Driving Time

 We set off Saturday morning winding our way through the Black Hills of South Dakota for the last time.  The steep winding roads may have been a work out for Georgie Girl, But the slow pace required allowed us to enjoy the serenity of the landscape. Our next stop was out of the way but the only destination on our plan for the next two days and would be a welcome respite.  Once out of the Black Hills we were back on the plains, at least Interstate 90 provided a smooth ride heading East to Chamberlain, SD.  The Not-so-well-known Monument is called "Dignity" of Earth and Sky. 

Dignity of Earth and Sky is a soaring sculpture of a native woman standing high on a bluff above the Missouri River.

Dignity honors the Native Nations of the Great Plains. The sculpture is located on a bluff overlooking the Missouri River at a Rest Area on I-90 near Chamberlain, South Dakota.

Her Star quilt is made of 128 diamonds in the colors of the water and sky that surround her.

Dignity is 50' tall, 32' wide, weighs 12 tons, and is made of hundreds of pieces of stainless steel.

To be fair to all of you, I had never heard of this.  Lynn was told about it by a friend and decided to add this to our itinerary. It does appear to be gaining in popularity, there was a consistent line of folks walking over to the sculpture while we were there and looks like a following on Facebook for it as well.

We headed back West on I-90 about 10 miles and then Due South.  From there on, The photo on the left is a good depiction of the next 2 days travel.  I have found a new definition of Monotony, and that photo says it all.  I guess these roads were constructed back before they realized how dangerous an unwavering straight road could be.  Staring at this scene for hours with nothing changing but the roar of the wind and road can put you to sleep better than a glass of warm milk and cookies.  We did however learn that below the seemingly endless blanket of grass, lies he Largest Sand Dunes in the USA  Over 20,000 Square Miles of it.  And further south, more of the same but instead of sand dunes, a vast Ocean floor now mostly sandstone still looking just like the picture above.  A few communities poking up from the landscape along the way, little more than remnants of a time long past.  One such community is working to remain on the landscape and provided us with a place to rest along the way.

Taylor, Nebraska is a community with a population of just 182 souls with almost half as many more "Villagers" both in town and a few miles outside of town to brighten a weary travelers heart.  We were driving along and noticed a couple of "Villagers" at the corner of a fence row in the middle of nowhere.  Lynn and I both smiled at each other thinking "what was that?"  A short time later we came across another couple, this time 2 boys with fishing poles.  As we approached the town of Taylor, they seemed to be there greeting us as we arrived.  It did brighten our spirits and the town had a small park just a block off the highway with RV spots available. I won't go into much more here other than to leave this link to The Villagers of Taylor Nebraska. We stayed the night, so glad for the break and ready to relax.  The next day we got going, knowing we would eventually venture past the endless blank landscape to find the old west historic town of Dodge City, Kansas. 

Having been to all of our planned destinations, Dodge city was just a place on the map that might provide more than an overnight stop.  After 2 days for nothing but a blank landscape and what seemed like driving forever, 2 days parked anywhere would have been good, and Dodge City looked like it would make for a nice stop.  We booked a spot at the Gunsmoke RV Park.  A cute little park, themed after the old tv series of the same name.  Full hook-ups available, a swimming pool, showers, laundry, and a smattering of trees.  We passed through a thunderstorm on our way in thankful for the free car wash removing most of the insect carcasses stuck to the windshield.  We promptly set up camp and got dinner started.  It's now day 2 and we've hardly ventured out of the RV.  Tomorrow we pack it all up and make our way back to Arkansas for a few weeks. 

Thanks for visiting, give us a call or drop by if it suits you.

Steve, Lynn, Toto, Bilbo, and Georgie Girl