Today I decided to get myself to the doctor to check out my ears and dizziness. And as I surmised, I have a myriad of things happening in my ears because of the virus and was prescribed nose spray and anti-nausea meds and more over-the-counter decongestants. But all is well, I am feeling much, much better and glad to have had a doctor take a look just to rule out anything that might hurt my hearing.

But the trip to the urgent care had us leaving a bit later than we wanted. I was sorry to say good-bye to Deadwood and the sweet hotel and the even sweeter people we encountered all over the area. I chatted with a couple from Minnesota over breakfast and we swapped road trip stories. It is very satisfying to meet fellow travelers that enjoy the open road as much as I do and are eager to share delightful finds.

One such man was sharing with us his sighting of bighorn sheep at Badlands National Park so we eagerly pulled into the park in search of the surreal landscape dotted with wild sheep. And we weren’t disappointed! There they were walking along the road,  and perching beautifully on rock pinnacles as if they had been waiting for our arrival.

We also laughed at the prairie dogs that watched us on their hind legs and then like puppies, flopped all the way flat on their bellies on their dirt mounds, legs splayed out, and tiny tails wagging.

We drove the circle of the park, trying not to stop too often as we had another long day of driving to get across South Dakota. Going from west to east we are aware that we keep losing an hour and instead of arriving for the night at 7pm, to our dismay, it is 8pm. 

But we can feel the pull of home and we must be over halfway there now. Driving this vast country is incredible, the scope, the landscape variety, the magnitude of beauty, it’s downright incredible. Good night from Sioux Falls, South Dakota.