We pulled out of Kennebec at 9:00. What a blessing and time saver it was to have access to those dryers! Not needing to find and use a laundry mat saved us over an hour. Elizabeth's sleeping bag was so wet, I could hardly carry it. Isaac had set up the tents and in to one he and I share, he'd staked all the corners, fastened all the fasteners, and we rode out the storm dry and toasty. The girls didn't have any stakes so with enough wind, it just collapsed. Jacob's fly wasn't fully fastened so when I got up at 4:30 to help Elizabeth, it was folded all the way back and Miriam and he were laying there under the mesh, fully exposed to the rain but sound asleep. William's little pup tent was no match for the weather and had collapsed down until it was about 10 inches high! I fought the high winds for the first three hours of the drive. I could see the trailer wobbling around in the back and was sometimes worried it was just going to take flight. I couldn't even get above 60 due to the high winds.
a lot of this today, Anastaya spent a lot of time sleeping because she's come down with a flu
this is the space between the two front seats. It always gets so messy during long driving days
lots of this is South Dakota
Our first stop was the city of Sioux Falls. We found a Redbox for some movies and then stopped at Bob's Cafe, famous for their broasted chicken.
We bought a 10 piece chicken meal with two potato sides, a deluxe burger with fries and a regular burger with fries for $28. And, everyone was full!
The chicken was moist and tasty but for me, the real prize were the broasted potatoes. Jumbo sized jo-jo type potatoes with a pleasant chewy resistance as you bit through the outside giving way to fluffy inside. Isaac only likes his food a certain way so I was really surprised when he said he wished he'd ordered the broasted potatoes instead of fries. They were that good! We also stopped at the Cookie Jar for cookies. I'd found both the restaurants at roadfood.com. The cookies were fine, more sweet than rich except for the devil bar which was richness divine and I ate bits of it for the next two hours of driving.
We ate our lunch at Sioux Falls Park, overlooking the waterfall that gives the city its name. Can you see the brown in the water? That's from that storm that we spent the night in!
After Sioux Falls, it was another 2 ½ hour drive to Albert Lea, our only stop in Minnesota. We filled up the gas tank and changed out movies for new ones and were then on the way to Waterloo, Iowa. They were forcasting another night of thunderstorms and heavy rain and there was just no way William's tent was up to it. I found a Target, (thanks again Sheri for the GPS loaner) and bought him a dome tent which should work better. We pulled into our campsite at George Wyth State Park at 7:30 pm. There are several lakes and a large river nearby and it appears to be a fisherman's dream location. For us, it was pulling in to a muddy campsite where we progressively became taller as the mud accumulated on our shoes, mosquitoes in our eyes and up our noses, and crows at the crack of dawn. It felt like camping in Washington!
Minnesota wind farm
There is a bird somewhere here that I swear is saying, “He did it!” as his song. I'm sure his mother is tired of him blaming someone else!
my poor little girl!! I almost wish I was there hugging you but I do not like mosquitos in my nose! love mom
ReplyDeleteI guess that is the problem with South Dakota, in some parts of the state there isn't enough in the way to stop the wind. Glad you all survived it! (So far :-)
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