Driving to South Dakota
Driving to South Dakota started with 15 hours of driving and an overnight stay in Iowa.
I worked a full day on Friday, as is our custom, and James had the day off. He got some house stuff done (like mowing) and pulled together the last of the things we wanted to be sure to bring along. I had my clothes and camera packed Thursday and ready to go. Longest day of work ever.
We decided to leave on Friday so we could take our time getting to our first stop. We knew it would be about 15 hours and we figured if we left between 10-11pm we would get into town early enough for lunch and then check in. We haven’t broken up a drive like this before and it was actually really nice. I feel like I could enjoy the last leg of the drive much more than if we had just gone straight through but we will get to that later.
Before we left town we made our customary stop at Sheetz for gas and some drinks. I went into the store while James filled the tank. Of course I came back out to the car to find him talking to some stranger about the Bronco. He happened to be driving the same car and I guess they just found each other. He seemed like a nice guy but I was glad to get moving. James drove through the night until about 4am and I slept. I had gotten this pillow like a large neck pillow and I loved it. I slept for a little in this beginning part of the trip and then took over for the morning leg. James didn’t use the pillow but I think he slept a little. We made it to Indiana before I even drove so that was nice.
Indianapolis was no problem because we got there around 5am and breezed right through. I had an uneventful drive and we swapped back in about 4 hours. The intention was to stop at one of those rest stops but once we drove the extra 30 miles to get there and do an easy on and off, it was closed. The next exist was Blue Earth, MN which I guess is the home of the Jolly Green Giant. They have a statue and everything. Who knew.
They had a little pea too which was cute. Here is a little page about the statue if you want to read more
We moved on after a brief break and made it to Iowa without trouble. The drive was nice. We didn’t hit any traffic or any rain which was amazing. There were pretty big storms in Texas but thankfully, that was to the south of us. When we were about an hour outside Waterloo, IA (where we were staying the night) I started looking for places to eat. I found a Shake Shack about 10 min away and we went right there. Neither of us had had that in a long time and it was really good.
We checked in a Comfort Inn and Suites at 3pm to a king suite, showered, changed, and passed out for a few hours. We were back up again around 6am the next day for our breakfast and on the road again. We had just under 10 hours to got to get to South Dakota and wanted to get moving again.
We were going past Sioux Falls and decided to make a stop to see these falls. This was really the only thing that happened from when we left IA until we got to South Dakota. It appears that the town was built up around this waterfall system in the middle of the town which is pretty cool. It is a park and a lot of people go there as tourists but it looked like a lot of locals there too. There were people sitting in the park reading which seems like an activity you do when you can go there whenever you want.
We ate lunch at the cafe that overlooks the falls. I had a pulled pork sandwich and James had his usual burger. They were both really good. There are ruins of an old mill next to the water and a little info board next to it which was mildly interesting. It was a nice little stop to break up the drive.
We did hit some rain then in South Dakota. Honestly, we had so many dead bugs on the windshield it helped to have them washed away by the rain. It was mostly just a rain shower, there was one part that was a little heavy but not very eventful. We were traveling west and the storm was going east so it didn’t take too long to pass through.
As we were getting closer to Custer, SD (which is where we are staying), we started to see about 1,000 signs for Wall Drug. Some are clever and funny but the charm wore off a bit after the first 500 signs. We still plan to go there though so I guess marketing works. We also started to see the Badlands which I am so excited to see up close.
We passed a lot of cows also but no buffalo and no sheep…yet (I hope). It was really nice to be able to enjoy the drive into town. I think staying overnight and getting some rest helped to make the trip feel more like a nice journey rather than a means to an end.
We got into Custer around 7pm and stopped for some groceries. Our place is really nice. We have a lot of room and a washer/dryer which is perfect. Even though I packed enough clothes for 5 weeks, I’ll want to wear the same 4 things the whole time so at least I can wash it.
Tomorrow is Devils Tower and we plan to get up super early so we can beat the rush. It will be Memorial Day tomorrow and we are worried it will be super crowded. We plan to get a few hours of sleep and head out before sunrise. It is about a 2 hour drive from where we are.
