(bad coffee and a Little Debbie)
we were on the road. As I said in my last post, I was surprised by Montana. After seeing the likes of Iowa, Nebraska, and Nevada, I had feared the worst for what Montana had to offer. However, I actually found myself wanting to spend some time in Bozeman. I mean, Jess is from Bozeman, and she seems pretty okay. I'd also want to check out the Museum of the Rockies. Maybe next time Bozeman...maybe next time.
In the blink of an eye Bozeman was gone, as were the last remnants of the Rocky Mountains. For the next 8 hours I was doomed to look at an endless landscape of dead, brown, rolling hills.
Now I won't get too in depth here
(she already feels bad enough)
but at a gas station in Montana I gave Rachel my debit card to fill up the tank while I went inside the convenience store to use the restroom and buy a bottle of water. When I came out 3 minutes later, Rachel was walking towards me with an "Oh my god I can't believe what I just did" look on her face. Out of habit, she had used her PIN number with my debit card, and when it didn't work the first time, she tried it again. Then again. Then again. By the time I had walked out of the store my poor little debit card was dead. So I spent the next couple hours trying to get a hold of someone at WaMu
(have you ever tried to get a signal in Montana? If there was ever a time when I needed that creepy army of Verizon slaves...)
and within 24 hours everything was back to normal, no serious harm done.
Rachel and I decided before we left that we would take I-90 all the way to Chicago. I know most of you are saying "well...yeah?" but it turns out if you hop on I-94 in Montana and take that through North Dakota-Minnesota-Wisconsin and meet back up with I-90 just outside of Tomah, WI
(Go Timberwolves!)
you actually save about 45 minutes. However, you don't get to see Mt. Rushmore, so screw you I-94!
Shortly after 1 PM Mountain Time we entered the great state of Wyoming
and that's when I got excited. One of my favorite movies growing up was Close Encounters of the Third Kind. The climax of the movie takes place at Devil's Tower, WY, and I had no idea how close I was going to be to the first National Monument in our nation's history. Unfortunately, after some quick calculations I realized we wouldn't get close to Devil's Tower until dusk, and we all know what happens on Devil's Tower once night falls. So, Rachel and I just kept going, and before we knew it we had entered South Dakota.
Our destination, Rapid City, is quite the happening place in South Dakota. I called 5 or 6 hotel/motels, and NONE of them had a room available,
(except the Holiday Inn Express had a modest room with a fireplace, jacuzzi, king-sized bed, and probably an in-room chef)
so I handed the phone to Rachel, and the first place she called had a room for under $60 a night...the Castle Inn. Yes indeedy! The Castle Inn: "The only Motel in town with 24/7 Surveillance with Affordable Rates." Is it just me or does the picture on their web site make it look like the Castle Inn was destroyed by some horrific earthquake? Because our room was so
(hot because the air conditioner kept the room at a steady 90 degrees)
cheap we decided to splurge and get pizza delivered. Papa John's never tasted so good. Next up: Mt. Rushmore!
Day 2 Stats
Distance traveled: 721 mi
Time in car: ~ 10 hours, 30 minutes including stops
$ spent on gas: $89.74
# of states: 3 (Montana, Wyoming, South Dakota)
# of times we thought we were getting pulled over: 1
# of times actually pulled over: 0
Goal for Day 3: Albert Lea, MN
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