Road Trip Day 4: Custer, SD to Minneapolis, MN
Distance driven:641 mi
Time including all stops:14 hours 17 minutes (includes one hour lost
for change from Mountain to Central Time)
We got up for an early breakfast and were on the road by 7:20 a.m. We drove the 20 miles (30 km) to the Mount Rushmore National Monument. Mom decided not to look at the faces of the four presidents until we were well inside the park, because I had told her how disappointed I was in 2000 to see them from the road and then pay $8 for the same view.
We paid the entrance fee (shockingly, the same amount I had paid 7 years ago) and parked. We went up the elevator and through the hall of flags of the 50 United States. At the end of the hall were the faces of those four great presidents—Washington, Jefferson, Teddy Roosevelt, and Lincoln. My mother was deeply impressed. I don’t know why I’d never been impressed by it—maybe I’ve seen the image too many times and can’t wrap my head around the scale and magnitude of the job that was done to put those faces there.
We walked briefly on the Presidential trail to get a closer look, but when my mother saw the wooden suspension-like bridge, she would go no further. I was concerned about time at that point, and was happy to turn around. We had an impressive, closer look at Washington, and that was most important. He was the greatest president of the four, and that view helped me understand the phenomenal nature of this structure.
We went to the exhibit hall and read information about the four presidents represented, the founder of the project (Borglum), and the nature of the work itself. It was impressive to me to see how he had done so much work on the mountain with dynamite, especially without injury or death.
We left Mount Rushmore at 9:20 a.m. We wound our way out of the Black Hills and didn’t stop again until Wall Drug in Wall, South Dakota. This is a huge drug store, restaurant, and gift shop that has advertisements as far as the eye can see. Every rolling hill between Rapid City and Wall on I-90 seemed to have a sign about Wall Drug: 5 cent coffee! Free ice water! New backyard! Kids love it! It was totally over the top, but it was also a convenient place to use the restrooms and change drivers. We bought a delicious homemade maple donut that was perfect. The cashier had a tag that said she was from Romania (probably here on a summer work program), so I said “Multumesc” (thank you) when she handed me my goods and change. Her face lit up, and I explained that I had lived in Moldova for a year and that I knew a few words in Romanian.
Soon we were on our merry way once again. I-90 has nothing to see but cows and silos, which gave us more time to get engrossed in *Portrait in Sepia*. In addition to being loaded with family intrigue, the novel delved into historical fiction, painting a tortured picture of the war between Peru and Chile as well as life in Chinatown in San Francisco before the turn of the 20th century. It was so good it overcame any sorrow at the thought that the only reason I had this tape was because my former mentor and Will’s wife, Kathy, had passed away in May and Will wanted me to have something of hers.
I studied the map while Mom drove and suggested that we stop for lunch in Oacoma/Chamberlain, SD. It was a convenient time to get gas for the car, and more importantly it was right on the Missouri River. We had seen signs for “Al’s Oasis” in this area, and decided to stop. I was a little afraid it would be cheesy (overly touristy), but it was fine. It had long tables and large windows with a view of the Missouri River. I got a buffalo burger (ironic after our joy of seeing buffalo in Yellowstone) and Mom got the fried chicken. The burger was pretty good, and the chicken was excellent. We also split a banana cream pie that had chunks of real banana in it. The coffee was only 5 cents and tasted like it on the first try, but the second cup of coffee went down better.
From Chamberlain, we didn’t stop again until we got to Albert Lea, MN, at the junction of I-90 and I-35. We called Paul and then Lynette to let them know we were getting close. Paul is a friend from high school who now works in marketing for a company in Minneapolis. Lynette is a friend of mine from college who is finishing her Ph.D. at the University of Minnesota.
We arrived at Lynette’s boyfriend Tim’s house at about 9:30 p.m. Not bad considering we had driven 640 miles from Mt. Rushmore and had lost an hour with the time change from Mountain to Central time. We visited with them briefly, then Paul showed up at 10:00. I admit it is an odd time to get together with a friend, but he was leaving at 7:00 a.m. on a business trip, and Mom and I would be in Illinois by the time he got back.
Paul and Lynette said there aren’t many places open at 10:00 p.m. in Minneapolis. Paul and I ended up at the bowling alley. It was much more upscale than the bowling alley in my hometown. It felt more like a nice restaurant. Lynette said later that it is a popular place for dates. I had noticed that there was a “date night” menu special. But Paul is happily married and I am happily single, so it was not a date. We each had a beer, and Paul recommended that I try walleye, the local fish. It is a soft, white fish. It came in slightly breaded and seasoned squares and rectangles on a plate. Paul said there are places with better walleye, but I thought it was good. Paul dropped me back at the house at about 12:30 a.m. I crawled down to the basement and into bed.
Tags: Road Trip USA, Travel, U.S.
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