July 22 and July 23

Morning of July 24
Sorry about the delays, but another lousy internet connection. The pics are from Yuly 24. They start at the placed where i came up to the Misouri river, not expecting this. The sighs said roadside park with an overlook. It was time to stop for a rest , so I stopped. What a spectuacular view. The pics dont do it jujstice. The first one and two are of a commematorive plack that talks about the Lewis and Clark Expedition. Not very revealing, exceptthat apparently they passede this way and came up on this view also. No, 2.3.and 5 are vies of the river from the overlook. dont sow how deep it is or how beautiful it is. No, six and 7 are of the badlands (of old west fame) as you come acriss the prarie, they just suddenly jump out at you, with the black mountains in the background. Again tghe pics dont do justice, it is really aq wildf and forbidding place with gulllys and ravines when you get up to it.
Now July 22 I came across Wisconsin From Madison goiong west, nore of the same, small hills and farms mixed with forest, until you get almost to Lacrosse, then all of a sudden there are these high hills that look almost like mountains. As you go thru them you are all of a sudden on top of the Missippi river. Not too spectactular, but wide and not too dee[ with a lot of islands , on the other side of the bridge is a dam and a lock, As i came across a barge and tow were starting to lock thru the lick, but no place to get pics. When you get across the river into Minnisota the road starts to climb thru high hills. Then after a few miles, it opens up into a plain. Then its corn and soy beans on farms mile after mile. Wxcept one pleace i started to dee tghesed wind driven electric generators on poles, i tried to cound and got to 100 and lost count. They were on both sides of the road across this higher area that ran from north to south. There must have been 300 or 400 of them stretching as far as you could see. Then all the way across Minisota i saw these things one or two or clusters of 5 or six. Must have been a Minnnisoto thing. Except they wrre all standing there staring at each other ,the wind was not blowing and the whole bunch of them were not generating enough electricity to run a good house. i guess you woulod mave been out of luck today if you needed electricity. The rest of the day was corn and soy beans on a flat or rolling hill plain. If you were into corn and soy beans it would have ben exciting, but others just boring. For those interrested I will say that the corn is starting to make tassels, so i guess its ok.
Finally got to soiux falls for the night.
Wednesday 23. Day started out more corn and sooy beans , but just before I came to the lMissouri river i nogticed tdhat the land had changed to more rolling hills,and thee were more cattle and grass mixed with wheat, corn and soy beans. Also saw seveal wheat harvesting crews traveling thru the area.After the missouri river the land really changed,it it was wheat, and gras land. Gradually it bacame grass land. At one spot, when I was talking to Mike, i saw ouly one small house in the distance and not another sign of civilization. Thena little further, saw an areas of only grass, no houses. Erlier in the day I passed the town where Laura engles Wildidng worte her little house on the prarrie books, It really was on the prarie. Then as you rode across this area all of a sudden you began to sense these mountains in the distance.then areas that looked like high piles of excavation dirt appeared. Yhis was tdhe badlands coming ito view. Went thru the edge of them almost to Rapid city.
Today I Am going to try to go to Mt.Rushmore.