In order to see my friends, J and S, and their son, in Des Moines, before they moved, I had to make tracks south and east, from Pipestone.  I got into DM late Monday night, staying at the Village Inn Motel.  The next day, finding myself with a cash flow issue, the day before payday, I opted to spend most of the day in the Des Moines Central Library.  There were some gems to be seen, in downtown Des Moines, as I waited for my evening visit with the peeps.

Here are the major Baptist, Roman Catholic and Lutheran edifices, respectively, in Des Moines.

Next, are some views of the central business district.

I spent about two hours with the G family, in east Des Moines, including finding out how well a little guy can ride his horsey.

When the family was ready to call it a night, I headed for the Capitol district.  Night in Des Moines can be surprisingly noisy, even on a Tuesday.  I reveled in the sounds- rockabilly and hiphop, while checking out the lighting of the Iowa Capitol Building, and its adjunct facilities.

To top it all off, I was delighted to find that Iowa’s rest areas have WiFi, which I needed that night, and are safe enough to stay the night.  So, “free” accommodations it was. 🙂

I don’t know about President Van Buren, for whom the western Arkansas city is named, but there is little boring about this comfortable, welcoming and historic neighbour of Fort Smith.  After  a classic French dip lunch at Ed Walker’s, in FS,

I made the short drive to Old Van Buren, and its Train Station Visitor Center.

The premier collection in this small museum is of fine crystal glass.

On July 21, 1985, Van Buren grabbed the attention of the world at large.  Let the National Transportation Safety Board tell the story:

“About 7:51 p.m. on June 21, 1985 a privately-owned, 70,000-pounnd tractor-semitrailer operating in interstate commerce under a trip-lease agreement with C. Maxwell Trucking Company, Inc., lost control while descending a steep 3,439-foot-grade on southbound State Route 59 in downtown Van Buren, Arkansas. The truck collided with the rear of, and overrode, a station wagon which was stopped at the bottom of the hill. The truck and the station wagon continued 84 feet forward, across an intersection, up a curb, and through a guardrail. They then traveled another 22 feet and struck two commercial buildings. A fire ensued and engulfed both vehicles and three buildings. Both occupants in the truck and the seven occupants in the station wagon were fatally injured.

The National Transportation Safety Board determines that the probable cause of this accident was the failure of the truck driver to comply with regulatory signs and to properly use limited service brakes and transmission for speed control purposes, which permitted the tractor-semitrailer to accelerate to a high speed while descending the steep grade on State Route 59. Contributing to the accident were the improper adjustment of the vehicle’s service brakes due to inadequate vehicle maintenance; the truck driver’s lack of experience, maturity, and training required for interstate truck drivers; and the absence of an adequate surveillance and enforcement program for the trucking system. “

The community remembered the fallen, and moved on, while preserving the best of its past.

It goes back to the old, one-room Pike School.

It was sweet to cap this visit with a sweet, cool latte at Coffee and a Good Book.

Finally, here’s a hint, that definitely did not come from Heloise (homemaker’s radio show, of the 1940’s).

Next up:  Little Rock’s Riverfront

I capped Monday, July 22, with a short tour of  the town of Pipestone, MN, a short three miles from the National Monument.  A tall iced tea helped me with the all-important message check, at this fine hotel, the Calumet.

A drive around town showed some fine late 19th Century churches and civic buildings.

This is no Lake Wobegon, though the women are strong, and lovely.

I am going to post about my current trip, simultaneously with the remaining segments on my spiritual journey of last month.  The purpose of this long jaunt is more about specifically connecting with people- my family and my cyberfamily.  There were critical elements of that social connection in the last trip, also, but my struggle with myself took center stage.  There will be spiritual aspects on the current trip as well, especially when I stop for some hikes, on my way back west.

I had intended, on Saturday, August 24, to attend a picnic for my American Legion Post, until about 1 PM.  Rain intervened, and while I didn’t get out of town until 1, anyway, I drove as far as Santa Rosa, NM, before calling a halt to Day 1.  Here, I found a good motel, American Inn.

Santa Rosa and its sister city, Tucumcari, are good places to rest, going back and forth from Arizona to anywhere along the mid-southern corridor.

There was someone waiting for me in Amarillo, though, so I did not avail myself of Santa Rosa’s blue lakes or Tucumcari’s dinosaur museum. I kept on, to the Blue Front Cafe, and an hour or two of banter with my old friend, Texas Tidbits, aka Wes H.

