- Morning…ball of confusion…We temporarily lost the following: an envelope of cash; Glenda’s eyeglasses; Glenda’s sunglasses; Sue’s cell phone; Sue’s sunglasses; Sue’s cell phone charger (sadly, permanently lost); Glenda’s camera. Went to the gas station-more ball of confusion-we Jersey girls don’t pump gas!! What’s with this diesel gas, ethanol 10%, ethanol 85%, unleaded regular nowhere in sight? All very confusing which made for a late start.
The gas station incident
- Back on I-90 to South Dakota. We learned that South Dakota all along I-90 is the ticky tacky kitschy capital of America. Yay!! We found a giant cow statue at the Land O Lakes building.
Is that a wave or a signal for help?
Glenda surveying the big bovine
- On to Mitchell (shout out thanks to Kathy B for this recommendation) to view the Corn Palace. Spectacular!! It is an arena with its outside walls all decorated using corn husks, cobs and other plant and grain material. Doris Gerlach, our hostess, told us they get 600 visitors a day in the off season…and buses from Australia!!!
Glenda with Doris, corn volunteer
This year’s theme is “Youth Activities”
Halloween mural made of corn cobs
- Happily, in Mitchell and further along I-90 we also found a corn cob, a big steer, and a junk art sculpture park on the highway to photograph.
Sue and Glenda pose with a happy cob of corn
Giant steer
Some guy’s enormous sculptures in a field along I-90
- Continuing on toward the Badlands–scenic landscapes and signs galore. Stopped to pick up groceries in Murdo.
- Finally…exit 131 off I-90 toward the Badlands National Park. Before we arrive at the beautiful park we get to see the giant prairie dog statue. Phew!!! We have not, however, seen a live one yet.
Oversize prairie dog
- Badlands National Park: crazy beautiful landscape. Our cabin is unexpectedly new, charming, made of cedar wood with western decor.
Jersey Junction
No Jersey stories today. We think that is because the entire day was just, as noted above, a big ball of confusion. Jersey girls pumping gas and cleaning the windshields? It was all just wrong. We did meet a woman in Mitchell from Massachusetts and a man from Connecticut took our picture at the cabin. Close but no cigar. We’ll look forward to getting back on track with Jersey tomorrow.
Theme of the Day: Ball of confusion
Next up: Another day at the Badlands.
Hello Jersey Girls,
Thanks so much for taking the time to post details about your daily adventures. You both look stunning in green. Glad to see that you found some wurst! Safe travels
Green is definitely a favorite color! Happily found wurst and lots of local beer. Even a German waiter last night – in Wyoming?!?
The pictures are great and the stories classic–where did you lose your stuff and how did you find it is an outstanding issue though:)
Dear Margie,
We think this simply was an unusual confluence of our separate menopausal hazes, of course influenced by the moon’s phase and the delirium of Interstate 90 across multiple states behind us. We lost things in our bags, in our Network Operation Center ( aka NOC) in the car console, on the car floor,under the car seat, in our pocketbooks, and the ultimate real loss in the hotel room!! We have now recovered and look forward to more losing and laughing.
I am literally laughing out loud at this description–faint right now due to lack of food on the holiday.
I love the statues, I guess when you have all that space….
My memory from 1988 when we crossed the northern part of the country was that every diner in the west had their own homemade cinnamon rolls, which were amazing and so huge they lasted the entire day. keep an eye out, don’t know if it’s still the case though.
Ooooh – we will so be on the lookout for cinnamon rolls!!!
Glad you’re enjoyning the land of corn. I heard on NPR radio that because of the (drought affected) rise in corn commodity prices, farmers are now starting to feed chocolate to their cows. Is Hershey PA on your itinerary?
O my!! We will have to inquire about the new chocolate milk fresh from the udder. This will spark one of our many investigative journalist topics. Thanks for the tip off!!
The suspense is killing me..did you find your lost items, if so, where were they?. And are you gals getting enough sleep?
Hi Sophia
Thank you for your concern! Fortunately we recovered all but the cell phone charger cord. However we did get quite a late start on the day and thus had to breeze by some of the very attractive tacky roadside stuff that we otherwise would have explored. Sigh. As for sleep..pretty good so far.
Loved the recent comments! Speaking of losing things – on our trips through Europe in the early 80’s we made friend John Burke, who often lost and forgot things, cross himself every morning – horizontally to check for eye glasses and wallet in jacket pockets and vertically to make sure his fly was zipped. Sue will also remember the story of Met wife and family money manager Dolly Masucci, preparing for a New York tax appointment with fearsome IRS rep Ms. Ali. Dolly considered the menopause defense, but decided it would not evoke the right response from Ms. A.
I think Sue and I will have to start our own daily ritual – maybe incorporated with stretching – touch toes and make sure shoes are tied, twist at waist and verify keys are in pocketbook, reach for top and head and check for glasses, etc!
love the corn cob art…….watch Glenda with her glasses 🙂
Glad you got to visit the Corn Palace. Quite a site!!! Amazing what you can do with corn. It’s uses are just endless.
I am really enjoying the Blog.