Day 2

Our second day of travel was just as great as our first.  We made it 337 miles yesterday which was a very good start.  And we're spending tonight in the lap of luxury at the Grand Gateway Hotel in Rapid City, South Dakota.  Sam booked a room for us this morning before we departed which proved to be a boon. As you'll see on our video blog we departed Albert Lea around 10:30.  After speaking with here mother Sarah was happy to hear the Packers had won last night.  Wish we could have seen the game.  For those who have expressed concern we have not been significantly affected by Hurricane Irene.  For now we're safe, fingers crossed.  As we also mentioned in the blog when we first approached the car in the morning we were fearful that a bomb had been planted in it as a steady beeping was emanating from its bowels.  After some searching and a little detective work we discovered it wasn't a bomb at all but rather a travel alarm clock trapped (literally trapped, there was no way we were opening the trunk with those darn bicycles attached to it) in the trunk, insistently sounding it's cheery call.  Fortunately the sound desisted around 11:00.  We filled up with gas at the 404 mile marker.  At this point Sam performed some adjustments on the bike rack and was able to secure them much more... securely.  At some point after this we saw a school bus pulling a trailer, something neither of us had ever seen before.  It's a first!  In addition to the numerous (literally dozens, maybe hundreds of) signs for the Corn Palace and Wall Drug we also saw a sign for "Dick's Toe Service."  Do we even want to know?  We made a quick stop at the Corn Palace and it was fine.  Cher, you're not missing out on much but if it's your dream, I'll support you :)  So far we've listened to the Book of Mormon soundtrack a mere two times.  An oversight that we'll no doubt correct over the next two days.  We refueled again at 626 miles and crossed the Missouri River at 5:35.  At this point we began to notice changes in the topography which was cool.  We entered Mountain Time at 5:43 (4:43).  We decided to take a scenic route through Badlands National Park and it was amazing.  We both were blown away by the natural beauty and honest to goodness majesty.  We saw a pack of antelope (???) grazing about five feet from the car.  Sam took some amazing pictures so be sure to check them out.  We hit the 800 mile mark on the way out.  After a quick stop at the closed Wall Drug (all that hype for nothing!) we made it to our destination, Rapid City, SD.  Our hotel is very nice and we had a pleasant dinner at the Ixtapa Restaurant.  Off to bed.  The goal for tomorrow is Missoula, Montana, about 650 miles away along with a quick gander at Mt. Rushmore.
Goals: Collective, reach Missoula, Sarah, see a buffalo (incidentally I came up with a really good before and after for Wheel of Fortune: Buffaloppian tubes)
Learned: Sam, most of SD is pretty beautiful, Sarah, all kinds of interesting info about the badlands

And as always enjoy our video blog at: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wovIPoHi_f8