Osceola, IA to Hot Springs, SD: 647.6 miles
I woke up to someone pounding the door to my hotel room. In that liminal state trying to figure out why, I realized it was some jack-wad lighting fireworks too close to the hotel. I guess it wasn't that late yet, but I only give a pass for July 4. It was really annoying. Eventually I was able to mostly get back to sleep and slept reasonably well, although I had a dream I was in a car where it shouldn't be and the car was being driven by a Korean foreign exchange student. I didn't want to analyze that then, nor do I now; I was on the road just a little too early for sunglasses.
It was an amazing morning with a beautiful sunrise pushing me down the road. I headed west for a ways before going north to hit I-80 for a short stretch, allowing me to miss all of Des Moines. Then it was across the Missouri River into Nebraska.
I spent time rethinking some of my life choices. Specifically, I was regretting my choice the previous evening to buy a Hy-Vee burger and the choice to eat that burger. Some things just can't be undone.
I was surprised how much traffic and truck traffic there was in Nebraska. I know Eastern Nebraska is far different from Western, but there just seemed to be too much of it.
I worked my way west and north. At some point the Garmin GPS said the next turn was 244 miles. I figured that had to be a mistake, but it wasn't. Seeing the 244 miles was a good way to feel demoralized by the distance. I also ended up being reminded that at some point I'll need to head home as well.
But I plugged away at the miles. Somewhere around O'Neill, NE the clouds started to look ominous. At exactly the last second I pulled in to get gas and put on my rain suit. There was only a little heavy rain, but there was enough to be glad I had put on the rain suit. The temperature also dropped to the low to mid 70's - which would have been really cold in the vented jacket if it was wet. Even with the cooler temperatures, the rain suite felt claustrophobic at times.
The Nebraska Sand Hills region has to be one of the hidden gems in the US. Most people only see the interstate through Nebraska - which is a shame.
Eventually I made my way into South Dakota. South Dakota is pretty and the area varies from Sand Hills to Band Lands to Beef Ranches. In some places, the road seems like it will never end.
Shortly after getting gas in South Dakota, the temperatures rose quickly making the rain suite unbearable. I stopped at a church parking lot in an Indian Reservation. As I was taking the suit off, I saw a Native American dude walking toward me out of the corner of my eye. He had a big bundle of sage and was pretty intent on selling it to me for $10. I have no idea what Native American sage is worth, but eventually I gave him $5 for a small amount of it - maybe it will help keep me safe on the road? I'm not sure about that, but it did make everything in the back bag smell like sage...
As I continued on the terrain started to become more Black Hills. Going into and out of the Reservation, I noted that they had COVID-checkpoints were set up. I'm not exactly sure what these are for, or what they do, since I was just waved on through. It certainly was curious. I also noted that the kid standing at the checkpoint was one of the few people in a mask on this trip.
Eventually I got into Hot Springs and found my hotel. I had booked this when I thought it was going to be a trip with SO. I had hotel-remorse when I saw the price. I should have gotten a room in non-touristy area as it probably would have been about half the cost. Oh well - it was a very nice room.
Once I was settled in I decided I was not going to eat crap all night, so I walked down to a grocery store for dinner. I was very surprised how much was closed in Hot Springs. I'm not sure if it was due to COVID? Or something else, but many storefronts were vacant or closed. I did pass a smoked meat house which would have made me abandon the grocery store for dinner, but he wasn't open either (he was just getting going for the following day). Hot Springs also has some areas which look like the start of a horror movie.
It was spitting rain when I finished the 1+ mile to the grocery store and this turned into a full-on thunderstorm. By the time I got back to my hotel I was drenched. The food was good though.
I finished the day in the hotel room, glad for amazing day on the road. And who knows, maybe the sage did help keep me safe...
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