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  Left:
This place has a nostalgic, and almost homey feel to it, as I have crossed here so many times, since my first trip over in 1978. This is the Mississippi River at LaCrosse.

Below:
Over on the Minnesota side, at LaCrescent

My van, parked at a Minnesota rest stop. I love rest stops, probably as a carry over from childhood, when we would take trips, sometimes spending hours in the car, before hitting a rest stop to run around, and get snack and a drink. This was also where we would grab countless little guides maps, and pamphlets to read for the next several hours while traveling.


Stopping at a cafe out on the highway, in the rain. The windmill is typical of highway businesses of decades past, which would do all kinds of things to catch the eye of the harried traveler.

Left:
Inside, the place is typical road cuisine. Wireless internet gave me a chance to catch up on some mail, while waiting for my food.

Below:
Just across the border and into South Dakota, I watch it raining on Minnesota.


The South Dakota Rest stops all feature their distinctive trademark concrete teepees. Also note the sign designating the Eisenhower Interstate System. President Eisenhower is the father of the Interstate system. It is said that he got the idea from the Autobahn in Germany; but there is more to it than that. Just after the First World War, Eisenhower was involved in a military sponsored motor  trip across the country. The trip took weeks, and turned out to be quite the adventure. He was appalled that such a journey, across a major industrial power should be such an undertaking.

The rest stop, on I90, just across the Minnesota/South Dakota border. 


As always, I consider the humble soft drink dispenser to be one of the hallmarks of gracious, civilized travel.


Left:
Various picnic areas and shelters adorn most rest areas.

Below:
Tourists doing what tourists do.


Left:
 one of many signs, indicating the proximaty of Wall Drugs. Countless wall drug signs, some thousands of miles away, on other continents, have made this place one of the most widely known road stops in the world.

Below:
South Dakota, the West, and The Great Plains.

Left:
 More wall Drugs advertisements. As Wall approached, these become more frequent.

Below:
As the sun nears the horizon, I catch my first glimpse of The Badlands.

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