Day Ten- NE/SD

Deciding to go to Omaha, Nebraska wasn't difficult. But difficulty arose when we tried to figure out the best way to get to the Badlands in South Dakota. Then, the level of difficulty was dramatically increased when we decided to take local routes through the state instead of the interstate and couldn't find a decent place for coffee and breakfast. Eventually though we came across the small town of North Bend, Nebraska that had a quaint cafe with real charm and good food. As Jessica placed her order requesting mushrooms instead of meat the waitress's face took on the funniest quizzical look which made sense when she told us no one had ever made such a request. We figured that Nebraska is famous for their steaks and there probably aren't too many vegetarians around. It was a great surprise after breakfast to find out that we had come upon the Lewis and Clark Trail and at one point we were back on the Lincoln Highway.

Corner Cafe in North Bend, Nebraska

The Lincoln Highway has become our home.

A sign indicating we were on the Lewis and Clark Trail

While driving through Nebraska, we noticed an odd thing about the price of gas. The Unleaded Plus was up to 10 cents cheaper than regular Unleaded. The first gas station we saw we figured it was just a mistake, until all the ones after it where the same. We finally asked one of the ladies working behind the counter why it's like that. She informed us that Unleaded Plus contains 10% Ethanol. Some states, including Nebraska and South Dakota, no longer tax the ethanol, which results in a lower gas price for the Plus.

The odd gas prices

The wind was horrible again today driving through Nebraska, but driving the back roads was enjoyable because often times we were the only ones on the road. There were also periods of rain, but we got through it well. There was one scary moment though. We were driving a ways behind a trailer hauling some equipment and containers. There was a big gust of wind that took one of the containers off the trailer, and we had no choice but to hit it. We ended up running over it, and we had to stop to get it out from under the car. No damage was done though. It was only a 2-gallon container, but it sounded horrible. It gave us a chance to take pictures at the border though!

Welcome to South Dakota!

The South Dakota Interstate is lined to the max with billboards advertising each and every stop you can make along the way. The countryside is beautiful, but is ruined by these billboards. As we entered the park, we were blown away by the unique landscape and the wind. It was so cold and windy that we only got out of the car at a couple of viewpoints. The rest of the time we pulled up to a spot, rolled down the window, and took a picture. With the binoculars Orit brought along we were able to see a variety of animals common to the park: deer, rams, birds, and prairie dogs. Since we couldn't find a room in Interior -- Population 63 -- we continued on through the park, hoping that we had enough gas to get us to Wall.

Rams on the cliffs.

Prairie dogs and their mounds.

Badlands landscape.

More Badlands landscape.

6 ton Prairie Dog.

Tomorrow we are off to Mount Rushmore and surrounding parks. Then, on to Wyoming!