The Journey as told by Joan's Journal
Day 1; July 14, 2008
Dad arrived at our house about 7am like he said he would. Dan packed the car and the two of them waited for me in the car as I made last minute checks.
We left Waterford, MI around 7:30am. We left Christopher and Matt Bale with the dogs. Stopped in Fowlerville at the Farm House for breakfast. Had the waitress take our first picture.
Called back around 9am to make sure the boys were checking on the dogs. All "Ok" according to Matt.
Drove through Chicago around Noon their time(CT) - no real delays. We kept listening to the radio stations out of Chicago to keep abreast of the traffic congestion. We stopped for lunch just north of Chicago, outside Rockford, IL.
We found a Jimmy John's deli in a new strip mall. Dad still wasn't sure if we needed more directions as to which way to go around Chicago. BUT we were already past most of the downtown traffic and only a short ways from the turnpike.
Gassed up and drove as far as La Crosse, WI. Beautiful weather. Hi 80's and sunny. Dad is enjoying the drive so far. He remembers the trips to see Erin. Tuesday we'll cross the Mississippi River and drive through Minnesota. Should be in SD by night fall. We're really enjoying the scenery so far.
The hotel in La Crosse didn't have any non-smoking doubles available but they did have two smoking singles/suites. Dad took one that was VERY smoky and we took the other room. Went to Famous Dave's for BBQ dinner. We took leftovers back to the hotel room for tomorrow's lunch. After dinner we drove over to the Wal-Mart to find something to freshen up the rooms. Febreeze here we come.
Day 2; July 15, 2008
Had a nice breakfast at the hotel. Lots of Army reservists stayed at the hotel last night. We left by 7:30am CT. Minnesota has tons of wind mills. We saw them being set up. The size of those things are HUGH! The propellers/blades are gigantic. Lots of farm land. Still sunshine and nice weather. Might get rain later today.
Stopped in WALL, SD. Had dinner/lunch across from Wall Drug. Wall Drug is so big that we only saw part of it. It's very HOT today. Car temp says 101°F. Didn't take any pictures at Wall Drug.
Got into Rapid City, SD only to find most hotels were full. Found a no-name motel "Fair Value" that gave us a 'suite' for less than 2 rooms. The suite is in an office building where all the other suites are offices. Very weird. We're in Mountain Time so its rough being 2 hours ahead of the locals.
Day 3; July 16, 2008
Rapid City, SD – Up at 5am only cause it is 7 at home. Might have some rain later today (according to the TV weather). Headed for breakfast across the street and then on to the main attraction. Another HOT DAY.
Got to Mt. Rushmore in the morning. Nice weather. Cool – a little grey but nice. The first sight of the memorial is awesome. You see it before you get to the entrance. The sun shining on those faces. Awesome. Had to pay to park but not to get in. The pass is good til December 2008.
We took several photos on both Dad’s camera and ours as we walked up to the main plaza. The columns on either side of the walkway have all the names of the states carved into them. I had my picture taken next to the Michigan column.
Dan & I walked to the base, nice. The walk got harder on the return. Lots of stairs. The longer we stayed the sunnier it got.
On the descent from the base going down toward the Sculpture’s studio, we saw a lonely Mountain goat. Very scruffy.
We met Dad in the cafeteria and decided our next stop.
We decided to go see the Crazy Horse Monument. Very cool. It’s a non-profit so it cost more to get in, ($27 per car load), but boy was it worth it. All the funds go to the creation of the monument. The sculptor died in 1982 but his wife and 7 of the 10 children still run the operation. We have to come back to see the progress. They did a blast the night before that we missed. That would have been cool to see.
We had lunch in Keystone then decided to drive up to Deadwood. Went through Custer State Park. WOW. I must return to this place. Tried to find buffalo herd but only saw the top of the head of one that was lying down. Almost missed it. Saw two wild burros , some prong horn antelope but not a large herd of buffalo. The State Park has tons of stuff to do and see. Cabins to rent would be fun.
The drive to Deadwood was very twisty and turns that you took real slow. Went through three small single car tunnels and a few ‘pigtail’ curves. Cool. Deadwood was interesting. Lots of casinos. Had dinner at Charlie Utter’s Social Club above the #10 Saloon. Ate outside on the roof. Wonderful meal. Dad & I had the pork chops. Dan had the chicken Al Fredo. We missed the gunfight on the street but met ‘Wild Bill’ in the bar. We went into the Hickok bar & casino and lost a total of $4. Dan lost $1, I lost $1 and Dad lost $2. We really liked Deadwood, even Dad, who didn’t know anything about it. We left their and drive through Sturgis to get back to the highway. Glad it wasn’t ‘bike week’. The town isn’t that big. We have seen tons of bikes though. All ages. Drove through rain but that didn’t last. Long day but very enjoyable.
Day 4; July 17, 2008
Leaving Rapid City – had breakfast at the same restaurant. Gased up at Sam’s Club - $3.99. Now headed East. Stopped in Mitchell SD for lunch. Afterwards we went into town to see the “Corn Palace’. It wasn’t finished yet but Dan & Dad had never heard about it. We took some pics and then left. Still no rain. Finally some buffalo. YEA!
Just before reaching Wisconsin we ran over road debris and got a flat tire. Ouch. Luckily the rain was far to our south and it was still daylight. Found a nice hotel & will look for a tire place tomorrow.
Day 5; July 18, 2008
Last day. La Crosse WI Seek new tire. Had breakfast at the hotel then went looking for a new tire. Dad is focused on a mission. Desk clerk sent us looking for an unknown store down the road but all we found was downtown La Crosse and more of the Mississippi River. Nice but not what we needed. Finally ended up at the SAM’s Club. YEA. They have the right tire and we are the 1st customers. Nice young woman running the tire department took the car into the building and changed the tire in about 20 minutes. She spoke with a ‘Yuper’ accent. Cute.
Lots of traffic today. More then we’ve seen all week. At least since Monday going through Chicago. Weather is very overcast but still no rain.