Today was the big day. We would once again continue on our journey to Sacramento without jobs or really any place to stay along the way. Worse yet, I was pretty sure we would not have cell service along the way since Di and I both have Virgin Mobile. We packed our things and got ready to go once again. We kind of had to slow down to wait for Katy Jo to wake up since she said she was setting her alarm and we could not go without saying goodbye to her. We made our goodbyes, wished her luck, and thanked her for everything. It is not too often a friend comes along that you feel comfortable staying with for 5 nights. I was sad to leave but very ready at the same time. After seeing a glimpse into what would be her new life, I wanted to start my own and I was anxious to get a move on. It made me sort of realize that this was the first time in my life that I would really have to carve out a niche for myself. Up until this point I had always just sort of gone with it and not fought too much with where the universe wanted to take me. But then again, I always had that safety net if I failed. Who knows what you are capable of unless that safety net gets removed, when you are backed into a corner so to speak. I had built a life in MN and St. Cloud more specifically where I had connections and a history. No matter how bad things got there, I would always be okay because I always had something to rely on. Out west though, the story is different. I only have me. Yes I have Di as well but that makes it all the more real. I have to be able to take care of her and myself with no prospects and just an MBA and a little know how under my belt. Well, that is how we will make a go of it.
When we left we were not too certain where we were going nor what we would see along the way. The atlas we had bought would guide us and I think we both just wanted to get there. Although, there was one thing my patriotism had to let me see along the way. We headed west toward Rapid City, SD. Along the way we saw literally hundreds of signs for a place called Wall Drug. It is in a town called Wall, SD just outside of Rapid City. By the time we got close, we had to stop. They had hooked us with their touts of free ice water and 5 cent coffee. We needed to replenish anyway. Needless to say, it was a let down. There was not too much there and it was nothing more than an older looking version of a travel center. Still, I am glad we stopped. I learned that Huckleberries grow wild in this region and people pick them, make different things out of them like chocolate and jam, and then try to charge way too much for those items. I may not have learned that little nugget if we had not stopped.
Oh dear me! I am forgetting the other place we stopped early on in our journey. The Corn Palace! In Mitchell, SD there is a palace of corn which is literally built out of a bunch of cobs of corn. They also make different art out of corn. It is pretty cool and was originally constructed about 100 years or so ago as a way to boast to passers by how excellent the soil conditions are in that area to attract additional farmers. Everything there, as you may imagine, was out of the price range of 2 thrifty, out of work Minnesotans. We settled for some chocolate popcorn. This popcorn was actually quite tasty.
Where was I? Oh yes, Wall Drug! Well, after taking in all that Wall Drug had to offer, we again piled into the Camry and were off. At this time I am remembering an obscene amount of Corvettes along the way. On the way out of Wall Drug I counted 19 in the city of Wall. There must have been a convention or something. Otherwise the markup on Huckleberry products must be higher than I thought.
We finally made it to Rapid City and here is a test for all of you: what is near that city that would make us detour from I-90 and that I early described as feeding into my patriotism? I hope you get this because it may be the only reason to visit SD. Mt. Rushmore. You see it on their license place for crying out loud. Well I wanted to see it. We were too cheap to go into the park so we took some pictures from afar on a massive hill. It was still pretty cool but we did only stop for about 5 minutes. We went around the back too so you can see a cool profile of Washington’s nose. While we were there we also wanted to see the Crazy Horse mountain. It was a mere 10 miles away. When I turned in, it looked as though I was going to have to pay. So we turned around and drove illegally down the wrong way for a spell. We saw that from very afar.
Back on the road. We got back on 90 and took it through Wyoming, into Montana. We drive through Billings and even though we were chasing the sun on the West and had picked up an extra hour along the way, it was getting late. We decided to stay in Butte, MT. When we got there it was past 11pm. We stopped into Super 8 and they wanted something like 78 dollars for a room. I just wanted it for a few hours! We drove to the other side of town and they wanted about the same. My MBA was working in my mind. If I were a manager, why not empower these employees to make a deal and do a little negotiating. The alternative for them is an empty room and lost revenue. Perhaps they viewed the other side though, that I was the one who would lose out if I could make a deal. Anyway, that may be a different blog for a different time about how our expectations of demand were different.
I was angry because the woman at this place told me most places would be booked up because of some sort of convention. My solution was to buy an energy drink and some Taco Bell and head back down the road. We made it another 40 miles or so and pulled over at a rest area. This is where I was to spend my evening. Sweating in a car at some middle of nowhere rest area in a seat that cannot recline back because we have too much stuff in the car. Awesome. I was upset and annoyed with all of the people I spoke to in Butte. The cold reality is that I will probably never visit Montana again because of those isolated experiences. We all do some form of this which is why it is so important to treat every person right, right from the beginning. Again, probably another blog for another time.
Even though the sleeping conditions were less than ideal, there is nobody else in this world I would rather have next to me than my wife. Although I was sure to be sore tomorrow.
~Mitch Heid!