Day Sixteen

Didn't rush up this morning as it was purely a driving day. Had breakfast in the hotel as it was included. Had to show a woman how to use the waffle iron. Then had to show her how to use the coffee machine. And no, before you ask, it wasn't Ann. Finally got to eat breakfast.

Set off at 11am and headed the short distance straight for I90. Turned on to it and then off of it almost instantly so we could see the Dignity of Earth and Sky which sits on a bluff overlooking the Missouri river. It's a fifty foot tall sculpture of a native woman honouring the Native Nations of the Great Plains.

Wanted to take a picture but a woman was stood in the way for ages. Eventually there were a lot of people waiting for her to move so they could also take pictures. And no, before you ask, it wasn't Ann. Eventually she did move and we could all take our pictures.

Sans woman

The cape includes 128 diamonds of colour which will shimmer depending on where the sun is.

Got back in the car and just drove east on the I90. That was all we had to do. All day. 422 miles of it. Stopped a couple of times at rest stops for comfort/drinks breaks. Crossed back into Minnesota. 

Eventually we stopped at a rest stop for lunch. Had just finished eating when two guys arrived on motorbikes. One bloke had his jeans waist band around his mid thighs with his stomach hanging down in front and his arse fat hanging down the back. He then decided to lean over his bike which exposed more than you would ever want to see. Luckily at that moment a car pulled in between us.

After being sick we quickly moved on and carried on driving. Saw a large horse and what either is an antelope of some sort or the devil.

Not sure

Also saw a sign for the Spam museum. Didn't stop to look at it. Ann was annoyed.

Stopped once more with about an hour to go and then hit on a new idea to pass the time of the last leg. I said to Ann we should see how many different states we could see on vehicle license plates as we travelled. The first nine we saw were all from different states which seemed quite fortuitous. Eventually they all started being just Minnesota or Wisconsin.

Eventually arrived at the Best Western Plus in La Crescent, right on the border between Minnesota and Wisconsin. Checked in. Better quality room than last night.

Decided to try out something for dinner, so ordered online from the TimeOut Tavern which is just across from the hotel. It said it would be ready to pick up in twenty minutes. Drove to the gas station near the hotel and filled up ready for tomorrow but also got some drinks to go with our dinner.

Drove back to the hotel and walked across to collect the food. It was there waiting. Got back to the room before Ann said where is the cutlery? I said I presume most people who get takeout take it home where they have cutlery. Went off and found her cutlery. I ate a desert with a knife instead of a spoon.

Watched The Six Triple Eight whilst eating dinner. Another good film.

States visited - 10

Day Fifteen

Ate breakfast in the room as none was included in the stay. Packed and out the door by 9.15am. Stopped for fuel in Wall before we headed ten minutes or so due south to the Pinnacles entrance of Badlands National Park. Unlike Monday it wasn't free, paid the fee and drove in.

Decided to turn right and follow the Sage Creek Rim Road which was a dirt track about 7 miles long. Stopped at all the various overlooks and took photos of the stunning scenery.

View

Another view

Saw some prairie dogs.

Awww

Then saw this sign.

Not so awww

We didn't get out of the car as we didn't want the plaque. Also saw some bison but they were quite far away.

Good bison

We hit the end of the dirt track which joined a tarmac road. Decided although we could go on further that there was nothing anymore interesting that way. Turned round and headed back along the track. Suddenly I slammed on the brakes because I saw this fella on my left.

Is goat

Eventually we joined the main road again and headed on the Badlands Loop Road. As this was tarmac it was a lot busier. A lot busier. Thousands of motorcycles once again. We stopped at various places again along the route when there was room. Stopped for a quick drink on the Conata road before heading back to the main drag. Carried on stopping and taking photos.

Vista

More vista

Then saw this sign at another stop.

Keep off the grass

Said to Ann it would be cool to see a rattlesnake. She didn't agree.

Eventually we got to the Ben Reifel Visitor Centre. I think he is the brother of the former Aussie cricketer Paul or something. Had a look around the displays and got the obligatory magnet. Got back in the car and headed towards the Northeastern exit but pulled over in the Big Badlands Overlook for lunch. 

Big Badlands

I got out and took some photos. A man asked me if I wanted a picture taken. I said no. He then asked me to take his photo. Of course he did! They always do!

Eventually we left the park and headed east on I90. Lost an hour as we left Mountain time and moved back to Central time. Pulled in to the carpark of the 1880 town as we had thought about stopping to have a look. It is a mock up of an old western town. There was a brief discussion in the car and then we left without going in.

Carried on east bound with an 80mph speed limit. Saw a car and caravan on its roof just off the carriageway.

