A Little Travelin Does Good

Waking up in Kadoka, SD, you see something you hadn't seen the night before. The sun peeks above the horizon. The sun's rays reach out to everything they can. Some of the rays illuminate a giant metal deer. As you drive by the deer, you read the plaque on its base. The deer's name is "Scrappy the Deer". Every part of the deer from it antlers to its tail are made from scrap metal. It is very impressive that someone can turn old scrap into something big and cool. You stare at it until it is out of view.

You haven't eaten yet, and you do not know this route because your family hasn't traveled it very often. While wondering where you are going to eat, you pass a billboard advertising "1880 Town". It says there is a train diner. Your dad takes the exit and parks across the road. When you pull into the parking lot your mom spots a deer. It is eating the lush green grass, but decides the grass is greener on the other side, so it crawls under the fence.

You walk across the road and see the diner it is a train engine and three train cars from the 1950s. It is obvious that it has sat there for quite a few years with the bright sun beating down on its light blue paint, which has now faded to an almost white color. The entrance building is an old train station. You walk up the ramp and into the train. The inside smells of good food. It is relatively quiet except for some people talking at a table and the food cooking on the stove. When you sit down your sister takes the window seat to stare out. You share an omelet and some tomato juice with your mom. Your sister has a breakfast sandwich and your dad has sausage and eggs. After finishing you look around the antique dining car, you're sitting in. It is easy to imagine it gliding down the tracks rocking back and forth. You exit out the last car and go to the gift shop and entrance to the town. You can't go into the town this time because you don't have enough time. But your mom and you talk to a worker. It sounds like a cool little town. Each of the little buildings in the town have been transported in from all around the state. They are real, old buildings. It's awesome to find out you can even rent costumes. You also learn that this little town is where Dances with Wolves was filmed. And many props from the movie still remain.

You leave the gift shop and walk back across the road. When you get to the passenger side of the vehicle, you spot a doe and her fawn. You grab your camera and take pictures of the sweet, tiny baby drinking off its mom. Another deer, darker than the doe, appears out of another field and starts chasing the doe. When it walks it struts, so you guess it to be a buck. The fawn still has its spots and is this year's baby. The deer disappear into some brush by a pond. It is time to go, so you climb into the vehicle and leave.

Down the road a little ways, you spot some more tornado damage and are able to get some pictures of it. The destruction a tornado can cause is amazing, but many of the places you see are lucky to escape with little damage. Many of the fields are also flattened from rain and wind. It just makes you think about how small you are on this Earth. Soon after seeing the crop fields that were destroyed, you see two giant metal horns peeking above a hill. As you get closer the hill falls and more of the structure is revealed. It turns out to be a giant metal bull head. Why it is there and why it was created remain another mystery in your world.

You're still thinking about that giant metal bull head when you cross into Minnesota. Minnesota is known as the land of 10,000 lakes. You pass a couple that you can see in the distance, most are small. But you also see miles and miles and miles of field and fields of corn. The stalks are only about 3 or 4 feet high right now. You have never seen so much green corn fields in your life. You follow the corn fields, even after you cross into Iowa.

It starts getting dark shortly after you enter Iowa. The sunset is pretty, but doesn't compare to very many you have seen before. But every sunrise and sunset is a blessing. There is not much to see in the dark  except for the taillights and headlights of traffic coming and going. Eventually you reach Davenport, IA. You go to the World's Largest Truckstop the Iowa 80 where you crawl into your memory foam mattress and fall into a peaceful slumber.