Following a restful night at the Cabela’s in Mitchell, we got our morning routines in, then enjoyed a conversation with a fellow Full-Timer named Nick as we shared our experiences. His rig was huge compared to mine, but the appreciation for the freedom of being out there living the dream was something we had in common.
Topping off the gas tank, and grabbing another cup of coffee, we headed out on I-90 westbound. It was a beautiful sunny day with just a few clouds in the sky, with Squirty settling in for the 60 some odd miles to Chamberlain, where we stopped at the big Welcome Center/Rest Area that provided a scenic overlook, and also a huge ‘Dignity’ sculpture.
This was the same route we had taken before years ago, and this time, instead of stopping at a couple of attractions that were heavily promoted with billboards off the highway, we decided since it was such a relaxing and peaceful drive, we’d just continue west. There was the Pioneer Auto Museum in Murdo, and a few more miles west it’s the 1880 Town that you can click the links to find out more, if you’re so inclined.
For us, it was clear sailing, with one fly in the ointment. There was a 16 mile stretch of road construction, that was one lane two way traffic. The speed limit for this segment, with the threat of fines for exceeding it was 60 mph. Since I’m a stickler for maintaining a safe speed, by the time I was halfway through, I could see a long line of vehicles behind me, no doubt cursing the old man towing the faded red trailer holding them up from whatever urgent busiess they had ahead.
The bulk of the journey was perfect. But as we got near the Badlands National Park, there were signs of things to come.
When we arrived at our destination, I knew that we might need to find a different place to lay low as the skies looked ominous, and a check of the weather apps confirmed what we hadn’t encountered all day… BAD WEATHER.
We headed back to the town of Wall, SD, and parked for a few hours at the famous Wall Drug to hopefully have the system pass by. It didn’t. Not really, but there was a little clearing that ended the thunderstorm, and we made it back to our spot, deciding the worse had passed and we’d be fine.
We were fine, But the storm didn’t pass. It just decided to reform numerous times and brought a night time and overnight series of lightning displays with a near constant chorus of thunder, with rain and more rain. The fireworks finally headed east around 5:30 in the morning, as Squirty finally decided the tanks would really need to be emptied. So it’s breakfast time, and then ? Who knows ?
