The Real Shady Rest!

This is the view from my room in a little roadside motel in South Dakota. It was nearly sundown and way too far to the next big city. The rooms were tiny, but clean and comfortable.  I imagine it was used more by deer hunters than casual tourists. Another view along the porch from my room:

LOST MY CAMERA!

I lost my camera in North Dakota. Well, actually I broke it to smithereens while running to try to catch a train. So I have no photos from North Dakota back to Omaha and then to St. Louis. But I had a long enough layover to be able to track down a camera shop. I've never traveled by train before, but I have to say, this is the life! I'm thinking Amtrak may be my new best friend! The architecture in the various Union Stations makes me think of old movies.

RV is with a friend in Omaha until gas prices come down or until I'm ready to take it back to Mississippi. Traded it to a good friend for the summer - he paid for an Amtrak pass for me and in return will be using my RV for weekend vacations with his family. Win/win!

Nebraska Rose Gardens

Well, I'm on the road again, this time traveling south, on my way east! From the road not far from Valentine, I saw the most gorgeous roses in bloom. Unable to contain myself, I detoured up the lane, redolent with the fragrance of roses, and introduced myself to the elderly couple who came out of the house to investigate this total stranger. I explained I'm on a 60 day (or so) sabatical, making a journey across America to just see where it is that I live. I asked permission to snap some shots of their roses. They shook their heads at this crazy guy from Long Beach, Mississippi who was so enthralled with flowers, but gave me permission to take all the photos I wanted. They must have thought the early springtime sun had gotten to me, because they came back out with a glass of cold water, advising me to drink up!

NORTH DAKOTA SKIES

The most awesome skies I saw on my recent RV trip north to the Bakken oil fields were the ones in North Dakota. The blues were so vivid - with no pollution filters hiding the colors. I wonder if the new industry created by the oil boom will make this beauty merely a memory?