Minnesota....south dakota

Left Madison later than I wanted to, around 3.

Saw this on the way out of town....

I'll do my best.


Then I headed off across the west of Wisconsin towards  minnesota.

Crossed the Mississippi River, the traditional dividing line between what is west and east in the US for more than a hundred years.  I've seen it down south by New Orleans, the area of the country that it is traditionally associated with, but never so far up north.  It's amazing to think of all of the things it flows through before it gets to the gulf - and what I would see if I just got on a raft stayed there for a month.

Alex, this one's for you:

And Laura, for you:

One would think that with teams like the Wild and the Timberwolves, minnesota would be hilly, forested and remote, perhaps with lots of lakes.

Not southern minnesota.

It mostly just looks like this:

Flat, with not many people and with Lots of corn.
Which isn't all that surprising when you think about it.
After all, the state to the south is Iowa.

One other thing: I have never in my life seen so many god-damned wind turbines as I saw driving across southern minnesota:

There must have been at the very least 500.  And then it got dark, so I don't know what I missed.

Spectacular clouds that night:

After it got dark, I had to stop for gas.  I got off the highway and pulled into this little station in the middle of nowhere and filled up.  While I was inside paying and using the bathroom I saw this:

Those of you whom I have talked to about my new work and who have seen some of it will know why I really love this image.

Finally stopped in Sioux Falls, South Dakota for the night.  There were some kids younger than me having a wedding at the Holiday Inn Express there and the groom was very concerned that I enjoy Sioux Falls while I was there.  Then he seemed more interested in taking his bride up to their room for the night.  He seemed to be in surprisingly ok shape when I saw him the next morning.