Cheating and a Fake Town

But I have promises to keep,

And miles to go before I sleep

--Robert Frost

The past few nights I’ve cheated.  I stayed in a hotel with showers that I did not have to walk outside to get to, a bed that did not double as a seating area, and a hot breakfast that I didn’t have to prepare.  It was a nice little break. I was in Sioux Falls, SD visiting Kylie.  She goes to school at University of Sioux Falls where she runs on their Track and Cross Country team.  When she came home for Spring Break, I had promised her that I’d get out to visit her on this trip, and I also got a bonus of being able to see her compete in a track meet. 

On Friday morning, I woke up at an RV park right outside of the Badlands in South Dakota.  My previous day there was a little bit of a disappointment because it was rainy and windy, but it seemed as if the weather was apologizing as sun streamed into my windows to wake me up.  From where I was camped, I could see the jagged outline of the Badlands hills cutting into the horizon and they seemed to say “Come check us out in the morning sunlight! We’ll be much better today—we promise!”  So I packed up and drove back through them.  It really was much more impressive in the morning sun:  the colors were much brighter and the shadows gave much more depth and perspective to the crevices and valleys. 

The Badlands look much better when the sun is out

As I left the Badlands, I got onto Interstate 90, which took me to Sioux Falls.  Interstate 90 has got to be one of the most boring highways there is, and not just because there is not a single Starbucks between Rapid City and Sioux Falls.  For the nearly 300 miles from Badlands to Sioux Falls, Interstate 90 was so straight I could almost put my van on cruise control and go in the back to make a cheese sandwich without worrying about running off the road.  It was, however, filled with billboards screaming out the small tourist attractions at every bump of a town along the way.  I was beckoned to see the “world famous” petrified gardens, a car collection that included the real General Lee, a corn palace, a deer made of car parts, a tiny church, and countless other bits of Americana.  I opted for the 1880 Town, simply because by that point I was getting tired of seeing how much further I could drive without touching the steering wheel.  I exited the highway and pulled up to the front.  The signs along the highway indicated that it was “as seen on the Discovery Channel” and that it had the worlds largest collection of Dances With Wolves movie props.  If Discovery Channel featured it, than it must be good.  I mean, come on, Discovery Channel had high-quality programing like specials on fake mermaids, giant sharks that don’t exist, and the guy that didn’t get eaten alive by a snake, so I had high expectations for the 1880 Town.  

I parked in front of a red barn that had a sign out front that said “1880 Town:  Population 170 ghosts, 9 cats, 3 dogs, 2 9 36 870 3950 Rabbits.”  At least they had a bit of a sense of humor.  I walked in to the musty-smelling building where a lady who looked like she was old enough to be from the 1880s welcomed me. 

This is what it looked like in 1880 (1880 Town, at least)

She was sitting behind a desk with a cash register and a popcorn machine filled with stale popcorn that I could apparently buy for “Only $1.00.”  She asked if I’d been there before to which I replied, “Ummm…no.” It didn’t really look like somewhere you’d come back to.  She told me that the owner of the place had collected several buildings that were really built in the late 1800s and early 1900s and had them moved to his ranch. He set them up so that they looked like an old town and he filled them with props so that visitors could get an idea of what life was like in the 1880s.  He also apparently was a Dances With Wolves fan, as he had collected several movie props such as the TeePee that Kevin Costner stayed in, some stuffed buffalo and horses, and clothing that was used in the movie.  I could see all of this on a self-guided tour for only $12.  Twelve bucks seemed a little steep to me, but then I guess I don’t get the option to see real old buildings that often. So I plunked down my credit card and bought a ticket the most fascinating 20 minutes that could be spent on a drive along Interstate 90.  There were maybe twenty or thirty old buildings behind the barn. They were set up in a row like an old street might be in the 1880s: there was a hotel, a sheriff’s office, a blacksmith, a bar, a train depot, a church, and several other small buildings.  Some of them had pictures inside of the families that supposedly lived there. It was genuinely interesting to consider that someone had gone through the trouble to collect all of those buildings and move them to a single location, but I couldn’t really see why it would be something that would be on Discovery Channel unless it was on a show about fake ghosts. 

After my exciting brief trip into the past, I continued on to Sioux Falls again seeing how far I could go without actually touching the steering wheel (my record was only .2 miles because the wind kept blowing my van around). In Sioux Falls, I got to see Kylie compete at a track meet. She ran in the steeplechase event, which is a 3000m race where the runners have to jump over hurdles and into puddles.  As I waited for her event to start, I sat watching all the kids warming up—stretching, jumping, sprinting, practicing relay-hand offs, throwing javelins, and generally bouncing around with youthful energy.  Previously on this trip I was feeling pretty good about myself with my bike rides and walking, but being around all these kids made me feel old and slow. 

Kylie gracefully running the steeplechase

There was one girl getting ready for her event (maybe long jump or high jump or something?) by standing and jumping straight up over and over.  I think she was able to get her toes higher than the top of my head.  I gingerly sat down and was aware of the stiffness in my back and legs as I made my way down to the ground.  I looked over at the bouncy girl and secretly put a curse on her that she soon would get old and would take great pride in being able to get up from a chair without falling over.  After a few moments, I heard a voice over the loudspeaker announce that the women’s steeplechase event was starting.  I managed to make it back up to my feet before the starting gun went off and then watched a pack of 12 girls start their way around the track.  After they passed the first time, two men dragged a hurdle out to the middle of the track. I felt bad for the girls because I knew if I had to jump over that thing I’d end up with bloody shins by the second or third time.  But they all effortlessly made their way over it without a single fall. That in itself was pretty impressive.  After the race, Kylie was exhausted. She was already tired from being at the meet for the entire day before, and she was getting over being sick so it was a tough race.  I helped her recover, though, by taking her out for pizza and frozen yogurt at the end of the day.  (Ok, the pizza was kind of more for me, but it’s the thought that counts).  We went to a place called Fierro Pizza which is a neat little concept—it’s kind of like a cross between a Subway Sandwich and a pizza place.  There is a little assembly line of guys behind a counter filled with all kinds of toppings.  You start at one end by picking the kind of crust you like, and then as you move down the line you pick all the things you want on top. They bake it in a little oven and within a few minutes you have a custom, personal-sized pizza.  (A similar concept will be coming to San Luis Obispo soon and I’ll be looking forward to it!)

Yummm! Pizza! (Don't tell Jobie I also had a coke!)

Yesterday morning I checked out of the hotel, said goodbye to Kylie (and the clean, hot showers in the hotel room), and made my way to Fargo, North Dakota to visit my cousin Mike and his family.  I really owe him a visit as he’s been to California numerous times, and each time he comes out I’ve promised him that I’ll come to Fargo to visit him.  The problem is that Fargo really isn’t a fantastic place to go to for anything other than visiting family so it’s usually pretty low on my list of vacation spots.   I figured that since I was already out in this frozen part of the country I could take the opportunity to make good on my promises to visit. 

Next I’ll be making my way down to Gulf Shores in Alabama to visit Ed.  He claims that Gulf Shores is just like Pismo Beach, except it’s in Alabama.  I told him that is impossible, but that I’d have to see it to believe it.  So he is next on my list of promises to visit, and I’ll be passing the 1500 miles or so on the way down there.  I have yet to figure out though where I’ll be staying tonight.  I’ll let you know about it in my next blog though!

Sioux Falls really does have falls!