05-31-11 Off the Wall

05-31-11

Let the madness in the music get to you
Life ain't so bad at all
If you live it off the wall
Life ain't so bad at all
Live your life off the wall


319.7 Miles

Today is a long day’s journey into night. I’ll be driving over 200 miles before the day is done. I’m determined to get past Mordo (sounds like a villain from Dr. Strange!) and go back in time! The time changes right at that city. Mountain on the west side, central on the east and (at some point, I expect, me in the middle)
My first stop of the day is in Mitchell  The famous Corn Palace  I expect it to be just that - Corn! But I’ll go anyway, just to see the bear, as they say. And also it may be a good place for gas. As I leave, I see the prices have again gone down. It’s 3.62 today and if I wasn’t already ¾ full already I’d have gotten more…but I figure…I’ll just get more along the way.
In Mitchell it’s 3.89 at the lowest. Screw that! I drive by the Corn Palace and the associated “Downtown” area. There are some interesting places along the main drag. I pass by radio KORN, I didn’t hear thme but I liked the idea of the station named after the palace tourist trap. As I drive out of town I discover the real town. I kind of liked it old town homes and age old stone buildings. Show me THAT as a tourist attraction I think!
Just before the  road leading back to the 90 onramp I pull over and check my oil. I haven’t been doing my normal  checks. It’s a good thing I did. No Oil is showing on the dipstick. I put in two quarts from my supply in the trunk and I’m back to level again. It’s dirty and I needd to get an oil change at some point, but I can’t afford in time or money  it just yet.
I head west again listening to NPR’s Pierre station where the South Dakota Governor and his project heads are all talking about the imminent flooding of Pierre and the Dakota Downs areas by the Missouri River. National Guard and support from neighboring states have been brought to bare, but residents of the downs are being evacuated in advance of unavoidable flooding by Thursday. I had though of going by there and perhaps camping their this night (time change happens there too!) but the message is “If you don’t have official business here  stay away!” I’d though of going up just to help fill sand bags until I’d heard their directive. I can understand that.