Day 2: Attack of the cornfields

From: Chicago, IL
To: Chamberlin, SD

Leaving Adam and Nora we had the distinct privilege of driving in thick, dense big-city-traffic for about 30 minutes. Of course, threemore tolls were awaiting our southern dollars. Poor signage led to Nathan driving passed the Cash lanes and through the iPass section (a pre-acquired card detected by sensors). Pictures were taken of our license plate and Adam informed us that we will be receiving a ticket in the mail unless we go online and pay our .80 cents.

Despite the tollbooth mishaps, the view of the city was remarkably captivating. There’s something about big cities with their clusters of skyscrapers jumbled together that intrigues. And there’s something about big city traffic with multitudes of cars that frustrates and makes one want to live out his/her days in the quiet country. From there, the northern part of Illinois resembled the vast majority of Indiana, flat and boring.

We soon crossed into Wisconsin. This state began similar to Illinois but quickly became prettier. Trees, farmland and some rolling hills made the landscape pleasant to drive through. After some driving it was time for lunch. We happened to see a sign for Mirror Lake State Park. So, we pulled over, found the campground and picnic area, ate PB&J and played some fetch with the puptons.

The farther into Wisconsin we got the prettier the scenery got. A great finish to the state was crossing the Mississippi River. The hills became nice and rolling in a way different than in NC. And crossing the river was beautiful. Hills on the WI side and small mountains or large hills with cliffs on the MN side. The highway wound along the shoreline for several miles, bending and shaping to the cliffs and water.

All of the sudden, we were out of these impressive hills and Minnesota looked a lot like WI, except the road was less straight…for a while. Then, there was nothing…but corn! Straight roads and cornfields spanned hundreds of miles for the entirety of southern Minnesota. In fact, even when we crossed into South Dakota, the cornfields continued. It was like attack of the cornfields!

We did, however, get to watch a beautiful sunset before crossing into South Dakota. The cornfields glistened in the sun. We stopped for dinner in the exotic Sioux Falls, SD. And, it’s funny how you travel over 1,000 miles to SD to eat dinner at a Jimmy John’s. Finally arrived at our planned destination, Chamberlin, SD that sits nicely on the Missouri River. Howard Johnson was our gracious host for the night. We thought about going to the hotel with the sign that read, “Imaginary friends stay free.” But, Heather said, “ No, I think not.”

So far, the weather has been perfect. We left Asheville where it was about 50 degrees and drove north wherein it only became warmer. Chicago was in the mid-70s. Driving through Wisconsin it was almost 80 degrees. Hopefully, it will stay this way for our camping nights.