Day 2

 We departed at 7:00am from Belle Plaine, MN and drove through sleet, snow, and horendous winds gusting up to 60 mph!  It made for a long, loud ride.  However, as we neared the Badlands the sun was trying to make an appearence and there were little voids in the cloud cover that allowed some of the blue to peek through.  The winds remained but we were able to see the landscape!  As you make the drive through the National Park in the comfort of a vehicle, you are able to see how difficult the land would be to cross in any other fashion.  And, of course, the "Beware Rattlesnakes" sign in another reminder of how trecherous the terrain can be.

Karsten has been busy looking for wildlife.  She was excited to see dozens of prairie dogs scampering about the landscape.  She and Rick did go out to a couple of overlooks but the winds were so strong we thought she might blow away.  She is on a mission to locate some mountain goats. 

The ride allowed some good reading time.  I finished Sheila Welsh's "God Has a Dream For Your Life".  It is a good book.  The interesting thing for me is to note that "dream" must be my word at the moment.  I love how God knows me so well.  He knows I need to be told many times to be sure I "get it".  So...

This trip we are taking is a bit of a dream come true for me.  Since High School I have wanted to do a road trip around the country.  Well, we are not doing the whole country, but we are getting a nice piece covered in true road trip fashion.  No specific plan or time table.  But then as we drove there in front of us was a billboard that read "What is your dream?"  First song on the radio this morning was a song about daring to dream.  In Sheila's book she talks about realizing dreams, letting dreams go, always having a new dream and how God's dream for us is always bigger than we can imagine.

So, I am really curious about the next dream God has in mind!

For Uncle Tom, we did hit the Corn Palace.  It was interesting to see how the town utilized their natural resource to bring visitor's to the area when the town was just 12 years old.  They redo the entire palace every year.  A project for the summer.  The first palace was built in 1892.  They actually cut ears of corn in half and staple them to the structure.  I am sure the first one was something to behold!