Sturgis to Cheyenne

I must say that except for the non MTTS evening spent with Yeu-Fann's family on the lake, this has been my favorite day of the trip thus far.

It started with a drive to Mt. Rushmore, which was a nice 45 minutes or so past every tourist trap known to man. Reptile Garden! Real Frontier Town! Presidential Wax Museum!  There was also a billboard for zombies and lasers, but I didn't quite catch all of it.  If you had kids, this would be a place to drop some serious cash.

They didn't even check our parking passes as we drove in.  I did hear people complain because we had an entire parking area reserved just for Minis.  I got there at the perfect time to get one of the closest spots.

As Minerva and I walked up to the monument, it became clear that Pokemon Go had finally invaded MTTS.  In protest for all the people commenting on how cool Pokemon Go was and how it got people outside, I opened up Ingress and turned all the portals in reach. I tried to explain to a guy about Ingress and how Pokemon used the same engine and portals, and he totally gave me a blank stare.

I got some great pics and then headed back to the car.  The drive out of South Dakota on 16A was windy and green and beautiful.  For a while I ended up the leader of a Mini train, and I started to stress... was I going to slow?  Was I taking the curves too fast?  It's all so much easier when someone else sets the pace.

On to Nebraska.  I totally forgot we were cutting the corner of Nebraska to add another state to our tally until I saw the Surprise and Delight, Carhenge was in Alliance, Nebraska. I must say that I found Carhenge to be a little underwhelming, after one has seen the real thing. Also 97 degrees probably didn't help my mood either.

The only real place to eat in town was DQ and the kids behind the counter were inundated with Mini owners who were trying not all to drop in at once. The kids were working their butts off and I heard several  Mini people tell them that too (me included).  The rest of Nebraska was pretty much straight, but there were some pretty bluffs and a looming cloud... much like the one that dumped hail on us last night. I was worried, because every time the road curved, it seemed to bring the cloud closer. Luckily enough, there was barely enough rain to clean the bugs off my window by the time I got to the hotel and checked in.

Terry Bison Ranch threw us a rodeo, and we could get pretty up close and personal. I will say that I should have been wearing long pants during the barrel riding, because the horses were kicking up gravel on the third turn and it was hitting me.in the shins.

That dark cloud kept coming and right after the bull riding, the lighting started in the distance and everyone seemed to take that as their cue to head back past the ostriches and to their cars.

MTTS Sioux Falls to Sturgis

Waking up at 3:30 in the morning, I was a little confused, as I heard Minerva eating out of her bowl... but she was inside the tent and it was outside.  Minerva must have realized the same, and let out a few boofs and then tried desperately to get out of the tent to chase whatever had the temerity to eat her leftovers that I'd forgotten to put back in the car.

After calming her down, I realized that I needed to pee.  Crud.  It was a five minute walk down a dark road and I really didn't feel like putting pants on.  After half an hour and a dream about needing to pee, I bit the bullet and Minerva and I paraded to the biffy and I just took her in with me while my bladder got some needed relief.  I left the flashlight off, except when a car came down the road and I wanted to make sure they saw me and the black ninja at night.

Back in the tent I think I got another two hours sleep before Minerva decided it was time to bark at the neighbors, who were both Mini people that she'd met the night before.  She found the 4 inch hole that I'd accidentally left in the zippered door and made her grand exit and sprinted over to their campsite.  One of them was kind enough to bring her back while I struggled out of my tent.

Back in Sioux Falls and the convention center, I actually put down the quilt and lay 6 books on top of it.  I managed to sell 2! Yeah!  That's something at least. Will attempt to do that again in Cheyenne.

Today was a long haul that was all I-90, so Mini decided to spice it up with a scavenger hunt.

This guy has a bit of a weird sense of humor. Dark.

 The bull is huge and has a bit of a creepy surprise inside, as seen in the second photo.  What I didn't expect to find were the Deathless.\

The scavenger hunt took us from the sculpture garden, to an old west town, Al's Oasis, The Corn Palace and Wall Drug's dino... basically every large tourist trip out there.  I bought some chicken at Al's grocery store and ate a picnic lunch with the rest of the bread at the old west town.

The Corn Palace... where some wonderful Mini kids watched Minerva so I could go inside, pee and grab a quick drink.  Also, the giant buffalo outside of Al's Oasis.

As we were entering Rapid City, a huge hailstorm plowed through.  I suppose they weren't that big, but I kept praying one wouldn't crack my windshield or sunroof. I got to Sturgis and looked at the sky and thought, to heck with camping.  Minerva and I are now nice and settled in Rush No More Campground in one of their cabins.

 Also. Turkeys... Why did they cross the road?

I met up with another lady from Nashville who had done the exact same thing I did, and we carpooled to the evening event in her 2016 Cooper.  Spiffy inside, but doesn't have the secret second dash. We took a pit stop before the evening event for some stunning views, even in the rain. We grabbed out  Mt. Rushmore parking passes and breakfast for tomorrow before heading back for a wifi filled evening in our cabins.

Shakopee (Minneapolis) to Sioux Falls

               Today was mostly a day on our own, giving the Pit Crew (Event Staff) some much needed time off.  Also, most things in these parts are apparently closed on Sunday.

The drive was nice and short – only about 3 ½ hrs away.  I found 1 open quilt shop along the way… well at the end.  It was near a mall and the traffic leaving was horrendous – people in high profile vehicles driving like maniacs around slower traffic.  For a while, Google just stopped working completely and I had no idea where I was or how to get where I was going.  At that point, I headed for a trusty Starbucks and free wifi.  From there, I could program my final locale into Waze and it would get me there, despite the lack of connection to a network.

We headed for Falls Park and Minerva tried to chase some ducks.  Probably would have gone into the mud and over the falls if I’d let her.

Then off to the small town grocery store for some supplies… now that we don’t have to plan every inch of space. Some “fajita” steak and bamboo skewers (also Montreal seasoning) caught my eye.  Continuing last night’s theme, I started a fire and had steak on a stick for dinner… and then got about 5 offers from passing Minis to join them for dinner.  Not sure I will.  Maybe I’ll try to write some more.