Let me just tell you all how much I am digging the Hampton Inn’s new beds. They are incredible, and it was such a relief to fall into one of them after driving 12 hours yesterday. We landed in Rapid City, SD last night and woke up early this morning to tour Mount Rushmore and the Crazy Horse Monument, which is STILL under construction. After another 13+ hours of driving, we’re safely installed in Rochester, MN with only about 6 hours to go until we hit Chicago and my sister’s apartment.

It’s been fun, but I find that the long hours on the road are starting to take their toll. There’s only so much to do when the afternoon yawns start and, alas, Homer’s saga just doesn’t cut it. I had to laugh outloud today when Gabbow stopped disc two of the Iliad to comment, “These Greeks were a bunch of crazy sexed up folk!” Ha…she’s totally right. I mean, take Achilles. He whines and complains to his mother, who just happens to be a goddess tight with Zeus, that his war booty (read: beautiful woman) was ruthlessly taken from him and the loss was depriving him of “happiness”. Riggghhhhttttt. Poor woman! I just can’t get over how much women in the poem are portrayed as being something to possess without even one second of consideration given to how THEY might be feeling about becoming some brooding warrior’s “property”.

But, this is a conversation for another time. I digress. Homer has such a wonderful way of describing people and places. Athena is introduced as the “goddess with the gray eyes”; the sea as being “wine dark”; Hera as having lovely “pale arms”; the dawn as being “rosy fingered”….sigh….’tis all very lovely.

Highlights:

Mount Rushmore and Crazy Horse

All I could think about when we pulled up to Mount Rushmore was Hitchcock’s movie “North by Northwest”. Note to self: watch it again! It was more beautiful and smaller than I originally thought it would be. Gabbow was tickled as it was on her list of places to see. In fact, she’s wanted to see it since she was a little girl. Good news to any of you desirous to see it - it only costs about $8 to park and view it, although, you *can* see it quite well from the road. A fellow by the name of Gutzon Borglum began the carving in 1927 and finished around 1941 and the monument features the likenesses of Washington, Jefferson, Roosevelt and Lincoln, respectively. It was really quite awesome.

As we drove around the corner to view Washington’s profile, Gabs turns to me and exclaims, “Hey! He has your nose!” Thanks, Gabs. Just what I needed to hear.

Another 15 minutes or so down the road and we viewed the Crazy Horse monument. Unlike Mt. Rushmore, this carving has not yet been completed and, in fact, will require a slew of work in order to get it there. All one can see right now is the face, as well as the work which is being done next, namely on Crazy Horse’s torso and outstretched arm. The monument was begun in 1948 by Korczak Ziolkowski, who worked under Borglum on Mt. Rushmore. If completed, this will be the world’s largest sculpture, which is really quite impressive given how long the carving is taking.

Wall Drug

A few more hours down the road and Gabs and I stopped into Wall Drug, nestled in Wall, SD for our token cups of free ice water. Wall Drug has been serving tasty cool water since 1931 as a way to lure hot and tired travelers to the store during the Depression and, it’s still quite sought after today. Apparently, according to folk there, Wall Drug serves up 20,000 cups of ice water each day during peak tourist months. Fascinating! Strolling around the town with Gabs was great fun, as this is really Americana at its best. One word: kitsch. I mean, where else can you find a stuffed jackalope dressed up as a cowboy, replete with guns and hat and staring at you through the glass window?

Mitchell, SD and the famed Corn Cob Palace

It’s an entire building covered with corn cobs! There’s art! There are mosaics! There are people eating corn cobs! In a word: A-MAIZING! Get it? Ha, ha. I’m so corny sometimes.

Driving through Minnesota

I can’t get over how much the landscape of this section of MN reminds me of my hometown. There are fields of corn and working farms as far as the eye can see, as well as big trees dotting these slices of land and giving afternoon shade to cows. Still, I was struck by my reaction to the landscape. As it rolled into the landscape of my childhood, I suddenly felt incredibly melancholy and sad. After meditating on it, I came to conclude that it was because this geography no longer speaks to me. I miss the mountains of Montana.

They’re in my blood now and it was sad to note that the land which once gave me so much comfort no longer speaks to me.

Sigh. Change: ’tis constant and ever present even in the most mundane of aspects of life.

Rochester, MN

Last on our journey was a stop at Rochester, MN, where my dear friend Gati and her husband, Tad live and work. Both are docs at the Mayo Clinic and we spent a great deal of the evening chatting about their potential move back to Ohio in order to be nearer to family. I know they’ll make the right decision. They are so happy and still very much in love with each other and this love has only grown with the addition of Madelyn, who is now 1.5 years old. I hope that I am as happily settled into a marriage as they are one day. We talked for hours about life and love, consuming wine, key lime pie and strawberries in the process. I haven’t seen Tad since his wedding day, but Gati and I see and chat with each other fairly regularly, though it’s never often enough in my book.

As soon as I entered their home, Gati tackled me with questions about Justin. She approved of his Buddhism background, as her father and his family are Buddhists from China and has now dubbed him “Justin Timberlake”. I don’t think he’ll ever lose that nickname…it’s rather catchy. Best of all, she noted how happy I was and this made her (and Tad by default) happy, too. Before long, she had wrested the entire story of our meeting from me and proclaimed it rather similar to her own story with Tad: “I knew on our first date that he was the one though it took us an additional seven years to figure it all out.”

Let’s just say that the rest of the conversation was a good one filled with their experiences and my own dreams and desires.

It makes for excellent fodder for dreams, which is where I’m headed next.