We have seen some new parts of the country the last few weeks.  It has been a great trip so far, and more to go.  We left Oshkosh for Florida, heading West.  We traveled across Minnesota and South Dakota to start our trip in sunny late October weather.  We were amazed by the size of the cornfields, not the small farms of Wisconsin but straight, long corn rows that went on farther than we could see.   It was fairly flat land rolling on and on, and most of the corn was dry but still standing.  So the first day we saw farmers out working the harvest, hour after hour.   We saw many semi trucks in the fields and were sure the harvesters needed to unload to the trucks before they could finish one of the long corn rows.  Along the way we could not resist stopping for lunch in Austin, Minnesota and taking in the Spam Museum.  Who knew there were so many varieties across the world?  Fun Place!  It was a beautiful day of driving, ending up in South Dakota.  We stayed in downtown Sioux Falls and had a nice supper at a historic tavern.  Our hotel club points gave us an upgrade to a 2 room suite bigger than our apartment, and we relaxed there most of the night.

The next days’ drive was across South Dakota.   We had more clouds and a 30 mph sustained wind plus some gusts.  So we saw less of the farmers out but lots of corn stalks and tumbleweeds hitting us across the highway.  Our miles per gallon on the car took a hit but it was still a good drive.  Our friend VW recommended taking a sidetrip off I-80 to the Badland Loop which we did.  It was beautiful, on our list now to go back in hopefully sunny weather.  The South Dakota rolling hills turned to rock and canyons and beautiful color, with lots of wildlife from deer to mountain goats and pronghorn.  Being from Wisconsin we are not used to pronghorn, I thought some type of deer.  A naturalist in Wyoming later explained they are not deer or antelope but their own species.  And we have seen them throughout the West.  This time of year they are herding up so were easy to see in the plains and the mountain valley.  In the badlands we were close to our next destination of Keystone, South Dakota.   The hotel was a welcome stop, and we parked the car, checked in and were able to walk across the parking lot to a decent bar/restaurant.  We were almost assaulted by mule deer walking back to the hotel, but made it safely.

The next day started off at Mount Rushmore.  It is an awesome sight.   You pay for parking and we got a senior/off season deal, and the park entrance is free.  The movie and museum are fact filled and interesting.  Then to walk out and see the mountain in front captures you.   We spent a number of hours there and then headed to the Crazy Horse mountain site.  It’s an interesting story, even though after many years of slow progress (now done mostly by volunteers), only the face is done.  But a worthwhile place to take in and have a nice lunch.  This region of South Dakota is mountainous terrain and a treat around every corner.  We decided to take a tour through Custer State Park in the afternoon which again provided inspirational views.  We saw our first Bison herds among the great views and other wildlife.  We really enjoyed it and the only draw back was the sun was dropping when we decided to leave and most roads in the area are small winding two lane roads.  Around every turn seemed to be more deer.   I noticed they all did not look like mule deer, and later learned that yes whitetail were also in the area.  But we saw more deer in one evening than I may have seen in my life.  We often found the mule deer grazing on the edge of, or right in towns.  We made it back to the hotel without incident and were happy for a cocktail and dinner.

The next day we continued West.  The first hours were very scenic leaving South Dakota and entering Wyoming.   But many hours after that we concluded Wyoming was something to be missed.  Long flat lands with a few cattle, pronghorn and occasional people.  A naturalist later told us that at one time there were more pronghorn in Wyoming than people (not long ago).   There were not many places that looked like places we may want to stop until we got to Southwest Wyoming.  We made it to Salt Lake City Utah after a long day.  But it was quite scenic near the end of our day.  We found our way to our hotel, then a nice brew pub, and our first Uber drive home.  Uber worked very well.  Sunday Yelp found us an Italian restaurant downtown for early lunch that was very enjoyable.  Then we walked through downtown and the beautiful Temple Square area.  It was interesting and nice sunny day that eventually found us at another brew pub, go figure.   The downer in Salt Lake City was the high number of homeless people on the streets.  One of the reasons we used Uber for our first times (we were at a hotel just out of downtown) because we did not feel comfortable walking through/over so many homeless, even though no one was aggressive.  We see them in all cities, certainly South Florida.  But in Salt Lake City the homeless seemed to be much more present.

The next day was South through Utah and into Nevada.  As boring as Wyoming was, this day was filled with exciting sights.   And in the last hours of Southern Utah, Arizona, and Nevada we were both awestruck with the idea of how they could have built this road through the mountains.  It is well worth taking this drive.  And at the end of the rainbow is Las Vegas!  We had made a room reservation a couple of days before at Paris Casino.   Mike S had warned me about “resort fees” added to hotel daily fees.  How do they get away with listing an unreal price?  But we found a decent deal in the middle of the strip and for a few bucks upgraded to an end suite, very nice room.  Vegas is a lot more expensive than the old days when we used to go often.   The Paris food was excellent, the cocktails expensive, and the casino somewhat dark.  But it was enjoyable to see Vegas again, we visited a number of casinos and took in the sights, and we did not leave much money behind even after a full day.

Next on the itinerary was to start heading East.  Neither of us had ever seen Grand Canyon, which is a fairly easy drive from Las Vegas.  So we had another enjoyable drive and short enough that after checking into the hotel we still had time to head to the canyon and take in some sight seeing.    We took lots of pictures but none do it justice.  The park is laid out nicely and has a number of free shuttle bus routes.  The drivers are helpful and the stops are often to give you lots of options.  The first afternoon we parked at the welcome center and took a couple of bus routes to see lots of viewpoints and get the lay of the land.  We stayed to watch the sunset and then headed back to our hotel in town.  The next day we had a good idea how the routes worked and did more sight seeing to the landmarks, galleries, shops in the park.  We often stopped to take in the view.  Different times of day the light brings out new views, new awesomeness.  Nothing overhyped about these views.   We did take in an Imax movie about the Canyon at the start of our full day which was fact filled and well done, a good way to prepare yourself for the day.

The next day was a ride further East to Albuquerque, where we are now.  Spending some time with Marie and giving the car a break.   It has been a wonderful ride, and looking forward to much more!