Buffalo to Chicago

January 5-6, 2015

After two more days on the road we finally arrived in Elgin, Illinois on Tuesday night and were met by our granddaughter, Ada, and, of course, her parents Jon and Laura.  It was a wonderful reunion.  It will take us a while to fully realize that this is not another short visit, the kind we have enjoyed all too infrequently during the past few years.  We'll stay here to spend some time with our family before getting on the road again on Friday for the final part of our trip.

We left Buffalo, Wyoming on Monday morning and drove to Sioux Falls, South Dakota.  It was a frigid Tuesday morning in Sioux Falls - 9 degrees below zero is cold by just about any standard, especially for a couple of people who have become accustomed to the mild weather of Seattle for the past ten years.

Our plans for enjoying a leisurely road trip were altered by the weather.  Except for a very brief stop in Wall, South Dakota and the "famous" Wall Drug, our only views were from the inside of our car as we sped along I-90.  Fortunately the roads were clear and driving conditions were much improved over what we experienced between Bozeman and Buffalo.

Really? This is not weather,
 it's an emergency!

Much better road conditions.  What a relief.!

This is the famous Wall Drug, an icon of interstate highway marketing.

There is actually a lot to explore inside but we were
anxious to keep traveling so our stop was little more
 than a few minutes.

Other than a few small towns, small farms like this
were the only "population centers" we encountered. 

The landscape is only bleak if you keep looking down.
When you lift your eyes a little the scene is beautiful
and changes in kaleidoscope fashion with something
new to see every minute.