By the time we got done with our packing, and re-packing, and cutting up food, and getting all of our stuff together, it was midnight. Lindsay had to make a stop at her friends to drop something off so we had to be on the road at 6 am in order to get to see her before she left for work. That meant that in order to get in one last normal shower in, I had to wake up at 5 am. Merely 5 hours of sleep, and after all the room remodeling I had undertaken in the last week, my gas tank was running on fumes already. Needless to say that when my alarm sounded at 5 am, I did not want to get up, or even go on this month long road trip. As I showered, I considered the fact that I would be living in filth and sleeping in the outdoors for the last month, and the road trip did not sound any more appealing. But the car was packed, so I dried my hair, gathered my things and sat down in the passenger’s seat, ontop of my foam pillow that has doubled as a seat cushion during the day. We got settled in, drinks in the cupholders and ready to rock and roll. “Grab the wheel and point it west, pack the good and leave the rest.” Roadtrip theme song. We headed to Watertown, west of Cedarburg to drop off a baby shower gift at Megan’s, then a stop at the gas station for a fill up and ice for the coolers. While we had abandoned the kayaks for logical and ease (as well as gas mileage efficiency), we ended up putting some rubbermaids on the roof – storing our camping equipment.The straps holding these storage units decided to add their own music to our road trip… an obnoxious rattling noise. Lindsay and I both looked at each other and said “this is going to be a long trip”. While fueling up, Lindsay rearranged the straps, so our loud rattling has become more of a constant humming noise. Lindsay promises that she’ll rectify this problem or at least mute it. About 2 hours into our drive from Watertown, still in the heart of Wisconsin, Lindsay proclaimed “We should’ve just flown”. A by-product of boring scenery and lack of sleep I’m sure. I laughed and agreed, but then we’d just prove everyone else right, and there’s plenty of adventures out there for us, and plenty of things to see that will make this trip memorable. The venture through Wisconsin was pretty eventless, while I tried to sleep and Lindsay drove. We had a little excitement crossing into Minnesota, a new state! It was a beautiful drive for just a bit, overlooking the Mississippi River, but then back to flat lands. I’d always heard that Minnesota was the “Land of 10,000 Lakes”, but found no lakes, just windmills galore. Windmill farm after windmill farm. We switched drivers, and I took the wheel. Good thing Minnesota has all those windmills cause it sure was windy. It was a workout to keep us going straight. After a while, Lindsay made us lunch. Turkey sandwiches with butter since we couldn’t find the Miracle Whip in the cooler. We kept cruising. We neared the border of South Dakota and we stopped for a much needed bathroom break and refuel. We saw a sign for “Blue Mounds State Park” and Lindsay googled it on her phone. She saw some really cool pictures of rock walls and bison ranges, so we agreed it was worth the 5 mile drive down the road. Stopping first ofcourse to take pictures by the big bison statue. We missed the stop for the 60 foot Jolly Green Giant, and let me tell you I was a little upset. We headed to Blue Mounds, paid the park entrance fee and went in search of bison. Yep, nothing like a break to stretch your legs and search for bison. We found a trail that took us up a little hill and around. No Bison. We finally found the bison range… a fence in area with bison not really in view. But we stepped in big mud puddles first, drenching our feet and the bottom of my pants, one of 5 pairs I have for the entire month. I was not pleased. No face to face bison encounters and muddy feet and pants. We did a poor man’s shower with Clorox wipes and face wipes. Then back in the car. We stopped to get a photo by the South Dakota state sign, if that doesn’t say tourist, not sure what does. All we need is some matching fanny packs. We drove some more into South Dakota, reading all sorts of billboards for Wall Drug, the Corn Palace, and some auto shop called Dick’s that promised “ 24 hour TOE Service”. We finally got to the much anticipated FREE corn palace in Mitchell, South Dakota. After a little weaving through the town, we found the corn palace. I was ofcourse more excited than Lindsay, but this Corn Palace is in the middle of the town, and their middle school mascot is the “Kernels”. And all of their billboards made shameless corn puns, like “Oh Shucks”, “You’re almost ear”, “It’s a bushel of fun”. The corn palace was a necessary 20 minute stop, take a photo, have an ear of corn on the cob, and wonder what possessed the town of Mitchell to build a corn palace. Back in the day I think it was more ALL corn, now there are more permanent brick foundations and the corn panels are just updated each year. This year’s theme is American Pride. Lindsay was less impressed, yet she jumps for joy at the sight of a bird. Her birds are my roadside oddities. We left Mitchell about 6 pm with 3 hours to go until we reached our next destination, Wall Drug, in Wall, SD. Unfortunately Wall Drug closes at 9, so we’d be cutting it close. We decided not to push ourselves, after a long day of driving, and found a campground about an hour and a half from Wall in Kennebec, SD…population 284. The campground is run by KOA, and pretty much like an outdoor Four Seasons. There’s a pool, laundry facilities, hot showers, and a playground. Oh and Wi-Fi and electricity. The land is pretty flat, and open, so no fear of critters. And given the large family population, we were pretty certain we’re free of creepers too. Spoiled on the first night…easing ourselves into the wilderness. We got to setting up our tent at spot 59. Look at me, putting up a tent. Lindsay manned it pretty much but I assisted. We got the air mattress blown up, the car unpacked, the stove undone. The unpacking/repacking is going to get old quick but hopefully we will get it down to a system. We made cheesey hot dogs for dinner with a side of cut up potatoes. Not wanting to deal with fire wood, we cooked it on the propane stove. Then time for showers. A lucky break since my feet were still muddy from the bison searching. Now its time for bed. Another day of adventures tomorrow. Today definitely ended better than it started…so far camping is fun. We will see….
-B
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