Saints Super Summer Sojourn Across the States - Day 3
By Jon in somewhere
July 28 2010
The third instalment of the travels of two semi-regular posters, Jon in Wherever and Former Hollywood Saint. The third day took them from Chicago to way out in the mid-West...
Day 3
Last night was luxury. Well, normal to most people - a bed,a shower, and a real bathroom. For us though, this was going to be the last time in a while that we would get to see them. Add to that the joys of a 14hour day today, and the real world was most welcome. Our first different state of the day was only a few minutes away, as we had spent the night pretty close to the Illinois - Wisconsin border. However, (insert fanfare here), this border crossing put us into double figures for states visited this trip. We passed then on smaller roads, heading back to the constant companion of the past couple of days, the I-90.
Wisconsin becomes state number ten
Wisconsin itself is pretty uneventful. It's full of dairy farms, as most of America's cheese comes from here. Except maybe the plastic stuff. I don't think anyone is sure where that comes from. It's kind of apt that they call it American cheese here - after all, it's mostly plastic and artificial... Anyway, I digress. The eastern border of Wisconsin leads into Minnesota, and is marked by something that neither FHS nor I knew existed this far up - the Mississippi River! Despite that excitement, Minnesota is pretty much the same as Wisconsin. It's mostly flat, mostly farms, and mostly straight roads. Really boring to drive.
Bordered by the Mississippi, Minnesota is our11th state of the trip
Equally flat and just as entertaining was Iowa. Although not really on our route, it was another one of those states that were just close enough to the highway to nip into and mark another state off the check-list. We actually passed the "historic marker" (according to the signs) that denoted the borders of three states - Minnesota, Iowa and South Dakota. However, the signs ended up just pointing us round in circles, so we gave up trying to find that one.
Another state off the list!
As I hinted, there was still one more state for us in this marathon day. Our stop for the night was just north of the Black Hills of South Dakota. Even though we were close to the border of SD, we still had most of the state to cross before we could stop. But stop we eventually did, and we were able to make ourselves as comfortable as possible after our 14+ hour, just under 1000 mile day. The next couple of days are going to be less driving and more sightseeing, as we get to some of the tourist sites. I'm not telling you which ones - that way you'll have to read the next instalment to find out!
This may give you a clue to our first touristy stop!
Distance travelled: 2050 miles.
States visited: 13 - ME, NH, MA, NY, PA, OH, IN,MI, IL, Wisconsin (WI), Minnesota (MN), Iowa (IA), South Dakota (SD)If you do not already have an account Click here to Register.
“Those who desire to give up freedom in order to gain security will not have, nor do they deserve, either one.”
Benjamin Franklin
Tetleys Block F E143