Today was "drive across South Dakota from south to north" day.
We didn't do much "sightseeing" today, although we saw a lot of the two Dakotas. Amazingly enough, much of it looks a lot like Kansas! I think we will feel that way a lot on this vacation, since much of our planned itinerary is in Prairie states and provinces! Luckily, I find the prairies beautiful in their own way; they may not be dramatic, but they have a peaceful aspect.
North of Pierre, South Dakota, and beyond, we discovered more and more cultivated sunflower fields. They are usually so cheerful as the flowers turn to face the sun. We did see one field that seemed to be depressed; the flowers drooped and faced away from the sun. Obviously something going on...
In the morning we were on the Rosebud Indian Reservation in South Dakota. Mission and Antelope are two towns that actually seem to be one. We stopped in at the local university bookstore to check out what they had. The name of the university is Sinte Gleska University.
We enjoyed looking at the textbooks and other books they have and, of course, could not leave without buying some. They had one Don Coldsmith book!
The campus seems to be scattered in numerous locations around both Mission and Antelope.
We also went to the large grocery store at the edge of Mission. It seems to be very new. They have a deli that serves at lunch and the line was quite long.
Most of the rest of the day was spent with one or the other of us driving. We ended the day outside Bismarck-Mandan, North Dakota, at Fort Abraham Lincoln State Park. The campground was very nice, with good separation between spots, although you could see all of your neighbors. Luckily, there weren't many that night!
We spoke to a retired couple from the east coast about their camper. We really thought it looked good for the type of camping we do. We have no interest in driving a huge camper around and basically just want a place to sleep. That's why our Roadtrek has been great.
This couple has an Aliner camper. It is a small pop-up camper that is very easy to set up. They like it because of the ease of set up and the fact that it has a low profile while driving. After years of having my kids help with setting up our Jayco pop-up camper it was a shock when Chris and I began to use it. Two middle-aged folks take a lot longer to set one up than four teenagers with Mom helping! The Aliner looks much simpler for a couple like us. You can see a short video about setting up the Aliner here.
After enjoying a shrimp cocktail supper, we ended the day watching some DVD episodes of Rome, House, and started season one of Jeremiah.
Wednesday, August 25, 2010
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