Traveling directly west of Storm Lake on the county roads leads you right past a few of these impressive windmills.

Steve is famous in this cafe for bringing them Elvis (on the wall behind us).  He was also kind enough to help be find my way around Le Mars, IA.

The Big Sioux River marks my departure from Iowa and entry into South Dakota.  This turned out to be an almost traffic free place to cross and a good route overall from Le Mars, IA to Yankton, SD.

The Missouri River is impressive and so was the bridge that claimed the life of a crane operator in the making.  Again this was a lightly traveled location for crossing from South Dakota to Nebraska.

Brenda and Kelly surprised me by knowing that I had arrived at my destination when I didn't know where that was exactly.  The Turtle Butte is a restaurant, bar, and hotel.  Besides the great folks that run it the big plus is the entire place is smoke-free.

The whippoorwills keep laughing at me.  As do some of the local residents, I suspect.  What a fool-hardy thing to be doing, riding your bike in 90 degree heat.  Today I'd have to agree -- stopping about 30 miles shy of the 95 mile route I had foolishly planned for today.

The trip from Iowa to South Dakota and now Nebraska has been pretty good.  Mostly favorable conditions and some good casual conversation.

The route I choose from Iowa to South Dakota worked better than expected -- bypassing a region of long steep hills.  The towns of Vermillion and Yankton both make worthy stopping places.  Yankton has a nice bike shop, river front parks, and a state park nearby.  I crossed into Nebraska near Niobrara (nigh - o - brear - a).  There are few good hills here but none that are terribly punishing.

Spencer and Springview are really small towns yet they have all the amenities -- groceries, lodging, camping, and a post office.  Last night in Spencer I stayed at the Skyline Motel and tonight I'm at the Turtle Butte in Springview.  Since I couldn't verify the existence of a place to camp or stay in Springview, I called upon Team Digression to sort things out.  Because of a lack of cell service, I still hadn't heard back by the time I arrived in Springview.  Looking around I didn't see a hotel so I pulled into a cafe for refreshments and suggestions.  Upon entering, the young woman said, "we have your room all ready for you."  After a moments disorientation, I realized I had accidentally stumbled into the hotel and Pat had already made the arrangements.  What a wonderful relief it was because I was done with today.  Most remarkably, twenty percent of the miles for the entire trip are now behind me.

Brendan and Kelly were very interested my trip and even ventured out into the hot sun to see the bike.  It would appear that the computer is the most impressive item I carry but I still think it's the stove and cook set.

Tomorrow I'll camp and use that cook set as I'll travel a mere 50 miles toward Valentine.  Brenda informs me that west of Valentine is the real center of nowhere.  Putting her finger down on the map along my chosen route, she said, "I think there's a tree right about here."  I have to admit these look like scary times ahead because I think I'm going to be seeing a lot of nowhere for a long time.

-joe