Woke up 5:15 with a massive headache…took some Excedrin and decided to change the pillows…had some coffee, called the hospital – Yesenia still sedated but she will be OK after a few days.…so…Onward we go!
9:00 am – Breakfast at Flying J in PA…quick trip north of Cleveland OH to drive along Lake Erie. Lakefront homes must go for 1 – 2 million or more!! Passed by a fixer-upper for “only” 475,000!
On to I-90 through Ohio – 2-hour nap for Gary at a rest area at mile marker 100. While writing this page, we drove through a swarm of bees! No less than 100 “splats!” on the windshield. Good thing I’m not driving!
4:30 pm – Driving through Indiana – passing by some things Gary called “cattle-ometers” – Sensors detecting animals in the area warn motorists with flashing lights. Found a Wal-Mart Supercenter to pull in…Gary cooked, I shopped for “provisions…water, food, etc. Settled in for a good sleep before heading out.
Monday June 12
4:00 am – Woke up to a sound that sounded like a garbage truck. Very loud. Very annoying. Couldn’t go back to sleep. Eventually drifted off again…woke up again to the sound of garbage trucks rolling around…only this time we looked out the window to see why they were making so much noise – to find we are surrounded by orange cones!! The garbage trucks are not garbage trucks but a work detail. Ok…gotta move…jumped out of bed, Gary got dressed and started the car…I fumbled for something to wear, decided to wear my PJ’s since we’re only gonna stop somewhere else to sleep some more…opened the door…down the step…tried but failed at putting the step up with one hand…when…ring ring ring! OK. What nut is calling my cell phone at 4:00 in the morning??!! So I put down my purse and keys and stood there fumbling with the step in one hand and the phone in the other. I should have known. It’s him. We’re not leaving, just moving to another quieter part of the parking lot. All that fumbling in my pajamas for nothing. So….we moved to another spot where it was quiet again. Slept another hour and woke again to the sound of garbage trucks… This time we moved to the extreme end of the parking lot and went back to sleep. After a short while – guess what! - this time we decided to leave, after we got surrounded again by orange cones but this time we got beeped at from the truck driver who was waiting outside the camper for us to move. Got greeted by a nice friendly cone-carrier who bid us good morning as we rode off into the sunrise…
Daytime – Lots of driving. Ohio, Indiana, Illinois. (♪♪♪Nothing to say, nothing to see, nothing to do. ) Couldn’t decide if we wanted to continue westward, stop for the night, or just go home. It truly was a very long day.
Iowa is a very long and boring state. Seems like it took forever to cross it. Scenery doesn’t change much, it’s all corn and grassland. Roads are straight and long. We did start seeing lrge scale wind turbines in large groups to the South and there is a movement here to produce bio-fuels in a big way – both methanol and Bio-Diesel are growing and processing plants are starting up all over. Our first major right turn to the north happened when we crossed the state and got to the Missouri river. Traveled along I-29 along the river until we got to Sioux Falls, South Dakota where we turned left onto I-90…again! Same old boring landscape, same old straight-arrow roads… just a few more exits and we can stop…but exits were miles apart and it was getting dark and we’re getting cranky…300+ miles (more like 400 or 500) in one day…time for a break.
Tuesday June 13
Woke up outside Mitchell, South Dakota. Very grumpy. Another headache. The bright spot in the day will come when we pull into the campground and unhitch. Seems like years away!! South Dakota roads are straighter and more boring than Iowa! Thankfully only 192 miles to drive today. (Oh Joy.) Meeting Joe and Joan at the campground in Keystone, SD, just south of Rapid City. On our way there we stopped and drove through the “Badlands”.
What a spectacular place to see!! Mountains of sandstone that have eroded away over the years have left eerie formations and strange shapes in the landscape. It was a 43-mile loop off the main highway but well worth every second. The formations seemed to appear out of nowhere and then they were all around us. Vegetation was scarce, some small brush here and there and a few wildflowers. Left there with lots of pictures.
Late Afternoon - Arrived at the campground. I was never happier to see a cocktail than I was at that moment the trailer rolled into our spot and we shut the truck off…Finally we can chill!!! Thanks to Joan for even having my Capt. Morgan & Diet ready and waiting as soon as we pulled in!! Thanks Joan!!! Ahhh, to relax and not have to go anywhere for 3 days!! Checking out of her on Thursday 6/15. Tomorrow we will actually start our vacation by going to MT Rushmore.
Dinner with Joe and Joan was very relaxing, especially since they had everything already cooked when we got there! Called it a night and got the first real solid uninterrupted sleep since we left home. As we were driving in, there was a storm following us: 
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