Towards the Mississippi...

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Rulo, Nebraska

This weekend finds me headed towards Hannibal, Missouri and the mighty Mississippi River. I spent a day taking photographs around Burlington, Iowa back in 2008 and have wanted to head back to the Mississippi ever since. For those who may not know, Hannibal holds a special place in American folklore as the childhood home of Mark Twain and his literary creations like Tom Sawyer. It's one of those places that I have wanted to visit for as long as I can remember.

As for today, I meandered to Chillicothe, Missouri via Rulo, Nebraska and Highway 7 in northeastern Kansas. The weather chose not to cooperate, as it sometimes does, but I still got in a few solid photographs over the course of the day.

I did manage to meet two very angry dogs on main street in White Cloud, Kansas and get lost (again) in St. Joseph, Missouri. St. Joe completely throws off my internal compass for one reason or another.

Also visited: Troy and Wathena, Kansas. Watson, Phelps City, Corning, Craig, Big Lake, Easton, Hemple, Hamilton, Mooresville, Ludlow and Dawn, Missouri.

Onward to Pierre

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Lake Oahe, near Pierre 

Chamberlain at dusk


I left Mitchell this morning and headed toward the state capital in Pierre. It was a lot like a drive through western Nebraska - small towns few and far between with nothing but fields and grasslands as far as the eye can see. The drive around the southern edge of Lake Sharpe is fantastic, if the road is a bit lumpy, and completely isolated. After leaving the Native American settlement of Fort Thompson, there was not a single gas station or much of any sign of civilization until reaching Fort Pierre an hour and a half later. In the end, Pierre was only mildly interesting. The city is mostly a single strip of chain restaurants and stores without many unique qualities other than the state capital grounds.

Also visited: Letcher, Woonsocket, Lane, Wessington Springs, Big Bend Dam, Lower Brule, Vivian and Kimball, South Dakota.

South Dakota

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near Dimock, South Dakota



Today was a very, very, very windy day in South Dakota. Not occasional gusts, either, but this incredible, ever-present south wind that made it difficult to operate car doors and take steady photographs. An elderly gentleman in Irene told me that it's usually windy there - but not always this windy - and sometimes more windy. I just smiled.

I do have to say that I like south-eastern South Dakota a lot. There are a lot of narrow gravel roads and wide open spaces to explore, plus the huge skies are fantastic. It feels good to get out on the road for a few days towards some place new.

I am spending the night in Mitchell, home of the world famous Corn Palace, many souvenir stands and cowboy-themed restaurants. Mitchell is an easy day's drive from the Black Hills on I-90 and attracts more than its share of tourists this time of the year. Tomorrow I'll be headed towards the state capital of Pierre and  Lake Oahe.

The image above was edited with Nik Software's Snapseed on my iPad. It's a nifty app, although the iPad's limitations make it difficult to post to Blogger via the device. I eventually emailed the edited image back to myself and created this post on my dreadfully slow netbook.


Also visited: Riverside, Iowa. Hub City, Volin, Menno, Olivet, Tripp and Parkston, South Dakota.