2018 Road Trip, Day 8

Yesterday, day 8, was another long day’s drive; I headed north to Cheyenne, WY, then was on secondary roads through Nebraska and up into South Dakota to connect with I-90 to Sioux Falls. I spent hours without cell service and often there were no other vehicles in sight.

To give you an idea of how empty this land is, here are a couple of pictures from a rest area somewhere in southeastern Wyoming; this spot was a veritable oasis with trees and flowers, and you can see how empty the land is around it:

Sometime in Nebraska, when I obviously wasn’t paying attention (there was actual traffic at that point and I swear there were no signs telling me I was getting near this place), I passed Carhenge. Yes indeed, think Stonehenge with cars, done by someone with far too much time on their hands! I really wish I’d stopped for pictures, but instead you’ll need to go to their website and check it out.

The closer I got to South Dakota and the eastern part of the Badlands, the more interesting rock formations I saw. Here are a few, but they really were far from the most interesting as there wasn’t anywhere to pull over for photos once I was into South Dakota. All I could think of once I was into the weirdest of the formations was “vast inland sea.”

By the time I reached I-90, I just wanted to get to my hotel, so I didn’t take the opportunity to stop and photograph a couple of interesting junk metal sculptures that were near the interstate. One was a massive deer and the other was something that I don’t quite remember but it was growing up out of an old, rusted car. Very interesting, and obviously things that took a lot of time to design and construct. The deer in particular was exceptionally well done.

Once on I-90 with no way to pull over, I spotted two things I would have liked to photograph. The first was a live camel grazing in a field. A CAMEL, in SOUTH DAKOTA!! I hadn’t quite recovered from that shock when I saw another metal sculpture in the middle of a field, a human skeleton walking a T-Rex skeleton on a leash!! I found that one in a Google search and here’s a picture I grabbed from that website:

Finally, I arrived at a rest area on the Missouri River at Chamberlain, SD, a spot I did know about in advance and looked forward to visiting. You can also Google this one to read the story – it’s the “Dignity” sculpture, gifted to the State of South Dakota by a couple who commissioned it. This is stainless steel and 50′ high, with 100 colored panels in the quilt that “float” in the wind. First, there’s a picture of the river from this rest area, then several pictures of the sculpture itself.

Finally, I reached Sioux Falls and, after checking into my hotel, had Second Meal at a quirky place called Monks House of Ale Repute. Again, I was tempted by the Reuben and wasn’t disappointed – the Corned Beef was one thick slice but was so tender that I kept checking the sandwich to be sure I was actually getting meat in every bite! They had 38 taps with craft beers and I enjoyed three: a Lagunitas Cherry Jane (sour – 5.5%), a Brau Brothers Skinny Monk (lager, 4.2%, made in Marshall MN), and a Gandy Dancer Racoon Toaster (8.2%, an oak-smoked dark Weizenbock from Sioux Falls). All three were excellent, but I really enjoyed the Racoon Toaster.

Tomorrow (today, as I write this), is a short day’s drive to Minneapolis with a brief stop at my college, Gustavus Adolphus, in St. Peter MN. There will definitely be a couple of pictures from there 🙂