2012 Roadtrip Day 18
Sep. 27th, 2021 05:03 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
waitingmanNo photos in this one, just a drive in 3 States
Sept 28. Friday – Sioux Falls to Dodgeville
Checked out & at breakfast in the Waffle House next door by 9.30am. I thought I’d found a light breakfast option, but the waffle that arrived with the bacon & eggs was almost as big as the plate. Delicious though... & enough to keep me going ‘til later in the afternoon. Not knowing much about Sioux Falls & also having arrived in the dark last night, we asked the different desk clerk (who wasn't doubtful of my Australian accent at all) , as we were leaving the hotel, what were the attractions & sights to see in & around town? A couple of the staff recommended a visit to Sioux Falls Park in the middle of town, so we headed there, saw the slightly smelly & shallow trickle running down the not-very-high rocks, took a couple of photos & headed east. Another three State day was planned – finally leaving South Dakota, across the bottom of Minnesota & into Wisconsin, all on Interstate 90, so directions were pretty simple
We were both looking for our ideal country shot. Julia wanted the perfect wheat field & I was looking for the perfect red barn. Both fields & barns were in plentiful supply on both sides of the road as we barreled along, but none were quite ‘it’. The best barn I saw was on a tight corner on the freeway where I couldn’t stop without causing a traffic incident, much less fling open the doors & get the cameras out! But we have hundreds more miles of Midwest USA to get through, so I’m sure we’ll find what we’re looking for
Around 3pm we crossed the Mississippi River & entered Wisconsin. At a fuel stop, we gave George & Sue, our friends from Yosemite, a call to see if they were in the area, or would be home when we got closer to House on the Rock. Turned out they were visiting their grandchildren in a town about seventy five miles north of where we were then, but one hundred & seventy five miles away if we headed for The House. So a northern detour was made to Eau Claire, a sleepy little college town set amongst the Autumn colours of lots of trees in the middle of the State. Driving the suburban streets, it was hard to not notice all the signs stuck in the front lawns of about 75% of houses, declaring support for Mitt Romney in the upcoming election. Eau Claire is obviously not a Democrat stronghold, though looking at the State's office-holders over the last 50 years or so, it seems to be a pretty even split... We met up with George & Sue (who were the first people we really ‘met’ in the USA & were a great example of the US attitude to travellers... or at least to us) at their son & daughter-in-law’s home & met them, the kids & the dog. The parents were off on a date for their ten year anniversary, so we ordered pizzas & compared notes on our travels, played a geography game with the kids, gave the dog some demanded affection, solved a few problems of the world, then took our leave at about 7.30pm & headed south-east on I94, the road immortalised by Radio Birdman's early song as being full of holes... which would certainly explain the ten miles of roadwork we encountered
Jeeves the Navman took us off the Interstate & onto a series of back roads & lesser highways which eventually brought us to the House on the Rock Inn at about 10.30pm, where I staggered in, staggered up to our room with the bags, then staggered back down to the bar, had a scotch & coke & fell into a comfortable couch while I drank it. I don’t really remember the walk back to our room... it’s been a long day in the saddle...
Sept 28. Friday – Sioux Falls to Dodgeville
Checked out & at breakfast in the Waffle House next door by 9.30am. I thought I’d found a light breakfast option, but the waffle that arrived with the bacon & eggs was almost as big as the plate. Delicious though... & enough to keep me going ‘til later in the afternoon. Not knowing much about Sioux Falls & also having arrived in the dark last night, we asked the different desk clerk (who wasn't doubtful of my Australian accent at all) , as we were leaving the hotel, what were the attractions & sights to see in & around town? A couple of the staff recommended a visit to Sioux Falls Park in the middle of town, so we headed there, saw the slightly smelly & shallow trickle running down the not-very-high rocks, took a couple of photos & headed east. Another three State day was planned – finally leaving South Dakota, across the bottom of Minnesota & into Wisconsin, all on Interstate 90, so directions were pretty simple
We were both looking for our ideal country shot. Julia wanted the perfect wheat field & I was looking for the perfect red barn. Both fields & barns were in plentiful supply on both sides of the road as we barreled along, but none were quite ‘it’. The best barn I saw was on a tight corner on the freeway where I couldn’t stop without causing a traffic incident, much less fling open the doors & get the cameras out! But we have hundreds more miles of Midwest USA to get through, so I’m sure we’ll find what we’re looking for
Around 3pm we crossed the Mississippi River & entered Wisconsin. At a fuel stop, we gave George & Sue, our friends from Yosemite, a call to see if they were in the area, or would be home when we got closer to House on the Rock. Turned out they were visiting their grandchildren in a town about seventy five miles north of where we were then, but one hundred & seventy five miles away if we headed for The House. So a northern detour was made to Eau Claire, a sleepy little college town set amongst the Autumn colours of lots of trees in the middle of the State. Driving the suburban streets, it was hard to not notice all the signs stuck in the front lawns of about 75% of houses, declaring support for Mitt Romney in the upcoming election. Eau Claire is obviously not a Democrat stronghold, though looking at the State's office-holders over the last 50 years or so, it seems to be a pretty even split... We met up with George & Sue (who were the first people we really ‘met’ in the USA & were a great example of the US attitude to travellers... or at least to us) at their son & daughter-in-law’s home & met them, the kids & the dog. The parents were off on a date for their ten year anniversary, so we ordered pizzas & compared notes on our travels, played a geography game with the kids, gave the dog some demanded affection, solved a few problems of the world, then took our leave at about 7.30pm & headed south-east on I94, the road immortalised by Radio Birdman's early song as being full of holes... which would certainly explain the ten miles of roadwork we encountered
Jeeves the Navman took us off the Interstate & onto a series of back roads & lesser highways which eventually brought us to the House on the Rock Inn at about 10.30pm, where I staggered in, staggered up to our room with the bags, then staggered back down to the bar, had a scotch & coke & fell into a comfortable couch while I drank it. I don’t really remember the walk back to our room... it’s been a long day in the saddle...
