We got away around 7:20 this morning. We stopped in Anna, IL for breakfast at McDonald's on the way to the Bald Knob Cross near Alto Pass, IL.

After a brief stop at the cross, we headed to St. Louis and went to the top of the Gateway Arch. We almost didn't make our scheduled tram because the Cardinal's were hosting a home game at noon today. It was very hot in the tram. You should ride to the top in the Spring or Fall, not the Summer!

After the Arch, we walked over to Laclede's Landing to have lunch at a nice restaurant called Hannegan's. We left St. Louis at about 1:45 and arrived in Overland Park, KS at about 6:00. We stopped by the hotel first to freshen up and got there just in time for the dinner and the show.

It was nice to sleep in. We left the hotel in Overland Park, KS at 10:30 to head to the Chiefs game. With seating for 79 thousand and change, we thought we needed about as much time to get to the game as going to a Dallas Cowboys game. We thought wrong. We drove straight in and were parked before 11:00. Why? Everybody else was already there - tailgating! In fact, we heard that KC just took the tailgating trophy away from Green Bay. Friendly crowd, even though I had on a cowboys shirt and we had Kentucky plates. Great game for 3 quarters - it was tied at 14 after 3, but KC folded in the 4th.

Tailgating is also a post-game tradition, so we were able to get out of the parking lot and on the road earlier than expected. We headed up to Winterset Iowa - Yup, the place with the Bridges of Madison County.

We saw 3 of the bridges in Madison County, and if you've seen one, you've seen 'em all! (We only took pictures of two of them).

We grabbed a pizza in Winterset at the Godfather's Pizza joint and headed to our B&B to watch the Sunday night game - Bills v. Titans.

Our B&B host, Glenda, was very interesting. She is an artist that works in small leather images. I mailed her a photo of Moorea and she made a small leather swatch for Alicia that was ready when we arrived. We got up a little early the next morning and went for a walk through Winterset, IA. We left for Council Bluffs around 9:15

We arrived at the Pottawattamie County Historic Jail (a.k.a. the Squirrel Cage Jail) at a little after 11:00. What an interesting place! The conditions were so cramped and medieval. Modern-day prisoners should see what it was like 100 years ago! On the way out of Council Bluffs we saw one of the original Dairy Queens! The old walk-up ice cream cone stand!

When we got to Omaha there was a parade just ending. We parked in the downtown shopping/restaurant district and searched for food. We found one interesting place with an unbelievable line but we opted for the more quaint Billy Frogg's down the street for burgers with a local flair. On the way back to the Jeep we were surprised to see that many restaurants and almost all stores were closed. Yes, it's Labor Day, but this was a very crowded tourist part of town.

We were even more shocked when we got to Mitchell, SD. Two prominent steak houses, usually open on Monday's, were closed! Now Mitchell is only on the map because of the Corn Palace, and frankly we didn't see what all the fuss was about.

We ate at Perkins and headed out for Kadoka at about 8:00 (but not before a great photo op on a big concrete Jackalope next door).

I told Alicia we needed to leave no later than 7:15 this morning, and we left right on time: 7:30. It was only a 20 minute drive from Kadoka to the Badlands Park entrance. I also "forgot" to mention that we had crossed time zones and were now in Mountain Time. The result allowed us to be at the Big Badland Overlook and the Door trail at 6:50 a.m. Mountain time. We had the place to ourselves!

The Badlands are most magnificent at sunrise and sunset when the light is at a low angle. We really enjoyed the Door trail. It wasn't a trail in the traditional sense. You can hike and climb anywhere you want, but there were little markers that you could use to penetrate deep into the Badlands without fear of getting lost. From each marker you can see the next and previous marker. We took a compass so we could strike out on our own and still find our way back. It was rather spooky because there was not one other soul on the trail with us. Even thought the light is perfect, most tourists just won't get up that early.

The Visitor Center was interesting. We found a picnic table outside to eat our breakfast - those muffins we bought last night at Perkins's in Mitchell. We enjoyed a few more overlooks (especially Seabed Jungle and Pinnacles), but the Fossil trail was disappointing.

[I really like the 2nd photo. I shot it off a tripod from a low angle up close. It looks like we are giants! Those hills behind us are actually many miles away!]

A little before 10 a.m. we were at Wall Drug. What a monument to American commercialism! There was no limit to the number and variety of cheap tourist trinkets for sale in the enormous labyrinth of buildings that comprise Wall Drug. We escaped without making a purchase, but we did at least take advantage of the famous "free ice-water" that put the place on the map back in the 30's and 40's.

About 11:30 found us at the Sturgis Harley Davidson motorcycle shop. The mix was 50/50 bikers wanting repair parts and tourists wanting souvenirs. Neither group paid much attention to the other. Alicia and I both picked up a T-shirt and headed to Deadwood for lunch. This is were we experienced our first delay due to a road closure. We had to drive all the way up to Spearfish before heading back down to Deadwood. We don't think it was fire related, but just construction.

