Sunday, May 21 brought cloudy skies, some sunshine and rising temperatures.  Along with the rain it had been cold the past couple of days.  We opted to skip the complimentary breakfast & crowd of strange people that go with it.  Most of the time we find them amusing but, at other times not so much.  It was one of those days.  For example: yesterday a young lady & her friend were having a discussion in the corner by the toaster about their dates the night before.  They were oblivious to the fact no one could get in the corner to get bread, butter, rolls, pastry or use the toaster.  When I said “excuse me, may I get to the toaster” they looked at me like I was deranged and continued their conversation.  A nearby male, who was also waiting, just bumped into them, spilt a bit of his coffee on them & said “excuse me I didn’t see you standing there”.  I had a hard time not laughing.  Every day there is something similar happening.

We hit the road around 11 A.M. heading up I-29 N about 178 miles through Sioux City and onto Sioux Falls to spend the night.  We stopped in Sioux City and chose to eat some of McDonald’s great but, not so good for you, sausage biscuits.  Every once in a while we have to have a fix.  Actually you don’t have a lot of options travelling along I-29 in Nebraska, Iowa or later South Dakota.  As we were travelling north in Iowa we surprised by a road sign that advertised skiing at the next exit.  Looking around the highest hill we could see was no more than 500 feet tall.  Iowa has some strange signs.  I love this one.

My interpretation is that they have wireless internet vending machines.  Next time I pass through I will give one of them a test drive.  Here is another one for a steamboat exhibit which seems rather odd for this part of the country.  The things we learn on these road trips.

As we travel along it’s obvious that Iowa has had more rain than it needs as a lot of the farmland is flooded over.

We entered South Dakota about 1:24 P.M.

We stopped in Elk Point to visit Heritage Park where Lewis & Clark camped during their survey of the Missouri River.  The sign proclaims it is the site of  “The First Election West of the Mississippi River”.  One of the non-commissioned officers who was part of this expedition had died.  A replacement was elected.  As Will Rogers said “those are the facts, I just report them”.

We arrived at the SpringHill Suites in Sioux Falls at 3:00 P.M.  Later that evening we enjoyed a superb meal at the Fryn’ Pan a local family restaurant.