Day 8: Sooo…Now What?

Well, yesterday was interesting. I walked around the city of Pierre for awhile, looking at the architecture and enjoying not sitting in a car and actually using my legs. But that only lasted an hour and a bit before I found myself back at the hotel deciding to watch ‘20,000 Leagues Under the Sea’ (I had just finished reading it and the main character’s name was Pierre so I thought it fitting – it was terrible however. Totally butchered the original story from the novel). A quick dinner at a mediocre Italian place in town and we were back at the Super 8 – GFT plugging away at her paper, me trying to improve my fantasy baseball team. Then I fell asleep at some point.

Now, I’m awake and she’s still finishing her paper. We’re about to leave as check-out is at eleven and we don’t really know where we’re going. Looking at ‘511’ and The Weather Channel, we seem to be behind Zeus and the winter weather, so I think we can make it to Minneapolis. From there however, we have to cross the Mississippi which I’m sure will be cresting in the near future. So at that point we will have to decide: down through Chicago or up through Mackinaw?

We will let you know when we figure it out. As for right now, I kind of just want to get home as this trip is quickly turning for the worse. If anyone is interested in doing a trip like this, my advice is don’t do it in April – the weather is unpredictable and apparently everything is closed. Now where did I pack my ruby slippers….

Day 6 (Part 3): Snow Hard With A Vengeance

So it’s actually Day Seven, but we’re still in Pierre as when we woke up this morning there was a whole bunch of snow we weren’t expecting. Coupled with GFT’s desire to finish her paper and actually graduate, we decided it best to stay put for now. Since then, the snow has dissipated slightly, which is an encouraging sign. Looking ahead to the flooding in the midwest, and the fact we’re basically going to be following behind Zeus and his tail of winter destruction, I’m sure the next few days may border on harrowing at times. Of course, I might just be overestimating this storm and exacerbating something that might not be such a big deal. Here’s hoping it’s the latter.

For now, I’m going to leave the lady to her work and go wonder around the city. I’ll update everyone as the situation progresses. Until then, enjoy some pretty pictures!:

This is me picking Lincoln’s nose.

A 1/34 scale sculpture of the planned Crazy Horse Monument. The project was started in 1948 and will be 563 feet high – taller than Giza & the Washington Monument.

A panorama of a section near the exit of Badlands National Park.