In the desert, life is good

Day 3
Thursday, June 17, 2010
Council Bluffs, IA to Custer, SD
583 miles

We showered, folded up the trailer, departed Lake Manawa and headed north on I-29 by 8:00 AM. The first 200 miles of today’s journey were flat as I-29 paralleled the Missouri River. After crossing into South Dakota, we turned west on I-90 and the terrain reverted to the rolling hills that we saw in Illinois and Iowa, except that the intervals between ridges and swales lengthened.

For a second day in a row we saw evidence of recent heavy rains as nearly every river and creek we crossed appeared swollen and muddy. We also saw hundreds of fields with standing water. A highway construction worker told Bob that they had received more than 6 inches of rain in the week before last and that the flooding was even worse earlier.

Frank noted that the wetter-than-usual grasslands of central South Dakota reminded him of Iceland. Normally this area wouldn’t be quite as green, but the tall, green, wind-swept grasses, lack of trees, and numerous pools of water looked much like the coastal plains of Iceland to him, only without the lava rocks.

When you cross South Dakota on I-90, there isn’t much to look at save rolling hills, grass and beef cattle. Almost everyone on the road is “just passing through.” The locals have devised numerous schemes to siphon off some of the tourist dollars that might otherwise pass them by at 75 MPH (South Dakota’s speed limit). To their credit, some of their schemes were very creative and effective. At the top of the list, of course, is Mount Rushmore, but Wall Drug Store in Wall and the Corn Palace in Mitchell also deserve mention for their marketing genius.

We stopped to see the Corn Palace and weren’t disappointed. Last time Frank was there the palace was fully decorated for the year, but we were early enough in the season this year to catch a little of the action. Workers were busy affixing corn cobs of various hues to the exterior of the building to form an impressive mosaic for this year’s theme, “Throughout the Ages.”

We agreed that we would skip Wall Drug because neither of us thought a Great Plains version of South of the Border interested us. However, since we needed gas as we were passing the Wall exit and the famous drugstore is only 4 blocks from I-90, we decided to cruise past. Looking at it from the outside was enough for us. Check the box and move on…

We both thought that the people we’ve encountered didn’t seem to be suffering significantly from the recession. Yesterday we asked a server, Bo, at a Mexican bar and restaurant named Julio’s in Omaha how the economy was there. She said that they were faring better than other regions of the country and attributed it to their relatively robust agriculturally-based economy.

Another thing we noticed was how much more common ethanol was. Stranger yet, “regular” 87 octane gasoline was 10 cents per gallon more expensive than “super” 89 octane E85 ethanol. When we first saw a gas pump with regular less expensive that super, we thought it might be a Candid Camera moment, but later we learned that several of the prairie corn states tax ethanol less than gasoline to promote its use. Use it we did!

As we continued west, the climate slowly became more arid with fewer trees and dryer grasses. The sky dried as well until it was a cloudless light blue. We welcomed the dry conditions that we knew would make for more pleasant sleeping conditions.

We gained elevation as we crossed South Dakota. Bob said it was like going up a giant staircase. In fact, his perception was correct. We started at 1,090 feet elevation in Omaha and climbed to 5,400 feet in Custer.

We arrived at Sylvan Lake Campground in Custer State Park in time to take a hike around the lake before dinner. The sights were spectacular in the setting sun and we took dozens of photos. The sun took the temperature down with it! By bedtime we zipped up all the trailer’s flaps and donned sweatshirts. It is hard to believe that we sweated through a muggy night only 48 hours ago in Illinois—testimony to how far we’ve come.

Tomorrow: Stone-faced presidents.