geological reasons for these strange looking formations "rising" out of the grasslands, but I prefer to think of them as eerie creatures standing and following us with their eyes. There are coloured mounds that I'm sure are caves into which these creatures drag their prey before they retire to their pinnacled castles! Whatever you might believe, it is another awe inspiring sight and we were glad we took the time to drive among those Badlands.

Now it was back on the road -- again, along with more biker friends -- across the prairies of Little House on the Prairie. Before it got dark, we ran into a rain shower that produced a perfect ground to ground rainbow arch. We headed into the middle of the arch and could see a total curtain of rain running parallel to the highway -- about 50 miles north of us. The clouds are interesting in this prairie country. They seem to hang in the sky with lots of sky above and around them -- mostly white and fluffy, although a few had some dark moments that produced the rain. It became dark and we often travelled in single lane road constructions that lasted for miles and miles. There wasn't much traffic however, so it didn't really hold us up.

We made the turn south at Sioux Falls and managed the additional hour or so on to Sioux City. For the first time on this trip, I was negligent about keeping watch on the gas tank, so we coasted into a late night gas station almost on fumes. (Shades of Cape Breton Mary Ann, Dee and Sandra?) As I pumped gas, I was nearly eaten alive by critters and felt as if I were in a sauna. Oh my goodness it was hot and humid -- after midnight at that. When we finally got to the motel, Lila was grossed out by the multitude of grasshoppers -- hopping this way and that and crunching underfoot. Yuck.

Today's adventures were mild by comparison. Rural Iowa is pretty in places, but it is almost all the same -- rolling hills and flat fields of corn and some other grains. The roads in Iowa so far are awful, old and rough. We have clicked along many miles on concrete slab roads, may of which are being repaired, again leaving us with single lane traffic.

We stopped at the Amana Colonies -- interesting little shops and beautifully kept old buildings. I bought some travel mugs -- Nita, they may well be a replacement for the ones we have searched for. On the way back to I-80, we stopped at a mall where Lila picked up some things she wanted and we had an actual meal in a restaurant. Now we're happily installed in our motel room and getting ready to have a much earlier night.

Tomorrow, we plan to be at Gail's by early evening. It will be a busy road. We hear that there is a great zoo in Peoria, so we may stop there for a quick look.