Epic Ride

OK...sorry I haven't chimed in here. I've been avoiding the whole post-journey reflection. I offically arrived back in Omaha 2 weeks ago on August 8th at about 6:30 pm. Really it seems like just a far off dream I had, now as I've been thrust, of course, into the realities of joblessness in sucky economylessness. I don't forget though that it is the journey and I'm in the midst and I have faith. It's all I have.
Meanwhile I've been trying to have some fun. Amy and I have been tourists in our own town, going to the botanical gardens and me to the Durham Museum to see their show on George Washington Carver. I've been trying to maintain my touring tan by riding as much as possible. I signed up for and ran in my first bike race last Saturday. I figured with all the riding I've been doing I should do all right. You can read more about it and see the results here. More on that later...
It's rather tough to ride around here with all the water. It is a bit depressing here in Omaha with all the flooding. The water has gone down about 4 feet but it really doesn't seem to make a difference. There is one bridge, accessable by bicycle, open for travel over to Council Bluffs. But waa waa right? We just visited Amy's Stepdad, Jim's farm north of Omaha and all their cropland is under a heavy current and to make matters worse last week's hail storm dropped a tree on their house and presumably killed a horse(the horse has not been found!) Just bad, but luckily the house sustained little severe damage. Omaha and surrounds, by far, had the worst flooding that I saw on the trip.

Oh yeah, by the way I'm home now! Got home Monday evening but more on that later...still trying to catch up here :)

Here's my route from Omaha to Rapid City with stops and such. Mileage is not quite accurate as there were many a side excursion...





...and Pierre to Omaha...

FAC at Carey's Bar in Vermillion, SD

I told these guys when they were done with their set that the Vermillion Chamber of Commerce should pay them for keepin folks in town. I was about to leave Vermillion that Friday afternoon when I heard, through the alley, the drunken, sweet notes of the Public Domain Tune Band. I hurried myself up over to the City Park and set up my tent for the night and rushed back downtown to grab myself an oat soda and listen to these excellent musicians and their boisterous interpretations of old time jazz. Loved it! These guys have been playing together for a long time and it shows. The instruments were in lively conversation all evening. They play every Friday Afternoon at Carey's.


Owen DeJong (Violin), Nick Schwebach (Guitar), Christopher Kocher (Sax) and Larry Rohrer (Bass)

This video has a little different instrumentation than what I saw.



Last Night on the Road



View from the Overlook at Preparation Canyon State Park near Pisgah, Iowa

 And here it is, the last night out. It came quick, and actually this whole last leg of the trip, I've been going pretty fast on my way back home. I've seen a lot of beautiful country and Eastern South Dakota should not be discounted.
Last night I stayed in Sioux City with a "warmshowers" host, Mark. Warmshowers is a website that links travelling bicyclists with a place to stay if they need it. Mark answered my call and I'm glad he did. I did not want to camp out around Sioux City. He was a great guy and we went out, with a couple others, for some beers and pizza at El Fredos. Great Pizza!
The flooding there was pretty bad. It forced another detour as my original route followed the riverfront trail. That was all under water.

View of Sioux City Waterfront from Prospect Hill

The Loess Hills of Iowa send constant reminders of the Black Hills of South Dakota, at least from a distance. It is a really beautiful place save for the humidity! There are several scenic routes that run through the hills, each of which are sprinkled with character-filled communities in the valleys. I definitely want to come back and explore more.

I O effin WA !!!

Just crossed into Iowa! Headed into Sioux City. Got about 1100 miles so far. Got about 125 to go. Will cross into Nebraska at Council Bluffs. See yall soon.

Belly Bliss in Yanktown, SD

The China Buffet in Yankton...Oh my, pretty sure they lost money on me.

China Town Buffet, Yankton

Plus a shout out to the Ace bike shop in Yankton. They overhauled my rear hub for $10 and let me borrow a nice bike for the afternoon to keep me toolin' around town.

Rapid City Back-Alley Art and Knee Slapping

There is an alley in downtown Rapid City that has been designated a free art zone. Anyone can throwdown their style on any part of the alley and it's all legal. On the weekends bands set up and throwdown their tunes.

Strings and Yellers

Art Lovers

My Aunt Marj giving me the Tour

Playing with Fire

Here's Your Dam Tour!

Ok, so time at these public libraries is short so here's a quick video drop of the dams up here in SD. They're all pumpin large water and it's all pretty impressive. I have to admit though that I don't really like the idea of dams even if they do produce electricity.  It's interesting how people change one thing and then have to go back and try to change other things to make things like they were if they hadn't of changed things in the first place. This is evident in the striving to "rescue" the paddlefish and the sturgeon fish or the plover.  You can't have both. I don't think folks should live that close to the river and we should just let the river be the river.  Rant rant rant. Just wait until I start talking about RVs! OK, I won't, but I will say I am never staying at a reservoir again! And now for our feature presentation:

Oahe Dam, North of Pierre, SD

Big Bend Dam, Ft Thompson, SD on the Crow Creek Reservation

Ft. Randall Dam, Pickstown, SD

Gavins Point Dam, Yankton, SD

Torturing Animals on the Cowboy Trail

Happy Thots

There are no destinations...only journeys. Try to enjoy them.

The Fort Ramble...

This my view from the Fort Randall Dam where I have the pleasure to camp tonight. I'm actually staying at what was a day-use picnic area. The actual campground is under water. As I get further south along the river, more flooding is evident. In fact my intended route for tomorrow is underwater. Another detour! Not the time to do the Lewis & Clark! Oh well, mainly I wanted to see all the dams. ...

...I can't wait to get video up of Oahe Dam, upstream of Pierre. It had SCARY flowyness! Hopefully in a day or two I'll get a real blog post up. Haven't had any computer access since Rapid. Should be home mid-week next week...I'm ready! Might have a partay. P.S. This week is 1st Friday in Lincoln. Be sure to check out Against the Wall Gallery...6 to 9 pm.

Snake Creek Campground along the Missouri, North of Ft. Randall Dam. Lots of flooding. All the campgrounds were flooded in Chamberlain, SD. Did a motel. Short 'rest' day today in Burke, SD. It's 105f. Think Ill go to the bar & chill! Headin to Ft. Randall Dam t'morra