August 16, 2014: Southeastern Montana to South Dakota

The last couple of days have been over 100 degrees, hitting 106 when we were in Miles City.  We certainly have seen the temperature extremes this summer from the 30s a couple of times in Canada and Alaska and now over 100!

We drove east through Montana with the landscape continuing to change over every hillcrest.  Sometimes flat wheat and oat fields, recently cut with bales of hay spread over the fields making pretty rural scenes. Over the next hill, we would again be in mini badlands with rocky crests and ridges popping out of the undulating hills, changing to dry hilly grazing lands, and then repeating the whole thing over again.  Not particularly pretty scenery, but lots more interesting than we expected.

We saw lots of fields with hay bales, but this was the only one we saw with old fashioned haystacks.

Look out Monet...if I had been here at sunrise or sunset with my new camera, I could have given him some competition!

We turned due south just before the North Dakota state line to check out a small state park called Medicine Rocks. We had a great time exploring the unique rock formations here.  Although they look like their edges have been rounded by running water, it is sandstone that has been carved and hollowed out by the constant wind grating sand particles off the soft rocks and creating wonderful moonscape sculptures.

We continued south out of the park and then took another of Jack's favorite gravel roads into northern South Dakota, again turning due south on route 85 and stopped for the night in Sturgis.  The motorcycle rally had celebrated its 75th anniversary a week before and the place was still disassembling various tents and structures from the "happening" (we read 15 people died during the week).

Downtown Sturgis on a Sunday morning one week after the big rally

We headed southeast to I-90 - NOT our favorite road, but we have visited everything of interest to us in South Dakota and decided to just bite the bullet and get through it.  Wall Drug's advertisements drew us in - again.  Makes for a nice break from the boring driving - they have pretty much one of everything from tacky tourist junk, snacks, meals, to leather western wear and impressive western art.
We found a campground early for the night about mid-way through South Dakota so Jack could watch the end of the golf match.  Some clouds moved in and the temps have dropped into the high 70s, making it very comfortable.

Woke to cloudy skies with temps in the 60's.  Will be continuing to drive the next couple of days across South Dakota and Iowa to visit Jack's brother and his family in Des Moines.