It has indeed been dynamic, the course this journey has taken so far. After wandering my way downtown to see some of the Centinal(?) Bicycle Race - crazy how fast those spandex clad biker men go - I called up Adam. He was still game for an adventure to the coast. One thing left to do: meet the big M-O-M.
Penny and Mike are great parents, thoroughly concerned with their son's impromtu decision to join a strange girl on her quest in search of America but also loving enough to understand that it was indeed a fantastic opportunity for both me and Adam. After the whole family issued out fresh fruit, laughs, and hugs Adam and I grabbed his bike, loaded up the SUV and barreled onward through South Dakota. We took the route down 44 and I have to say, the beauty of this area is so poetic. The grasshills and lakes and rock outcroppings all merging into one another are the stuff to inspire art.
We stopped at the Badlands. Unreal. Strange. Beautiful. It's hard to really get the words but just an intensely unusual land to walk through. Rough and beautiful and alien. Next, on the other end of the strange spectrum, was Wall Drug. We weren't going to stop there but a friend of mine convinced me that if I did not at least try to "bond" with a cowboy hat there, I would regret it. I will live my life without regrets. And with my new cowboy hat;)
Finally, Rapid City! We pulled in late that night, winding our way higher and higher over the city to family friends Jim and Jane. Their home rises above the rest of the area and was firmly held in the grips of a windstorm when we arrived. Even at night, the views are breathtaking. And they are a welcome stay: sweet hosts with an avalanche of information about the history and geography of the surrounding area.
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Wall Drug! How funny, my friend Cody grew up in Wall, she used to work at Wall Drug. Looks like an interesting place. Too bad I didn't get you guys in touch with each other.
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