Day 9

Day 9: Tuesday June 30th, 2009

Minneapolis, MN to Sioux Falls, SD

Tara and I took our time this morning, getting out of the hotel just before check out time. The room in the Doubletree was extra dark and we slept great. We headed back to the Mall of America and completed our circuit around the three floors and through Macy's, Nordstroms, and Bloomingdales, in part searching for a melitta coffee maker, and in part to say that we walked the entire mall. We spent a total of 9 hours in that mall over two days and our visit could easily be described as rushed.

We left Bloomington, MN at 3, unsure of where we were going to stay that night, but heading to Sioux Falls, SD anyway. Mrs. Ewing came to our rescue and booked us at a Holiday Inn through priceline.com from Austin, TX. All that was left was the drive through gently rolling hills flooded with corn, and dotted with cattle, wind farms

and biofuel plants. It was a different driving experience being able to look in every direction while not having to worry about any vehicles around us. Two extrodinary sights were witnessed; a young calf was chasing what appeared to be a fox and a guy on a motorcycle was smoking, one wonders how he lit it. We reached Sioux Falls in 3 and a half hours, checked in and had a wonderful dinner of Walleye for Tara and Buffalo Steak medium rare for myself at a great restaurant called Wilde Sage. We have been lucky thus far with the weather, once again driving with blue skies, though severe weather is predicted for the Badlands tomorrow; our next destination.

Map