Eventually crossed the Missouri river and ended up in Lee's Motor Inn in Chamberlain, our stop for the night.

Nipped out to Maccy Ds to get some food. Back to watch another golf film on Netflix. This time it was The Long Game. A solid film.

Now going to attempt an early night as my left sinus has been agony all day.

States visited - 10

Bison watch - High

Prairie Dog watch - Even higher

Day Fourteen

Woke up to find it pouring with rain. By the time we had had breakfast and packed it was staring to ease and when we packed the car it had almost stopped. Left Watford City just after ten and got on highway 85 and headed south. Listened to Bryan Adams on Tracks of my Years on Radio 2. Definitely worth a listen. Stopped at a gas station in Bowman to get some drinks and a snack. We got a salted caramel Twix and a cookie dough Twix and shared them. We both agreed the salted caramel one was the winner by some distance.

The entrance to Bowman

Carried on heading south on the 85 and crossed the border into South Dakota. The whole morning was on the same road and it was only single lane but there was so little traffic I put it in cruise control for hours and it was so straight it took hardly any steering.

Straight

Flat

Another couple of hours past and we arrived in Belle Fourche.

Parked up and went in the visitor centre. There was a Tri State museum too. Had a mooch about. Saw some old western things. Bought a magnet. We then went outside to see this.

The middle

Middle of the middle

When planning this journey last night I noticed that Belle Fourche was the geographical centre of the USA, so we stopped by to go and stand on it. We then sat in the car to eat a packed lunch and I read a leaflet we picked up in the visitor centre. Turns out this was just the monument, the actual centre was a few miles north but even that may not be the actual centre by up to ten miles. Hawaii is included but not its actual position. I don't really know as I got bored reading about how they try and work it out. The thing is this isn't the actual centre.

We'd started to see a lot of bikers on the journey today and this just got more and more as the day went on. The reason being is we were approaching Sturgis which holds a massive bike festival. We found this out on our first trip here in 2010 when we passed this way. Turns out the festival is currently on and as we joined the I90 west we passed through it. Let's just say there were about a million bikers in Sturgis itself and the surrounding towns. The number began to dwindle as we got further away. We discussed how we have now been in the Black Hills of Dakota on three trips, 2010 when we went to Mount Rushmore, 2017 when we went to Deadwood and now passing through this time.

Eventually we arrived in Wall our destination, only to find it full of bikers too. Checked in to the Hansen Inn and Cabins. Like a motel except people own the rooms and let them out, a bit like the hotel in New York.

Went for a walk about in the town. Went to Wall Drug which is a big store, apparently quite famous. It was just full of tat. The whole place seemed full of tat. Very much like Sedona we visited in 2015 except without the psychics. Luckily we are only here for the night before setting off again tomorrow. Went to a grocery store and picked up some things and headed back to the room. Watched Happy Gilmore 2 whilst eating tea. It wasn't as bad as you think.

States visited - 10

Day Thirteen

Woken up at 6am by some music playing somewhere in the hotel. Not sure where it was but it didn't last very long, just long enough to wake me up. Eventually got back to sleep for a while. Woke up properly to find it was completely foggy. Had a hotel breakfast.

By the time we left, the fog had started to clear. Drove short distance to Cash Wise Foods to get some supplies. Ann then said she thought she'd left her straighteners on in the hotel bathroom. Drove back to hotel and unplugged them.

Then we made the short journey south to the entrance to the North Unit of Theodore Roosevelt National Park. During our planning I discovered today is Fee Free Day for all US National Parks to celebrate the anniversary of the Great American Outdoors Act(2020), so we got in for free. Stopped at the visitor centre to get a magnet earlydoors before setting off into the park. It consists of one scenic drive through the Badlands for about 14 miles. At the end you turn around and come back again. We decided we would just stop at each of the pull ins and take in the scenery. Saw some prairie dogs digging holes.

Two pull ins in, a guy started talking to us about our number plate. Had we driven from New York? We said yes. He had driven from Pennsylvania. He thought we lived in New York. We explained we were on holiday. Eventually he left and we could carry on enjoying the scenery. When we got to the next pull in, he was there. That's the problem with just one road. Luckily his wife had got out so he was busy talking to her. Saw some cannonball concretions.

Ball

Ball in cliff

I'll let you google it.

At the next stop there was a lookout area. Wandered to it and took some photos.

Panoramic

On the way back to the car, a family had just arrived all wearing a group outfit of blue t-shirts saying 'Family Vacay'. There was more than one car full of them.

Gradually made our way to the end of the road, stopping to take photos on the way. Saw some bison poo but unfortunately no bison.

