Wednesday, October 08, 2008
Badlands National Park
I swung through the Badlands on route-240 to see the layers volcanic sediment that makes it so famous.
South Dakota rest stop
It was a windy trip through the plains of South Dakota. I managed to ride leaning to the left. A trucker told me to take a secondary road, but I didn't, and the wind eventually calmed down.
Super 8 Motel in Worthington, MN
After 510 miles, I stopped in Worthington, Minnesota, 60 miles east of Sioux Falls, South Dakota at 1030pm. I checked into the Super 8 Motel because it had free wifi. All the food places were closed by the time I checked in, so I went to the glorious Super Walmart and bought some frozen food. The rain pants I bought at the Walmart in St. Louis were shredded from the wind. It was cold riding, so I wore my thermals, three jackets, rain pants, and knit cap. That was all I had, but it was still cold.
Somewhere in Minnesota
I entered Minnesota by crossing the mighty Mississippi River and noted that I would be running low on gas. With no gas stations in sight, I headed toward a small town off Interstate-90 called Rushford. A red BMW motorcycle stopped to see if I was okay. He recommended taking a different route back to the Interstate (rt 16 to 52), so I had a nice windy detour through a small canyon cut by a river as the sun was setting. It was the highlight of the day.
Amusement parks
The area around the Wisconsin Dells is plagued by tacky amusement parks and sights like "Ripley's Believe it or Not!". It is quite impressive in the number of places that surround the Dells. They must get many visitors in the summers. It was pretty dead when I was visiting.
Wisconsin Dells
Robert had to work the next day, and I had to travel. I got a late start and headed west toward Badlands National Park in South Dakota. It was more than 800 miles away, so I didn't expect to make it there in one day. I left after noon and stopped at the Wisconsin Dells to take a peek of the limestone gorge.
Dinner with Lois & Ken
Lois is out of frame on the left. Lois is Robert's mother. She cooked us a wonderful meal.
Picking tomatos
We picked Michael up from his first grade class and went to his grandmother's for dinner. She had him pick some vegetables from the garden.
Route 55
We took route 55 down from Lakewood. It follows the Wolf River. We passed a group of Harleys lead by a BMW. I resisted the urge to wave.
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