uncanny

One thing that happens when you drive more than 500 miles a day is that you realize how much room there is in the United States. So much! You knew this. And yet the bald-faced fact of more cows than people living in some of these vast states still makes you feel strange, even somewhat afflicted.

Another thing that happens is that you start relating the expanses of scenery around you to every science fiction book you have ever read and every science fiction movie you have ever seen. Since you are passing things at a rate of 70-89 mph, you have only a few seconds to make these associations, and then to immediately embellish them into a self-satisfying whole that supports your theory that the shivers chasing each other up your spine are justifiably thrilling.

Yesterday we went from Chicago to Rochester, MN, where our dear friend Hayden is employed by the Mayo Clinic for the summer. At his family's beautiful old estate (the right word for it), we drank beers on the screened-in porch and watched an electrical storm light up the backyard. The Midwest is really good for storms! And how often do you get to watch one recreationally with your friends?!

Today we are in South Dakota, checking things off our bucket lists.

False: Wall, SD is a joke destination.



True: Measuring stretches of interstate on a map with your fingertips in fact does make the distance seem smaller.