North Dakota

We passed through North Dakota pretty quickly. After spending the night at Sioux Falls, SD, we visited the falls and headed north. Karen needs to walk as much as I need to sit and read. So she walked all over the falls that morning. It was great for her. It was great for me. I just finished the book I was reading by the falls. More about it below.

We spent the night in Fargo. Karen and I are trying to visit many of the states we missed in the U.S. South Dakota was my first new state. North Dakota was her first new state. We decided that we needed to spend the night in the state to make it a legitimate visit. But there really wasn't anything we wanted to see in North Dakota. So we visited the Hjemkomst Interpretive Center in Moorhead, MN.

This isn't a horrible cheat. Moorhead and Fargo are part of one urban center. Hjemkomst is the result of one man's dream to build a full-size model of a viking ship and sail it to Norway. When he was almost done with the boat, he learned that he had leukemia and died before he could sail it. His three sons and one daughter sailed it for him. It's a pretty moving story. Karen cried all the way through the movie.

They also built a stave church on the property, similar to ones found in Norway. Okay, I'm a little more cynical. I think these people have too much time on their hands. I believe Karen had those same thoughts because she said so about the heads carved by a local guy for the altar. It is a beautiful thing, however. A lot of care was taken.

We realized early on that we needed to watch our money. 4 weeks is a long time for motels and meals out. At first we were going to Super 8 motels. They provide breakfast of sorts. We ate a lot of Raisin Bran. But then we discovered Motel 6. Man, this is the way to live. Sort of clean rooms, a roof over our head, and a cup of coffee on the way out the door. Needless to say, we are looking forward to our splurge accomodations in Chicago. Full pictures with that one. And in the meantime, we'll be leaving the light on for you at our Motel 6s.

This is the book I just finished, Out Stealing Horses. It is beautifully written by a Norwegian, Per Petersen. It was nominated for a Times Book Prize. I've had this book since April. Better late than never. It's about a 67 year old man who is living with his dog in a secluded home in rural Norway. He meets a neighbor and a lot of his past comes back to him. The story jumps all over the place, WWII, 1948, and today. I wish I could tell you how well that is done. It is wonderful. I don't know if people who like mysteries and intrigue will like the book, but people who like a well-thought-out sentence will like it. And a lot of stuff happens. You just have to be ready to hear about it in a very nonlinear fashion.

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South Dakota

I am such a huge fan of the series "Deadwood." This was one thing that I wanted to do when driving east - visit the real town of Deadwood, SD. Deadwood is one of the first towns you see when you drive across the border into the Black Hills. The very first town is Spearfish. One of my former co-workers, Jim Marchant, grew up there. He told me how to find his house and I believe I saw it. What a beautiful part of the country to grow up in.

Anyway, it was fun to see Deadwood. Of course, most of the town that was there during the gold rush is gone. We saw a couple of No. 10 saloons where Wild Bill Hickock was killed. We saw Charley Utter's restaurant, instead of his delivery business. I do believe that Seth Bullock had something to do with this hotel. It was fun to see familiar names, in any event.

The big deal in the Black Hills is Mount Rushmore. Some of you know that I was not drawn to the Taj Mahal. I usually don't like to go to places just because you need to go there before you die. But Rushmore has been calling me since I saw it in North by Northwest. It was a perfect morning. It was really windy. I forgot that North Dakota was known for its winds. A young man took this picture of us, asking us to say "Mount Rushmore" instead of "Cheese." So, I'm not just showing off my great cheekbones. Then we tried to reciprocate, taking his picture with his brother. It was amusing. Karen had never taken a movie and got good pictures of his feet. I had already taken a snapshop of his feet. Oh well.

Karen hiked all over the place. I drank water in the cafeteria that was featured in that movie. Look at the cool lamps they have in there.

We went to the Badlands the next day. I'd never thought much about them. Badlands. Does that sound like something you would like to see? Well, you should. This was a hard country for the migrants who were tempted by free land, but for those of us who want to see a stark, serene countryside, this is a special place. Take a look at the website I linked to above.

Another place that I'd heard a lot about is Wall's Drug Store. This is a masterpiece based on advertising. The owner started to advertise free ice water on signs along the freeway. This place just kept growing. Karen and I went into the drugstore to buy some toenail clippers I'd been pining for. We didn't see all the other buildings that have grown from the original drugstore and cafe. Wall is now a faily large town in the middle of the plain. Advertising.

We also visited a couple of places that were meaningful to Karen. One was the old home of her friend, Modena. The other was the Corn Palace in Mitchell. She visited that spot 26 years ago. The were nice disruptions in an otherwise long drive across the state.

