Day 5 - Cross Minnesota

Today was one of our longest planned drives, over 350 miles.  We started off from Tomah, Wisconsin with the intention of staying on highway 90 today and putting all of Minnesota behind us. We crossed the Mississippi River today, for me it is the first time I have seen it from other than an aircraft.  Although most of the trip was through look alike fields with a little green fuzz of new crops covering the soil, the trip also revealed numerous wind farms studded with graceful windmills quietly stealing energy from the breeze.  At points there were literally hundreds of these spindly white towers disappearing into the distance. 

Crossing the Mississippi



Our resolve to push through to Sioux Falls with only brief breaks failed around the town of Fairmont.  We spotted a reference to the Jeffers Petroglyphs in Comfey, about sixty miles north of the interstate.  This one is really off the beaten path.  We zig-zagged through fields and windmills for over an hour seeing only two or three vehicles (other than tractors) the whole time. When we arrived at the Visitor Center  at 27160 County Road 2 we found a truly mind expanding exhibit  of recreated prairie ecosystems, artifacts, and the main feature, rock carvings, some of which are believed to be 7000 years old with  many newer layers added by the successive migrations of native American people who settled this region.  The picture below was made possible by a neat trick developed by the archaeologists who work here - a board to shade the petroglyphs, and a mirror to cast revealing shadows.

Using shadow and mirror to reveal the petroglyphs



Resident archaeologist Chuck gave an outstanding tour of the sometimes hard to spot petroglyphs , thousands of them carved into the hard Sioux quartzite ridge.  The ridge is a sacred site to native people, so they scientists here have declined to reproduce the pictographs, but their beauty is astounding.  This is no Disney land, but real adult entertainment and worth the trip.

Gloria with Archaeologist Chuck at Jeffers Petroglyphs in Comfrey, MN

Despite the fact that our three guides (Magellan, Rand-McNally, & AAA) differed concerning how to find our hotel in Sioux Falls, South Dakota, Gloria drove us unerringly to the parking lot of our fifth Hampton Inn and a very comfortable, but welcome room. 

There are kids everywhere in our hotel.  Apparently there is a girls’ soccer tournament in the area and ours is the official hotel. The girls are in high spirits, but so well mannered and charming that their enthusiasm is catching.  It feels like a holiday here.

We have another big jump to Rapid City tomorrow, more than 350 miles again.  Our itinerary suggests another high speed crossing day, but I see that there is a buffalo exhibit south of Pierre, and a great scenic road through Badlands National Park.  There is a chance we will check in at Rapid City a little late.

Stay tuned to find out if these or other attractions pull us off the beaten path.

David