Watertown, SD – Day 56: Unhappy Norwegians & Jolly Giants

When I first planned this trip out, I routed my return from Michigan to include the 3 northern states of Minnesota, North Dakota, and Montana. I wanted to check them off the dwindling list of these 50 states that I haven’t visited. That route took me across the northern portion of Wisconsin into those three states. Sitting around the House of Hugget, I pondered that list, and after adding those three, I would only lack 2 states, Iowa and Alaska.

Wait a minute, Iowa is right below Minnesota, so instead of leaving Wisconsin to go to St. Paul, MN, I aimed more south for Rochester, MN. This set up today’s trip so that I could duck into Iowa a short way before heading back north into South Dakota. It is just adding one more day to the trip, big deal, 60 or 61 days, what’s the difference?

Probably the worst thing that has happened on the trip so far was I was diddy-bopping along, zig-zagging my way through the farmland of southern Minnesota, when the road that Google Maps had me on suddenly became dirt. Wet, pothole-y, and mostly cinders. It slowed me to 35 MPH for the next 2-1/2 miles. At my next driving break at a gas station for a snack, the car was ugly and dirty. I hadn’t been washed since Aiken, but this, made it filthy. I should have taken a photo of it, because some of it was washed off during the afternoon drive in the rain.

Probably the coolest thing I’ve seen on the trip so far was during the 2nd half of today’s drive, which was all rain and very low clouds, real low. About 50 miles from Watertown, I was driving along when I noticed a big white pole near the road. As I watched it, all of a sudden a giant blade came rotating by. A second or two later came the next blade. I wish I’d stopped and filmed it. Eerie.

Because I did get into Iowa, I went ahead and found a Roadside America photo to take while there. This one is a statue of a Norwegian immigrant family looking off onto the vast prairie in front of them, called Promise of America Monument. Back into southern Minnesota, and who should I find but a Jolly Green Giant. Ho, ho, ho.