We ate lunch and walked up and down the main drag before heading to the Crazy Horse Memorial. It's hard to appreciate the size because you cannot get closer that 1 mile away since blasting is still underway (although the traditional Sept 6 night blast had to be canceled due to fire hazard).

Where is everybody? It's a beautiful day and we practically have the place to ourselves. We arrived at Mount Rushmore a little after 4 p.m. and toured the sculptors studio. Then we took the Presidential trail back to the Gift Shop.

We had great views and got some good photos, but a thunderstorm started rolling in as we started down the trail. As we were in the home stretch back to the gift shop we could hear the raindrops pounding the trees behind us. A clear day had turned into a cloudy rainy one in a matter of minutes. When the rain let up, we decided to skip the night lighting ceremony and spend the evening in Deadwood instead.

After dining at Mustang Sally's, we head to the Midnight Star for a little blackjack. We play modestly and briefly, although we do have time to chat with a few other tourists at the table. We don't win anything, but we only lost a buck or two. In fact, the parking fee exceeded our gambling losses!

We were on the road at 6:30 local time again. After we entered Devil's Tower park, we stopped by Prairie Dog Village and saw several deer on the way to the Visitor's Center at the base of the tower. As we left the Visitor's Center we encountered the first wave of what turned out to be an endless onslaught of tourist buses spewing "power" tourists. The type that noisily charge through the park, scaring the wildlife and missing most of the beauty and serenity.

Little Bighorn was Alicia's idea. I'm glad she added it to our trip. I suspect she regrets it. It rained the entire time we were at the battlefield, but I used an umbrella to tour the battlefield and gain a better appreciation for what transpired June 25-26, 1878. I had read accounts and seen videos in preparation for the trip, but nothing compares to seeing the actual terrain and visualizing the opposing forces. There are markers where soldiers fell and also where they are actually buried. A memorial for fallen Indians is planned, but Alicia wants to know where the memorial to all the horses is!

Happy Birthday, Alicia!

We left Bismarck a little late, and then we stopped to find fuses for the Jeep. Our TV/VCR setup was blowing fuses! We got some spares, but decided to listen to the book-on-tape we brought instead. It was at this point that Alicia wanted me to find an airport so she could fly home. We stopped by the Fargo McDonalds for lunch instead. (I told her I was looking for an airport).

The twine ball was interesting, but if you've seen one twine ball, you've seen them all!

The Museum of Questionable Medical Devices was very interesting! We met the curator, Bob McCoy, and he is publishing a book soon so you can see what's at the museum and read about the background. Alicia and I both had our heads examined! That's right, we had a phrenology exam. It's quick and painless, and the results read like a newspaper horoscope.

UPDATE: The book was published shortly after our visit. It's called "QUACK! Tales of Medical Fraud from the Museum of Questionable Medical Devices" by Bob McCoy. ISBN 1-891661-10-8.

Also shown are a device to cure baldness by alternating suction with blown air, and a foot powered breast enlarger! We ate dinner at a place called St. Anthony's Wharf, a seafood/steak place on the riverfront, just upstairs from the museum. Then we headed to our Bed and Breakfast in Albert Lea.

The bed and breakfast was great! We slept in late and finally headed out a little after 9:30. Our first stop was just down the road in Austin, MN at the Oakpark Mall to visit the SPAM Museum! A must stop on any tour! Then we drove over to Wisconsin Dells. It was like a permanent home for parking lot carnivals. We ate lunch at a vegetarian restaurant since that was about the only way to get something that wasn't fried, and we toured the Ripley's Believe It Or Not Museum.

After a couple of hours in the Dells, it was time to drive to Milwaukee to eat dinner at the Safehouse. This is a great restaurant that doesn't have any signs outside. It looks like an export company and when you walk in you have to figure out where the secret passage is. Once in, they will know if you are a rookie or not based on whether or not you know the password. But don't worry, all the hassle is worth it. It's a very memorable experience.

After dinner, we drove to Chicago to our hotel. We had a little over an hour to get settled in and changed for the show at 10:00 p.m.

The Blue Man Group was a unique experience! We had front row seats in the "Poncho Section". It's hard to explain, but it's very entertaining.

The weather is perfect. We walked 10 blocks to and from the show in T-shirts and were actually a little warm because we were wearing jeans. It must have still been in the 70's at midnight! (We got back to our hotel about 10 after midnight.

We drove over to Fantasy Warehouse this morning to pick up some duck masks. (It's a long story. Don't ask!)

Then we went to a Cubs game. What a blowout. I think Cubs pitching gave up 5 home runs, and none of them were solo homers!

Dinner at Topolobampo was excellent, but it took longer than we expected. We had to rush through the dessert sampler in order to make it to Second City in time for the show.

The Second City show was hilarious!

And the best part - we stay in the same hotel two nights in a row!

We were anxious to head for home, but on the way we had to stop by Berwyn, IL and see some very interesting art! Check it out!

This one was featured in Wayne's World!

On the way back, we also finally finished listening to Timeline by Michael Creighton.

If you plan a trip like this, I highly recommend movies for the passenger, books on tape, and plenty of CDs. No kids is a good plan, too!