Reached the end called Oxbow Overlook. There actually was no oxbow lake there, just a large meander on the Little Missouri river.

No Oxbow

Made our way back and then pulled over for a packed lunch. Whilst we were there we saw two walkers who looked lost. They consulted with the people in the only other car parked where we were, looking at maps. Then they walked towards us. Thought they were going to ask for a lift but they just walked past.

Eventually made our way back to the hotel. There is literally nothing else to do around here. I mean nothing.

Thought about going back to the same diner as yesterday for dinner, but decided to eat what we have lying about instead.

On the plus side I'm writing this at 7pm, which is an absolute bonus. Another longish drive tomorrow so I'll take all the rest I can get.

States visited - 9

Bison watch - low

Prairie dog watch - high

Day Twelve

Up at six and in the car ready to leave at 7.45am. Hit the road and headed for I94 west. Drove for a couple of hours before a quick comfort break in a rest area. Carried on into North Dakota past Fargo, somewhere we stayed in 2017 until we reached Valley City. 282 miles completed by 11.55am, not a bad morning's work. Had a soundtrack today of BBC Radio 2 shows on our journey.

Stopped at a plaza for what should have been a quick drink. Ann insisted she wanted a hot drink so we ordered a mocha and a hot chocolate at the McDonalds there. Twenty minutes later we finally got our order and could set off.

Saw another airstream trailer.

Not quite as glamorous as last time

Carried on I94 west, going the opposite way to our 2017 trip. Passed Jamestown where we had stopped for lunch with dad on that previous trip. By now the landscape had changed to a more open plains like view. Completed another 124 miles to a rest area just east of Bismarck just before 2pm. Ate a packed lunch we had prepared before we left. Reclined my seat for a bit and shut my eyes for a few minutes to counteract the fact I'd been yawning non stop for the last half an hour of driving.

Set off again feeling a little more alert for the next phase. Passed a very large cow on a hill.  Pretty sure I remembered seeing it when we had gone the other direction eight years ago. Drove through some rain. Saw a goose sculpture.

Have a gander at this

Another 107 miles completed until we needed to stop for fuel at Dickinson, another place we had stayed with dad. Ann complained that she was really tired. I pointed out she was in the passenger seat and could sleep at any point. She said she couldn't as she had to stay awake to make sure I stayed awake. Had another quick drink before setting off on our final stint.

Finally turned off the I94 at Belfield and then headed north. Landscape suddenly changed as we saw the rocky features of the Theodore Roosevelt National Park. Made it to Watford City by just before 6pm having done another 85 miles, a total of 598 miles for the day. Checked in to the Comfort Inn and Suites. 

Decided to pop for dinner at the Little Missouri Grille, mainly as there is not much of a choice. Roffe-Knightley effect has resurfaced as we it was empty when we walked in and five minutes later it was full. Service was good as was the food. I had a grilled cheese and fries. Ann had something. It was another case of eating where the locals eat is a good sign. Lots of cowboy hats and big trucks on show.

Back to the hotel to watch Everton against Man United in the last Summer Series match. It finished 2-2. Everton were slightly better. Probably because we weren't there.

Ann now asleep as I'm not driving.

States visited - 9

Day Eleven

Another seemingly leisurely start, but out the door before 10am. Put a second load of washing on before we left having done one yesterday as well.

Headed south towards Minneapolis. At one point on a slip road, an SUV about four cars ahead braked violently and then steered right which sent it off the road and up onto a bank, The SUV nearly flipped but didn't quite make it over and landed back on four wheels facing oncoming traffic. As we drove past the bloke inside it just sat looking astonished.

Made our way onwards, before the ineptitude of the road signs and Apple maps meant we missed everything and then having turned round went to Fort Snelling State Park rather than Fort Snelling Historical Monument. Eventually got to the right place. Parking was free as their barriers weren't working which was a bonus.

Went in and got to the fort just in time to see a bloke dressed in costume shoot a rifle.

Gunsmoke

We didn't get to hear what he said beforehand so no real idea what he was demonstrating. Spent time idling around the fort. Found out most of it has been rebuilt bar about four parts, so it is a recreation rather than the original. Still worth looking at the history of it.

The fort from the round tower

Weapons

Olde Shoppe

Barracks

Magazine

Another place with links to slavery. Famously Dred Scott and his wife, who were slaves of the camp doctor, sued for their freedom in 1846 as they were living in a free state. It was ruled against by the Supreme Court who stated that Black people were not citizens and therefore could not sue in federal court. As a landmark decision, the case brought slavery to the national forefront and is cited as a major catalyst for the civil war.

