day two: the flat tire

yes, a flat tire. thankfully, we were off the highway seeking some lunch when thud-thud-thud. a shiny screw in my friend's lovely tire. having some experience with tire changing (two flats in the first 6 months of owning my car in orlando), i was quick on the job of emptying the trunk, finding the donut, jack and tools. what i couldn't find, however, was the 'reinforced area' underneath the car where you should place the jack. it was, of course, right in front of my nose but it just didn't look 'reinforced' to me. so, by the time i was working on the jack, a man named lee saw us (me) suffering and came to help. donut on, we went to a tire store down the street, got it plugged and were on our way with only a 2.5 hour delay. good times. good memories.

we made our way through columbia, missouri to kansas city, missouri to council bluffs, iowa (a short detour into omaha, nebraska) and finally to sioux falls, south dakota. what does south dakota look like, you might wonder (but who ever would)? well, there is corn everywhere, along with barns, some trees and a short green plant that we think are potatoes but another source says it might be soybeans. i am skeptical about the beans.

so, what is coming tomorrow?! a long, annoying and uneventful trek across south dakota going due west. to make it more exciting, however, we will make a quick stop at mt. rushmore. then we will keep on truckin' until we get close to yellowstone. but, we will also be stopping at the Corn Palace in Mitchell, South Dakota. yes, it IS a palace made out of corn. i know, you're incredibly jealous. you should be. it's even listed in the book we saw at Barnes & Noble called "1,000 things you must do before you die."

here's a preliminary viewing of the corn palace (which apparently becomes food for the birds from the time it is re-created each year!)