When I began writing this and realized I haven’t been taking pictures these last few days. Sometimes on these trips I get so relaxed that I just enjoy the passing scenery and don’t think to record it other than in my memory.
It’s been a quick trip across the upper Midwest. We’ve seen lots of cornfields.
From Kearney, Nebraska we headed east under smoky skies through Lincoln and Omaha. It wasn’t real smoky, but the skies were not clear – blue above and brownish toward the horizon. In Lincoln, we went by the AAA office in Lincoln to get maps of the surrounding states. We have an outstanding GPS system that we follow, but we also like to spread open a paper map to see the larger picture of where we’ve been and where we’re going.
We’d been seeing what looked like a burger chain named Runza. That struck us as an odd name, but the stores are all over Nebraska, particularly in the eastern part. Deciding to eat the indigenous food, we thought we should at least try one. It was really pretty good – not fantastic but certainly better than the national burger chains.
From Omaha we headed north, sometimes in Iowa and sometimes in South Dakota. We stayed overnight in Sioux Falls. Tired, we just ate supper in the hotel. On a previous overnight in Sioux Falls, we’d gone to look at the falls – very pretty and worth the side excursion – but it was miserably hot and a little smoky, so we stayed at the hotel and went to bed early.
Friday we drove northeast to Minneapolis, but we didn’t go the direct route. Instead, we took the two-lanes through farm country. It’s a pretty land, with farms and woods and some small lakes. We passed more cornfields and what I thought were probably soybeans. I’m not sure I can recognize soybeans in the field, but I know a lot of them are grown in this area, alternating with corn to help replenish the soil. This morning the New York Times lead story was about Minnesota farmers pumping so much groundwater for irrigating corn, soybeans and “fries-friendly” potatoes that they’re depleting the reserves, so maybe some of the low-growing green plants were potatoes instead of soybeans.
Being the midwest, most roads went east-west or north-south, and since we were traveling northeast, we’d take one road for 5 miles, turn left for another 7, turn right for another 10, and so on. It was pretty, and fun to get off the main road, but it got tedious after a while.
We spent Friday evening and Saturday visiting with long-time friends. It was wonderful to see them and catch up with each other. What with Covid and everything else, it’d been five years since we’d been together. Perhaps not surprisingly, we all look a bit older.
Friday evening Andrea noticed a spot on my left forearm – some kind of bite. It wasn’t a mosquito bite. Perhaps a spider? I figured it would go away, but the next morning it was angrier looking. We didn’t know if it was something that could be ignored or if I should have someone look at it. After a lengthy discussion, Gretchen, Andrea and I went to a nearby emergency room to see if someone might be able to tell us what it was.
The ER was at a beautiful hospital, and early on a Saturday afternoon it was mostly empty. The medical staff were friendly and exuded competence. The young doctor said that the mark on my arm might be Lyme disease but it didn’t look quite right. He went off to confer with the other doctor, who came in to look, too. The upshot was that he prescribed a regimen of the antibiotic they use for Lyme just to be on the safe side. He said Lyme is endemic in Minnesota and South Dakota (who knew?). I have no symptoms other than the rash, but it is better to be safe than sorry. I definitely don’t want to get Lyme. This morning it looks like it is going through its cycle of healing, and I still have no symptoms other than the rash. It’s not pretty, though.
Last year we drove to North Carolina and, being about the farthest from home we would get on that trip, we came down with Covid. This year in Minnesota I get something that may or may not be Lyme disease. It isn’t the farthest from home we had planned to go on this trip, but it is close. I hope this is not establishing a pattern.
Regardless, we set off east again this morning, heading across Wisconsin toward Michigan’s Upper Penninsula. We’re in Wausau, Wisconsin tonight. The air is fairly clear, but it is hot – mid-90s – so we are staying inside. Fortunately the hotel I reserved turns out to be a beautiful new one. Our room is a standard king, but it is about twice the size of the standard king room our first night out east of The Dalles.
Travels with Kate 