Why Owe Ming

We drove through Wyoming very quickly. Well, actually it took a long time or felt like it did because it was a pretty hot day for us. We have been spoiled by this beautiful weather. I will tell you the best part about Wyoming later. First, haven't you been wondering what I've been reading??

Lots. But let me tell about three. One was Reappraisals: Reflections on the Forgotten Twentieth Century. This was written by Tony Judt. Isn't it funny how his name is bigger than anything? That's because he wrote a highly regarded book called Postwar. I've read that. It tells what happened in Europe after WWII. Nominated for a Pulitzer. This one was good, but not as good. This is a compilation of articles that he wrote for various magazines. He goes back to review what some have written in the past and does an appraisal of the author and the thoughts. Some of these guys I knew. A few I'd never heard of before. I remember Arthur Koestler and Henry Kissinger. But there are a few that I was hearing about for the first time.

As I said, I enjoyed listening to this book. The reader was very erudite sounding. I listened to the end of it with Eric in the car. Then the next book came on. That was Silent in the Grave. I don't know why I bought this book. I just checked on Audible and it looks like a mystery. What I missed when checking on the book is that it is from Harlequin Publishers. Yep, bodice-tearing, heart-throbbing Harlequin. So, we finish with the erudite Brit and start the breathy lady. Not much of a mystery. Will the dark and handsome guy who is slightly strange turn out to be the man of her dreams? Guess.

Somewhere in the middle of all that, I read The Painted Veil. Yes, same as the movie that Edward Norton starred in. But this was the book written by Somerset Maughm. I've had this in my library for a while. It seemed like it might be a little soap opera-ish. All I know is, I could not put it down. It was very involving. I wanted to find out what happened to that incredibly spoiled girl and her sweet, sincere husband. I have a few of these classics on my wish list. After my good experience with this, I am even more eager to go back for a little visit.

And back to that little visit to Wyoming. Two things stood out. One was the Devil's Tower National Monument. This is the pile of rocks that Richard Dreyfuss kept making out of mashed potatoes in Close Encounters of the Third Kind. It was also the first National Monument in the US. We decided not to go because it had been a long drive already and we'd already made a few long detours. The great thing is that we could see it from miles away while on the highway. It just juts out of the horizon, it's so big. So, we saw it, even though we didn't touch it.

Finally, please look at these gas prices. We have found them all across the Dakotas as well. It can be confusing. I've been buying 85 octane gas since this station because it appears to be cheaper. But sometimes the 88 octane with 10% ethanol is cheapest. It does keep me in my toes because cheaper is definitely better at this point.

If you can't see, the price per gallon is $3.80. Neat.

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Custer's Last Stand

We left Bozeman very early. It was going to be a busy day. We got our hotel in Billings and headed out to the Little Big Horn. Yet another beautiful day in Montana. I got tickets for a bus tour lead by young Indian guides. But before that, we listened to this Crow park ranger speak about the battle and all it entailed. She was great. Karen learned that all who work at the visitor's center must have college degrees. Although this young lady has always spoken Crow, she didn't learn how to read and write it until she went to college. Now, in her spare time, she teaches grade school students how to do just that. Nice.

Then it was time for our tour. The tour vehicle was broken. All they had was a van with no step to help lame folks get on board. I had someone on a bus at the Festival of Books reach down from the bus and grab my ass to help me on board. Sorry. There is no other way to tell how shocked I was. So when I saw that step I said no way. I'd bought a tape tour anyway, so Karen and I donated our seats to the Indians. Our tour was perfect for us. We saw a lot more of the grounds than we would have on that tour.

There were gravestones all over the place. They marked the fallen soldiers. There were other markers that showed where the Indians had fallen. Speaking of fallen Indians, Sitting Bull didn't fare too well after winning this battle. He fled to Canada and then returned to the US in 1881, only to be killed by soldiers in 1890. 1881 stuck in my mind because that's when the Los Angeles Times started publishing. Then it was killed by a light-weight from Chicago in 2009. Let's talk about Last Stands.

After Custer, we drove to Pompey's Pillar. This is a rock that William Clark signed on his trip East with Sacagawea, her family and his followers. They found this huge rock jutting out of the ground. Clark climbed it and signed his name in the rock as many Indians had done previously. They etched in petroglyphs. He was so impressed by the rock that he named it after Sacagawea's son, who he called Pomp. I can't remember what his real name was.

All in all, a very fine day. We were glad that we already had beds in Billings to fall into at the end of the day. We were, as always. . .

The Ramblers