The Rascal Diaries: 6/25/14 Somewhere in the Black Hills ...

Standing Rascal up was easy today, because we woke with the gift of sun and the promise of South Dakota.

Drawn to the Missouri, we could not leave Yankton without a visit to the river walk. Standing by the banks of this stately river, under the shadows of an old and new bridge, we imagined the ferry that must have crossed into the first capital at this point, when the Dakotas were still a territory.

Running from the sun on route 50, we headed into the Plains. Onto route 18, we began to traverse the state on a two-laner that allowed us to cruise route 90 speeds without the traffic. So lonely and lovely, this road gave us a new perspective of this land.

We stopped at the Fort Randall Dam for a break that turned into a picnic, and watched as pleasure boats carved wakes into the reservoir created by choking the Missouri. The welcome center at the dam sported an oversized teepee structure and crazy mountings of local animals.

Our way today immersed us into the beauty of the Plains. Green and lush now, they mask their later summer nature of dried sage and tumbleweed. Gullys rush with water through fields of cattle. Named Dry Gulch and Stone Creek, their future is read.

Reservations owned much of this road. A few casinos, small communities, and Lakota and Sioux schools randomly appeared. Most of the way was just two lanes, no towns for miles, rolling hills and sky everywhere.

And the sky came up to greet us! To the south, clouds boiled into a storm that threatened to meet us at every turn. To the north, blue sky turned to green as another boomer popped up. Nowhere for us to go, except straight ahead. No shelter, no shoulder to suit up, only speed to get us away. And the speed worked! We oozed through the storms with only seconds of rain that scooted us into blue skies and an entrance to the Black Hills.

At the bottom of the Black Hills in Hot Springs tonight, we rest by a tourist attraction that hawks a woolly mammoth fossil. History and pre- history envelop us as ancient tribes and animals circle. How insignificant I feel.