My Trip - Arriving in South Dakota

I'm back home, and I'm glad I went, even though I'll be paying off the bills for months and I missed my speech at the UMBS 20th Anniversary Luncheon. It's OK. It was worth it. 

On the way from Rapid City to Chadron, I passed Buffalo Gap
National Grasslands. Much of this area of South Dakota is
grasslands, but Buffalo Gap is one of two places I could have
turned east and passed through to get to Pine Ridge. I continued
on my highway, though. I was heading to Chadron, NE first. 

I had forgotten how beautiful South Dakota was in the late summer/early fall. It helped that we had wonderful weather, as you'll see while reading the rest of my trip over the next day or two. 

I was WAY early for my plane out because I had DH drop me off before work, but I was happy I wasn't in a rush. The TSA lines for security were long and even though they moved along at a good clip, it was still an hour in line to get cleared. Ick, but job well done. The agents were efficient and polite, but firm. MSP is an International Airport, so lots of people pass through it every day. It's not a sleepy regional airport like Rapid City's. The way back home yesterday was quite different - two people ahead of me in line and an easy and quick pass through security. 

My gate for my puddle-hopper was WAAAAY at the far end of the terminal, so I used the moving walkways to their full benefit. Later I discovered there was a tram available to take for free, but by then I was committed to the walk. I knew I had a long drive ahead when I arrived in South Dakota, so figured some exercise wouldn't be a bad thing. My sister Maja joined me at the airline gate after a couple of hours and we had a chance to catch up a bit - something sorely lacking since she moved out to Washington state. 

We weren't seated together for the flight, but that was OK. I read and looked out the window at the scenery. I enjoy flying, just am not fond of being stuck inside a tin can with a bunch of strangers. Still, as puddle-hopper planes go, it was OK. Various maintenance and need/necessity, had delayed our flight by almost two hours, so it was great to get into the air. 

As you can tell, this is not a "compact" car. This is a 2019 Toyota
Sienna, and it's what I drove on this trip. Since they charged me
what a compact would have cost, I was OK with it. That higher
ground clearance actually turned into a good thing. 

After renting our respective cars, we went out to the parking lot to discover that our two requested "compact" cars had morphed into large caravans. I had a 2019 Toyota Sienna, and I'm not sure exactly what Maja had, but they were both large beasts. The rental company was charging us the compact rate, so we shrugged our shoulders and headed out in large vans. It actually turned into a good thing on Saturday when I was driving out to the family cemetery and a bit earlier that day when I was driving to visit Starlet at her house. Roads in the Rez haven't improved, but I wasn't expecting that they would. 

Chadron NE is just south of that pink corner of Pine Ridge Reservation
in the lower left. To get to Pine Ridge, I drive east from Chadron,
then turn north, and pass through WhiteClay, Nebraska, passing
into Pine Ridge. WhiteClay used to be a town of four residents and
twelve liquor stores. The stores/bars are all all closed now - a victory
for the Oglala Sioux Tribe. 

Maja went straight to Pine Ridge to meet up with her companion, Solo, and get a hotel key from him. I decided to drive to Chadron, Nebraska first, check in, and then head over to Pine Ridge Village - an hour drive farther east and a bit north. Hotels for the Rez aren't close - Chadron or Rapid City are the choices, and either one is one hour or more away from Pine Ridge. But I loved the drive over - as I said in Paragraph One, I had forgotten how beautiful it is out there. I saw eagles - so many eagles, and buffalo, and pronghorn antelope. I also saw lots of cows - cows are a major cash crop out on the range. 

Out in the Great Plains, we have Golden Eagles. I saw
several floating nearby, as well as hawks playing in the
winds. The light was perfect late afternoon gold, and
the plains were fantastically open and beautiful. 

So ... so much to tell and I'm only on the road to check in to my hotel. I'll continue this tomorrow and bid all of you farewell for the day. I have to get back into my schedule and it's going to be a bit of a re-learning curve. Have a great Monday - I'll continue my saga tomorrow.