I've made it to Billings, Montana today! I did quite a lot of driving, about 12 hours, to make up for the last few days when I didn't quite do the 8 hours I had originally planned on doing.
I left Mitchell, SD around noon today, I stopped by a local grocery store and stocked up on some items. I then headed out and accidentally started travelling parallel to 90 instead of actually on it. It brought me behind some farms, it was kind of interesting, at one point the road got kind of rough, but there was a small side road that brought me back to the high way, so I jumped back on and I was off!
Then I was thinking to myself, "How about Thaddeus, or Big Bob... The Man who Rides Alone... Betty? Brocktune." 50 points to anyone who actually gets this reference.
Eastern and mid South Dakota are quite a lot like Minnesota and Wisconsin, though i did notice the cattle population start to increase and the number of corn fields decreasing. There were tons of cows everywhere, but I captured a couple of them for the heck of it.
Then out of nowhere I hit this big river, though according to the map its a lake that looks identical to a river, I'm not quite sure how they explain that one. Anyway, its lake Francis Case, it just kind of pops up in the middle of SD and suddenly all the scenery changes after you cross it, the water was amazingly blue - it was really a beautiful sight.
After crossing, things started getting a whole lot more hilly, and some interesting land formations started appearing. All those crazy kind of mountains and plains what what not (steppes, plateaus, mesas, etc) all started popping up, and those cool color formations showing each strata. All the vegetation started changing, it looked a lot more south-western-esque. This picture was taken around the beginning areas of the badlands.
Eventually I made it to Keystone and headed up to Mt. Rushmore. They had helicopter tours, but you get so close to the monument just by parking and walking that I wonder if they're worth it. Anyway - Mount Rushmore was absoultely awesome, its just one of those things that remind you of what people can accomplish when they love something and are driven to do it, how much people can do.
Also, the walkway to rushmore had pillars that had engravings of each state and when it was admitted to the union. We were within the first 10!
I backtracked a bit back up 16 and got back onto 90 west (90 pretty much runs east-west through the whole US). Eventually I crossed over into Wyoming. I've got to say, if I ever die and come back a horse or a cow or something, I want to live in Wyoming. It is one of the most beautiful places I've ever seen - I couldnt ever live there because there are literally no signs of human life for 40-50 miles in certain places, but the scenery is amazing, its rolling hills and small mountains as far as the eye can see, and the horses and cows just roam everywhere. You can see all the animal life everywhere, an elk or deer or something (whatever they have out there) just stand 10-20 feet away from the road and just look at you as you drive past - not to sound cheesy or whatever, but you can really feel the earth and nature and the circle quite well there, even driving through. I can understand how the area would be considered sacred by various tribes (There were also a number of teepees spread out). Anyway, I took a bunch of pictures of this area because it was so awesome, but not many of them came out very well.
At one point there was a train going by that had cars attached as far as the eye could see, it was cool, I was amazed the train could actually drag that much weight.
So, I could go on and on, but Wyoming was really amazing looking. The time I was driving was about when the sun started going down, and since I was driving west and mountains kept popping up, I got to see the sun set about 10 times. Here is one of the shots.
By the time I crossed over into MT it was night, and I couldn't see much. Montana is huge though, so I can get plenty of pictures of it tomorrow on my way to Washington.
A couple of interesting things, I actually saw a Maine license plate today, that's the furthest NE one I've seen so far. I've seen a few Florida ones which are pretty much the furthest away you can get. Also - South Dakota is like THE place for wicked cheesy attractions, like the kind that remind you of where families go in the 50s, things like Reptile World, The "Mystery" place where strange things happen, Crystal Caves, Flintstones Park, etc. It was funny, the billboards look like they've been up since the 50s. I thought it was pretty funny though - the ad for Crystal Caves was "The Least Strenuous Tour Available" - I guess for the people who can't take the physical stress of staring at a lizard in a cage can go to the Crystal Caves. Not sure.
I also saw a two hitchhikers around my age (or maybe a bit younger) somewhere in SD, they were out in the middle of nowhere - I couldn't really pick them up as I had no room in the car (plus there's the danger involved). Anyway! Post Script: July 17th, 12:05 AM. Diane, I was contacted in Billings, MT by the Bureau tonight. It seems a young girl, one Laura Palmer, was murdered last night in Twin Peaks, a small town close to Seattle, WA. Additionally, a murder was attempted on a peer of hers, one Ronette Polaski. I'm to proceed immediately first thing tomorrow to investigate. I hope this will not keep me away too long, but you know how these things can go. I will keep you updated, as always, with these logs. I just hope the coffee is good and the accommodations are not a repeat situation of last time.