Definition of a Tourist, Part II

Today we traveled across the half of SD that is east of Belvidere, about a third of the way into Minnesota. Those of you who have gone this route before might think that there isn't a whole lot more to be said about that.

Unless you are a make-your-own-things-to-look-at kind of tourist. Which we decided to be today.

The views out the windows were very pleasing. We'd been told that South Dakota is boring with a whole lot of nothing between silos. What's wrong with that? It's eye candy to someone who likes the big wide open. The cattle looked healthy and the prairie was showing off lovely shades of green.

The speed limit is 75mph, which doesn't allow for great out-the-window photos but I'm not that great a photographer anyway. I just hope I don't get Alzheimer's, because there are an awful lot of missed photo ops stored in my head.

We saw a sign for the town of Vivian, my niece's name, (and my sister-in-law's too but she spells hers differently) and decided to pull off and take a photo or two. This town is so small the bank is open from 8-12. But, they have a sweet iron sign complete with flower baskets welcoming you to the one street. Of course, the moment we stopped to set up the photo, a rush hour ensued and four cars went past.

The next stop was in Chamberlain, SD, where I-90 crosses the Missouri River. That called for a photo, but first we had to stop at Al's Oasis, to get donuts. Then we found a little spot by the river and stopped to imagine the culture of the river in the days before there were sweet looking bridges across it.

The Missouri River

I confess, we didn't find a place to stop in Minnesota before we reached our KOA campground. It's in Jackson, a charming little town with baseball games happening on every field we drove past. The Des Moines River runs alongside, and there's a nice walking trail. Which was nearly devoid of walkers because they all must have been at the baseball games.

In Jackson, MN

I like thinking about that contrast - we're so far away from home and they're basking in summer in a small town.