Trek Across a Country: Day 3

Sometimes when you are on the road its the little things that matter. No breakfast at our hotel this am meant we were hungry and on the road by 7am. Once we got out of Chicago area we experienced the northern area of Illinois, Rockford which contrasts economically significantly from Chicago. State number seven was very welcoming for us. Sadly, the state sign was too obscure for us to get a decent picture of it.

 

So far on this trip, my favorite state has been Wisconsin. Beautiful trees, rolling hills, nature areas, and friendly drivers/people. As we edged towards state number eight, the scenery dramatically changes. Right before entering Minnesota we crossed, and much to my shock, the massive Mississippi river.  

Construction on the bridge that crosses the two states was ongoing so good pictures were hard to come by. 

 Minnesota had no sign upon entry but we figured due to the landscape we were there. The hills went flat and the trees went away. Farms for as far as the eye can see. We got lost at some point, not marked on a map, and had to get gas at a station that was self-service (literally no attendant) and was gravel, as in not paved. Surprisingly we kept passing massive windmills. There were probably at least 200 of these as we were driving through. To our south, approximately 15 miles, was Iowa, which we paralleled all the way through the state. 

 

We sort of got lost again and couldn't find a rest stop. When we did in Blue Earth, MN we were very close to the border of South Dakota. My husband saw his second Washington State license plate on a trailer and we both felt calmed that the end was still near. We have a bet going on which state we would first see a Washington State license plate on a passenger car. I said South Dakota and he says Montana, so technically we both lose if you count a trailer. 

 We made it to state number nine around 4:30pm, both exhausted and me feeling a little under the weather.  Along the rolling hills we saw bison, aka buffalo. I immediately decided I needed to try it and at dinner I had a bison burger. To me, bison is beefier than cow meat. I liked it and will definitely have it again. We dragged ourselves back to our room for the night to plot a cool day 4, full of activities, and to get much needed rest. Today, we learned a lot about the bread bowl of America. These hardworking farmers fuel many Americans daily. I wonder how many people know this?

Until tomorrow, sweet dreams middle America.

-a-