The rooftop terrace at the Hotel Alex Johnson, Rapid City, South Dakota.

La Crosse, WI turned out to be a fabulous stop, now on to Rapid City, South Dakota! We cross the bridge over the Mississippi River from Wisconsin to Minnesota and start a 10 hour day of driving. After yesterday's epic 14 hour drive, we took it a bit easy on ourselves today. Still lots of ground to cover on this grey day. AND I FINALLY GET TO DRIVE!!! Probably because our route takes us 10 hours on Route 90. No turns, no navigation, almost due west the whole way. I can't possibly screw this up ;-)

Wind turbines as seen from a gas station beside Interstate 90, Minnesota.

Minnesota consists of farmland and more farmland dotted with hundreds and hundreds of wind turbines along Interstate 90 - and beyond, I am sure. Truth be told, our path through Minnesota takes us nowhere exciting -- no Minneapolis-St. Paul, where I woud LOVE to go someday. But not today. We speed through Minnesota (it took over 4 hours) and enter South Dakota. I am making good time.

Things immediately look different in South Dakota. 80 mph speed limits and billboards. Lots of them. The first of many -- I mean hundreds -- for Wall Drug, which is only 250 miles away. I hope I don't miss it. One for Mitchell's Corn Palace, the world's biggest corn palace, and the Buffalo Skull Store. And the site of Laura Ingalls Wilder's homestead. On the flip side, South Dakota is rich with historic landmarks -- Sioux Nation Headquarters, Badlands Loop Scenic Byway, Lakota Indian Reservation, Crazy Horse Monument, Custer State Park, etc. And of course, Mt. Rushmore. It strikes me as ironic that in the middle of Native American country, there is a large carving of four U. S. Presidents in solid rock. Lots of history here, lots of blood in the ground.

Bob and I discuss. It would be nice to stop somewhere. He wants to go to Wall Drug and I want to go to the Corn Palace. So much for history. By the way, if you wanted to spend the day at the Corn Palace, you could stay at the Corn Palace Inn nearby. We approach the town of Mitchell, but the Corn Palace is a bit off the highway, so we skip it. And by the time we get to Wall Drug, we are maybe an hour or so from our final destination, so we press on. Dinner calls. There is a beautiful sunset tonight.

Sunset over western South Dakota approaching Rapid City.

We are struck by how BIG Rapid City is! Sprawling suburbs stretch for miles as we enter the downtown area in search of the Hotel Alex Johnson, located in the historic district of town. It is an older hotel with a distinctively Western feel. And it accepts dogs, so we love it. The woman at the front desk is a wealth of information. We check into the room and discuss plans. Tonight we will leave the dog in the room for 30 minutes or so while we dine in the upstairs restaurant. We hope he is ok. We leave the room, go around the corner, and listen. No barking, no scratching. We are good to go.

Bob and Jack outside the Hotel Alex Johnson in Rapid City SD.

We have a nice - but quick - dinner at the Vertex Restaurant on the 10th floor of the hotel and head back to the room. Jack is sleeping on the couch. Sweet! We feed him and then walk him around town. It is around 40 degrees tonight with no wind, so it is pleasant, and feels good to walk after being in the car for so long. Our part of Rapid City is similar to La Crosse in that there are older brick buildings from the turn of the century which have been renovated into shops and restaurants. Two blocks from the hotel sits Main Street Square, with an ice skating rink decked out for the holidays and Christmas music blaring. It is loaded with families having some wholesome outdoor fun. We stop to enjoy, then proceed another block to the park. It is well landscaped and well lit. After a leisurely stroll around the park, we head back to the hotel room, as it is going on 10:00 pm.

Back at the room, we decide to leave Jack again, ever so briefly and head up to the outdoor terrace for a nightcap. The terrace has multiple gas fireplaces which surprisingly throw off quite a bit of heat. There is a good crowd here -- it is Friday night -- and people are enjoying the temperate weather and the expansive view of Rapid City from the roof. The Grateful Dead is playing through the speakers. We meet a couple and strike up a conversation. Rapid City is enjoying a growth spurt due to the medical sector, the military, and education. And tech, to a degree. Lots of new highways, housing, etc. We finish our wine and then head back to the room. Tomorrow we reach our final destination -- Kalispell, MT.

For more info on the Hotel Alex Johnson, please see http://www.alexjohnson.com.

Bob enjoying the ambience from the outdoor terrace at the Hotel Alex Johnson.

Roadtrip from NH to MT - Day 3