Through the Midwest

After leaving Michigan, we traveled across northern Wisconsin to Minneapolis, Minnesota, where we spent one night with another friend of Jenna’s through Barton Malow. The drive was a continuation of forest and farmland; much of it was actually the classic dairy-barn-with-dome-topped silo landscape that I had imagined it to be.

In Minneapolis, we met Jenna’s friend Joe and some of his friends he knew through his summer internship. I enjoyed seeing the city because I have read that it is one of the cleanest in the country and has a highly-regarded park/greenspace system. It was clean and planned well; the layout reminded me somewhat of Richmond – a lot of brick buildings and a river that cuts right by the downtown area. We went to a street festival with live music downtown, and we also took a quick trip up to a rooftop bar to get some neat views of the city. It was good to have a place to stay, but the city’s late nights and expenses were taxing compared to our standard trip routine, so I was glad to then head back out into wide open spaces. We did stop the next day on the way out at the Blue Door Pub where I got my first (and a very good) Juicy Lucy.

We spent 2 days driving to get through Iowa and Nebraska into South Dakota, where we stayed two nights at Wind Cave National Park. The drive finally broke us out of the forest and into corn country, which transitioned into miles and miles of rolling prairie in western Nebraska.

From farm country...

...to prairie country

Wind Cave National Park is in the Black Hills of South Dakota, and area that was recommended by a surprising number of people. It comes almost out of nowhere, generally with the appearance of a much larger version of the Blue Ridge Mountains. However, the entire region is really diverse – these hills hold some staggering rock formations in the middle, and change quickly to open prairie and back. This mix of landscapes is what really made it interesting and pretty.