Once 2 PM rolled around, the cafe closed, Wes and I gabbed for about twenty more minutes outside, and I was on my way again.  After hearing from my Oklahoma City friends that everyone was either busy or sick, I rolled through the north Texas plains, which are rougher than you might think.  This is, after all Tejas, and nothing is all that easy, except the bantering.

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I stopped briefly at a Texas Travel Center, west of the hamlet of Alanreed, took the above two photos, and had a White Knight moment, helping a woman unlatch the hood of her Ford.  It took me about ten minutes of investigation before locating the latch release, but, one and done.  I was to cross the entire state of Oklahoma in one fell swoop, before landing for the night, at a Knight’s Inn, as luck would have it, in Fort Smith, AR.  One does, however, have to oblige the Sooner State with at least one photograph, however, so here is the Oklahoma Visitor Center, in Midwest City, where I stopped and said prayers for my sick Oklahoma friends, and for the people in Moore, who are still rebuilding.

Next:  Fort Smith National Historic Site

Going across the length of South Dakota, one could easily get the impression there is a void, aching to be filled, either by hydraulic fracturing, as in its northern neighbour, or by patented corn, as in Nebraska, to the south.  In the midst of this seeming void, near the hamlet of Belvidere, I looked heavenward, and was answered by these:

After a satisfying meal at JR’s Cafe, just off I-90, I drove on to Mitchell, best known as the hometown of the late Senator George McGovern.  I got a good night’s sleep and spent the first part of the morning looking around Mitchell’s downtown.  Here, one finds the Corn Palace, a favourite of families with school-age children.

You can see, it’s impressive and kitschy at the same time.  Also impressive, at least to me, is the left-over steam pipe from an old school building, on the south edge of downtown.

While I enjoyed a nice lunch at Grandma Max’s, in Sioux Falls, and enjoyed the banter of the truck drivers as they flirted with a pretty waitress, I did not have time to explore South Dakota’s largest city.  My destination on Monday, July 22 was Pipestone National Monument.  So, I drove over that way, via a back road that took me through Garretson, SD, and scenes like this;

Something tells me that the farms, and their steadfast, hardworking adherents, will be back.  The good people of the soil have always ebbed and flowed like prairie grass.

Next:  Pipestone National Monument, MN

The first time I visited the Black Hills, with Penny, in 1984, we avoided Custer, SD, because we were both so disgusted about Little Big Horn.

I went there this time, because it had plenty of motel vacancies and I needed a shower.  The next day, July 21, I enjoyed breakfast at Baker’s Bakery, the food being far more imaginative than the establishment’s name.  A bustling, and engaging young man named Seth was my server, and applied himself very well to making his guests feel at home.  The chorizo  omelet was a sheer delight.

After breakfast, I walked around Custer.  Here are some things I noticed.  Below, is Custer County Courthouse.

Next, one of the first settler’s homes in town.

Local rocks are well-displayed at this shop, which was closed that Sunday morning.

Custer’s downtown was just starting to stir.

The town’s very own hill was clearly marked.

Buckhorn Mountain was not marked, but rose prominently, to the northeast, nonetheless.

Custer, the town, is a lovely, welcoming place- a far cry  from its namesake, the General.

On Saturday, July 20, I took an evening respite from the wild and wonderful, and joined the masses at Gutzon Borglum’s  epic memorial to our nation:  Mount Rushmore.

Each state has its flag and a granite slab, set in its honour, along the Grand Concourse.

The mountain, before the monument was carved, looked something like this.

Now, there are vantage points, from which to focus on one ,or several of the presidents.

I had a simple supper in Mount Rushmore’s dining hall, then took a brief hike under the sculptures.  After that, the Great Black Hills lodging hunt yielded me a room in Custer.

The next morning, after a delectable breakfast and brief walk around Custer (see next post), I spent an hour or so at Crazy Horse Monument, the memorial to the great Oglala Lakota chief, started by Korczak Ziolkowski, in 1948.  As you will note, it is far from finished.  The family, and the foundation now guiding its work, continue to carve, blast and fine-tune this magnificent edifice.                                                                                                                                            

I took some time to look around the Visitor Center, and to walk around the garden grounds, before setting off for Black Elk Peak’s southern slopes. (see post on Saturday).

Driving away, I got one last look at Chief Crazy Horse.

Next:  A Morning in Custer, SD