Eventually headed back to the visitor centre to get a magnet and a drink. Woman on the door asked me about my Shawshank t-shirt. Is it a real place you can go to? Yes. Turns out the drink choice wasn't great so we headed to the car to find somewhere to go. Eventually settled on The Patty Wagon. Arrived to find it pretty much empty which is never a good sign. Nonetheless we ordered and ate and it was fine. I had grilled cheese. Ann had something.

Next we headed up to the Basilica of St Mary as Ann wanted to see the stained glass windows. Parked for free in a carpark under the interstate. When we got in there was a woman practicing playing the xylophone. It made quite a sound in the large interior.

Wandered around and saw some stuff.

Stained glass

Large organ - oh er missus

Inside the basilica

Out front

Pew pew pew

As we were leaving a large party had finished some sort of celebration downstairs. A mariachi band also left when they did. We didn't get to hear them play unfortunately.

Decided that with a long journey tomorrow, we would head home early to make sure we got an earlyish night. Had a quick Saturday pub quiz with the fam on messenger.

Have now finished this and it is only 10pm. Astonishing.

States visited - 8

Day Ten

Can't believe it's day ten already. Time has flown by and here we are in the twin cities. We decided when planning to do one day in St Paul and one day in Minneapolis. Had a fairly leisurely breakfast and then headed into St Paul not as early as planned. Commented to Ann on the drive in that it felt like we were really late. It was only 9.20am. Just having had a lot of early mornings it felt like we were heading in at midday. We had looked at the best ways to get into to the city centre and in the end just decided to drive. There was no traffic and we got parked really easily.

Made the short walk down to the Minnesota Capitol building. Went in and got a pamphlet for a self guided tour but then a free tour was about to set off, so we went on that instead. Started out with us becoming celebrities as we were the only ones not from Minnesota on the tour. Everyone seemed very surprised that we would turn up a: in Minnesota and b: In the Capitol building. A woman who looked like Jane Lynch told me she liked the accent and then asked why we were here. I said we had been to all fifty states and were now spending more time in the ones we had only briefly visited before. That seemed to satisfy her inquisitiveness and she didn't speak to me again.

Guy gave us an hour long tour, with the highlight being to get to go on the roof. Also now know where the term passing the bar comes from. The building itself is only a little over a hundred years old but has had to have extensive repair works done at a cost of $300million. There has also been some controversy whilst being done up about the some of the works of art inside which depict Native Americans such as the Dakota in unfavourable ways. Some paintings have been moved to less obvious places so there can be more information given with them as to why they ain't great.

Capitol

Inside the rotunda

Senate

Horses on the roof

Down below the rotunda

Supreme Court

House of Representatives

The other thing we saw was the tribute to Melissa Hortman and her husband, who were shot and killed at their home last month. She was the Speaker of the House of Representatives. One young boy on the tour asked his mum why she had been killed. I didn't hear her reply but I expect it was something along the lines of because our country is fucking mental. The killer visited four houses of representatives that day. He shot and injured one senator and his wife, two houses were empty and the fourth was Melissa's home in Brooklyn Park, which is the area we are staying in.

Tributes to the couple

We had a bit of a wander after the tour was done. As it's a public building you can go anyway in it if the door isn't locked. There were people taking wedding pictures on the stairs, but there was no wedding. Ann and I just walked on the stairs and they cleared off. Bought a magnet and then went outside to decide on what to do next.

Got back in the car and drove to the Science Museum of Minnesota. Went in. It was ok but not the best for adults, very much orientated at kids. If we'd known that we wouldn't have bothered. Did get to watch a film about National Parks narrated by Robert Redford. Again is was nice to look at (especially as we'd been to most of them) but it didn't really tell you much.

Also saw some dinosaur bones.

Triceratops 

Eventually we left having seen all there was to see, including the Mississippi River which runs past the museum. Headed back north towards home but made a detour to do something we haven't done in ages.

Mini Golf!

We can't remember when the last time was we played a mini golf tournament here in the US, so stopped at Lilli Putt. Didn't start well for me as I hit the ball off the course with my first shot. It wasn't my fault, the course design meant it was inevitable if you hit the ball where I did. Needless to say Ann insisted on me having a penalty for being out of bounds. I rallied though and reached the turn one under par, with a five shot lead. Disaster on ten when my tee shot failed to complete the jump over the river and Ann insisted on a two shot penalty as per the rule booklet. She birdied as I made a double bogey cutting the lead to two shots, but just as quickly I got two back on the 11th. 

End result was:

Knightley, R: 68

Roffe, A: 71

Made our way back home for dinner. Now realise there is an actual channel called Midsomer Murders which shows non stop Midsomer Murders.

States visited - 8