So far South Dakota has not been that bad of a place to live. The whole state is laid back. There is a total of 750,000 people in the whole state. For those of you that cannot comprehend that number, it is the equivalent of the city of Columbus, Ohio (not all the small towns around it). Now spread that out through out a state that is pretty much two Ohio's placed next to each other. Needless to say it is a little different than Allison and I are used to.
We were driving back from Rapid City yesterday from our weekend get-away. It was roughly 200 miles and the drive was beautiful. It was Allison's first trip out of Pierre since we arrived in South Dakota. . I get to see what South Dakota has to offer every day and I wanted to show Allison these places. We took the backroads, though they aren't really much different from THE Interstate ave for 75 mph speed limit and 2 lane road instead of 4). As we drove through the Badlands and the countryside we both could not help but marvel at the awesomeness of our surroundings.
To many times in major, or any, cities people get lost in their surroundings. People rarely, if ever, take the time to see what or how things are just on their own. Our trip was phenomenal. We saw a golden eagle and its nest. We saw tons of deer and cows (not to impressive for people from Ohio, but cool none the less). We went early in the morning to Mount Rushmore and got to hear the silence. All we heard was the hard blowing wind in the trees and see the sun over top of the mountains and trees. The Black Hills are beautiful, but standing on the eastern part of the hills and looking out into the plains (where Pierre is located) was inspiring as well.
Growing up in Ohio I can appreciate farm land, but there are alot trees. South Dakota has fewer trees than people (meaning hardly any at all). So as you are driving you can easily see at least 30-40 miles in every direction. It is amazing. The land makes you feel so small. The colors already in March are something to see. I cannot wait for the summer when everything is alive and more colorful.
The only things that eluded us, which I was hoping Allison could see since I have a couple of times, was a herd of buffalo and an american bald eagle. Allison said that the buffalo apparently are her "great white buffalo." We have plenty of time to see these of course, but I was hoping for her to get to see them.
I have rambled a lot. I have tried to piece this post together as best I can, but not sure if I did a good job. I cannot express in my limited vocabulary how wonderful it is to see this state. I know it will be an adjustment for us to move back to a more popular area, but I am hoping that we enjoy our time here as much as possible. If you have not had a chance I recommend driving out west and taking as many backroads as possible. Get off of the highway and enjoy the scenery.
I will try and post some pictures when we get some internet service at our apartment.
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