The Adventure North in Dora the Explorer

Tuesday Day 3

Anne Banane

The dogs are fed, the coffee is made, Dora has a tank full of gas and we are on the road by 8:30 AM. Incidentally, the gas prices are getting lower at $3.30/gallon here in Iowa. The wind is cold but the sun is shining. We pass through Sioux City and head for the South Dakota border. The wind is blowing tumbleweeds into our path. Resembling small bushes, they are frightening when they come out of nowhere and fly across the road! Dora continues to run strong on cruise control as six dogs enjoy a morning nap. After a walk outside and breakfast they are satisfied to go back to sleep for hours. They are the most amazing travelers, content just to be in this moment of non-stop driving west.

We cross into South Dakota where the billboard reads: “Help Manage Your Wildlife, Wear Fur.” Really? We are near the foothills of the Black Hills so the landscape has changed somewhat. The hills are rolling and I can no longer see a 360-degree horizon around me. But the land is dry and the burrs are sharp so the dogs are careful where they step. At one rest stop we see a sign that reads: “Beware of Poisonous Snakes.” Yikes! Our walk was cut short after reading that. We are used to watching out for the big critters like moose and bear that can be seen from far away. Definitely, not used to slithering reptiles that inconspicuously inhabit this land. Not sure how the dogs would react seeing a snake but I would literally run screaming from the scene or faint on the spot. The mere thought of one scares the crap out of me!

The prairie is how I can describe the landscape. Miles and miles of open land that is extremely dry because of the draught. And the wind is always blowing. I remember that from my short stint of living in North Dakota as an Air Force wife back in the day. We were once stranded in our house for five days because the snowdrifts were so high we couldn’t open the backdoor. In my continual search for places to spend time I can certainly eliminate the Plaines and the Midwest, along with the East - not only for the terrain and howling winds, but also for ideologies so foreign and contradictory to my own way of thinking.

We reach Rapid City at 7PM and once again stop Dora for the night after covering approximately 630 miles, a little less than Day 2. Oh well, we are camped at another truck stop and will relax for the night. Tomorrow will be another long day as we enter Montana, a big-ass state to cross. We will attempt to make Seattle by Friday in time for the 50^th birthday dinner of my best friend.

DoDog & BunBun

Life is good in a van called Dora where sacked-out, snoring dogs are cruising at 75 MPH due west! Woof! Woof!

Stay tuned . .