Middle America, June 2010

The northern route through Ohio, Indiana, Illinois, Wisconsin and South Dakota has been very different compared to my drive last year when I took the more southern/Middle America route through Oklahoma, Texas, Alabama and Georgia. The people, the food, the weather, the views — they all change per border and per time zone. We happened to drive during the peak tornado and flash flood seasons.  Go us!   

Driving through Pennsylvania was the usual for us. My big sis lives in State College so it wasn’t anything new. The drive through is actually pretty scenic (and quick).   

Ohio and Indiana were comparable, I suppose. My mama and I would argue Indiana was just a little better, but I have no idea why and I’m sure she doesn’t either. Both were just highways with the usual farms and cows — all over flat land. The food was just “normal” country American (whatever that is). And when I looked up “What is Ohio famous for?” on my blackberry, it said,”Flowers, football and trees.” Indiana gave me no answer. We were happy to get those two states over with on our first day.   

Illinois-ians certainly take great pride in their city, Chicago. When we entered their state, it said “Welcome to Chicago” and not “Welcome to Illinois.” Perhaps we entered from the wrong section, but we found that interesting.   

Chinatown in Chicago, Illinois

It was a rainy day in Chicago when we went, and we only stopped for an hour to eat lunch. I yelped what was supposedly a great Chinese restaurant in the heart of Chicago’s Chinatown before we got there. Their setup of Chinatown reminded me a lot of London’s Chinatown. It was raining so that probably helped with that illusion, too. I rate the food at their “best” Chinese restaurant (according to Yelp) a 5/10… with a three-point penalty because I apparently carried one of their cockroaches on my shoulder from their restaurant and into my car. So, the roach was probably resting on my shoulder for about 4-5 blocks. Gross.   

Chicago itself is a beautiful city, however. It’s a cleaner, smaller version of New York City. The food is great (remembering from my last visit), and it’s a bit more cultured compared to Boston and D.C. Boston and D.C. also doesn’t have the best food… which docks off a LOT of points for me. Too bad Chicago was too gloomy for my mom to enjoy this time around. Oh well. Starting this trip out in NYC certainly deflates the “wow” factor for any other city we pass on our way.    

Now onto Wisconsin. For some odd reason, I loved loved driving through Wisconsin! People always ask, what is there to do in Wisconsin? Well, I looked it up beforehand and saw they are famous for their cheese and beer. And all we saw while driving through their state were billboards advertising the nation’s best cheese, milk, ice cream — and a bunch of whitewater rafting and tubing joints. I wouldn’t mind coming back to Wisconsin in the future for another cheese sampling    

Mama in front of Carr Valley Cheese in Wisconsin

Inside Carr Valley Cheese in Wisconsin

Pre-warning: South Dakota has absolutely nothing for the first 300 miles — and I mean NOTHING as in not even any farms or cows, let alone people. It was just me, my mom, the dog, and a highway surrounded by bright green grass running for God knows how many miles around it, with a medium to dark array of clouds hovering low just above us. Sioux Falls can be a little breather after those 300 miles, but once you leave there, you will be back on the road to nowhere for two-three hours until you hit the Badlands.   

Driving to nowhere

Sioux Falls isn’t a must-see, either. The falls come out prettier in the pictures. In real life, though, it’s very small and “cute,” as my mom described it. The squirrels do look strangely different around there (Burnt orange colored with light brown, bushy tails). Also, don’t be freaked out when you enter Sioux Falls. It will look like truck central until you find your way through the local roads and closer to the mini-falls. Looks like many of the trucks get repaired there, or they get made there or something. 

Sioux Falls, South Dakota (actual size)

Sioux Falls Squirrel - Light Brown with Bushy Tail

Kayla had a different reaction to the squirrel

The Badlands, on the other hand, is definitely worth dropping by and taking a look. Take the “Scenic Loop” from Highway 90. It will take you through the heart of Badlands National Park (which looks like a little brown Sedona), and back on 90 in about 15 miles.     

Badlands reminded me of a brown Sedona

 Mt. Rushmore is a quick two-hour drive from the Badlands Important tip: Do not fall for the Buffalo Hot Dog billboards on your way there. They are God awful. The steak has not impressed me either! And we’re in Cow country :/  

Also, if you go to Mt. Rushmore, be sure to check the weather daily. Flash flood warnings are very common in Keystone, South Dakota. I made the mistake of signing up for weather.com’s severe weather alerts for the Keystone area, and got 35 notifications in ONE day (all flash flood and severe thunderstorm warnings). I got so freaked out my mom made me unsubscribe and she took over as weatherwoman for our trip.  

You will also see about 50 billboards for the Petrified Gardens and Reptile Gardens on your way there. We fell for one and went to the Petrified Gardens stop. At the end of the day, we saw it as our $10 donation to the sweet elderly couple that ran the place. The place was well-kept and had some cool stuff (and taught you some history), but don’t get your hopes too high after seeing all those billboards.  

So finally, here was our final destination off Highway 90 – Mt. Rushmore!  

Mt. Rushmore

While you’re there, also stop by the Crazy Horse Memorial. It’s about 10 miles from Mt. Rushmore and definitely worth the visit.   

Crazy Horse under construction (10 miles from Mt. Rushmore)

Native American Museum at Crazy Horse Memorial

More to come on the drive south of Mt. Rushmore, down Colorado, New Mexico, etc.!   

As always, thanks for following.   

-Angie   

To my family and friends:    

This trip is different from last time. Having my mom drive two hours each day while I nap has been invaluable. Also having Kay do the most ridiculous things in the back seat has been keeping us laughing and our energy levels high. So far, Kay’s VERY slowly crawled up to the middle of the car, crossing her paws over each other while staring outside the windshield. Before we knew it, her 45-pound self managed to make her way onto my 5’1 mom’s lap.    

   

My mom is also super hilarious, as all of you I’m sure know. So we’re in Wisconsin, about 8 miles from the Colorado border. She grabs the camera early to take a picture of the “Welcome to Colorado” sign, because she’s missed the state border signs about 6/8 times so far. She’s holding the camera up by the window for a few minutes, and when the sign comes up she gets so excited and yells, “THERE IT IS!” From the corner of my eye I notice the camera looks like it’s pointing toward the wrong direction (about 100 ft. away from the sign). She clicks and goes, “Oh!” and pauses. “I took a picture of some other weird sign…” It was eye-watering-hilarious, let me tell you.    

Another note: Writing daily updates to the blog is not so easy this time (not that it was easy before but still!) . Priorities change when you have loved ones around. The company has been incredible, though. Mama feeding kay water from our hotel ice buckets, and dog food from their trays reminds me how much of characters we all are in our fam lol.  Wish my sis could be here with us    

Will update more later, but just thought I’d write snippets here for my loved ones.    

Thanks for following, I mean it! I’m super grateful.    

Love, Angie     

Mama, Kay and Me