6 Aug 2008

A Bug’s Life

If you were a bug accompanying us on our ride through South Dakota (firmly plastered to our front windshield, of course), you would have seen two hairy-faced punks staring straight ahead, for the most part; and through our rear-view mirror, a sprinkling of cars and a handful of motorcycles falling far behind as we zoom across this beautiful state.
You’d see trees standing few and far between, see them standing in small clumps so bravely, so defiantly, in the middle of green-gold fields with rolls of grain scattered all over the place, making for an endlessly picturesque scene. Or else it’d just be one, lone tree looking all dramatic, as if ready to make a speech or a prophecy or something. It’s then that you’d see our heads turn, our eyes listening intently, perhaps a camera capturing the moment on film…
Depending on when you smacked the ‘shield, you might have gotten drenched by the rain that fell this morning.
You probably also would have noticed when we detoured to the Corn Palace in Mitchell, SD and then circled north on another one of our spontaneous excursions, the state is plain uninhabited. We could literally stand in the middle of the road to shoot our photos—we could see the occasional car coming a full three minutes before it actually arrived.
And if you could turn your flattened head to the left after we parked our car on the grass next to our KOA tent site, you would have observed our sincere, yet silly attempts to make fire. Like two Neanderthals, we pressed buttons, turned dials, and pounded our fists. We shouted at the Coleman camping stove and danced all around it with our mini flames. We imagined the task a simple one, but despite our “best efforts” we couldn’t figure out a way to boil water or heat up some Southwestern black bean soup.  We settled for PB & J and apple juice instead. (by the way, out of curiosity, what would you have done to start a fire if you had been here? you can be serious or creative or both.)
Fatally stuck to the glass on our car and unable to join the local Badlanders as they feasted on the blood of two JPC’s wandering through the park around sunset, you also might have felt a little bit jealous. I know I would.