Oh! Prairie! My love ... holds on, holds on.

But you shoulda' been gone -
Long ago, far away
You shoulda' been gone
After Mr. Sunshine had his say ...

Grrr. Brr. Bleh. My delight at receiving information about my trip has been dampened. Somebody thinks my idea to roam the prairie is stupid. Somebody got outright mean about making fun of it. But that's okay in the end, I guess. Somebody just won't get any ice cream. Heh.

Among the treasures which did arrive this weekend, I got a rather large highway map of South Dakota. Which, I suppose, is a good thing, considering that no local bookstore had any information whatsoever about the region. There were books about Ohio. There were plenty of guides detailing Chicago. And then .... nothing. If I didn't know better, I'd assume that there's some sort of vast chasm between the Midwest and Vegas. It just surprised me, somehow, that there was nothing to be had about, say, Mount Rushmore. Not even so much as a flimsy map in the so-called travel section! Sheesh.

My car has requested that I mention its delight that I finally, finally emptied out all the change from its various nooks and crannies (read: drink holders). Twelve bucks! Who knew?

Days until trip: 323
Money Saved: $197.00