Day 3 - Midnight at The Oasis

Beginning Miles - 72050
Ending Miles - 71703
Total today - 347

It was cold this morning in Gretna (Omaha), Nebraska. 39 degrees. The heat pump had a hard time keeping up during the night. Good thing we have a 12 pound heating unit - Chrissy!

We pulled out about 8:00 a.m. headed for South Dakota. We crossed the Mormon Bridge over the Missouri River to enter Iowa. I keep seeing dotted lines on the GPS unit when we get close to a state line. David explained that there really were dotted lines on the pavement. He said it was much like the new cooler units at WalMart: When you get close to them, the lights come on from an energy saving mode. He looked out his window just as we crossed the "dotted line," and he swore the dotted line was briefly lit up on the pavement. That's his story and he's sticking to it.

We crossed into South Dakota at 10:30 a.m. and took a short break. David and James got out to stretch their legs and have their picture taken. On the way back to the RV, we saw a truck with a rat picture on the back. We've all seen "How's My Driving?" stickers, but this one was great, "RAT ON ME."

Tomorrow we're headed to Wall, SD. If you've ever gone to Chattanooga, you've seen the "SEE ROCK CITY" barns and signs everywhere. Same goes for Wall Drug in Wall, SD. On I-29, I counted 8 signs. On I-90, I've counted 26 so far and we're not there yet!

We spotted smoke coming from the Souix City area. Twenty miles later we came upon a barn fire. It's amazing you can see the smoke from such a distance. It's fairly flat here with a few occasional hills. We're getting 10-12 mpg on the truck driving flat country and keeping the speed down. Check out the gas prices on the right hand side of the blog!

We passed a sculpture garden that featured the "World's Largest Bull Sculpture." I'll have to take their word for it.

Just before we got to Mitchell and the Corn Palace, we saw several signs for "Dick's Body Shop." One of the signs mentioned "24 Hour TOE Service." Does this mean if I break a toenail, he'll fix it regardless of the hour? What if I need a new coat of nail polish.....

Another strange sign we keep seeing is "Drive in your lane." Not quite sure why I'd be driving in someone else's lane...

We stopped briefly at the corn palace. It's billed as the world's largest bird feeder. The decorations on the outside are made of all corn products. We learned that since we were there two years ago, the corn crop failed and for the first time in MANY years, the designed wasn't changed for two years. The designs inside the building are changed every 10-15 years.

More strange signs: Eat Here (Then Get Gas) outside Doowah Ditti's Cafe off I-90.

Saw a pheasant walking SLOWLY across I-90. Beautiful bird and I hope he made it!

We decided to stop for the night at The Oasis Campground across from Big Al's Oasis Restaurant - Coffee $.05. I've got a new song stuck in my head - MIDNIGHT AT THE OASIS. We pulled in and the office is closed. There's a note to find a spot and they'll be by later to collect payment.

David has a steak marinating in Dale's Sauce and some chicken so we can have a grilled lunch tomorrow.

We got to the campground at 4:10 p.m. It's 69 degrees, sunny, and a 14 mph sustained wind. There is rain headed in our direction, but it may fall apart before it reaches us.

Boy did I miss that one. About the time the charcoal started getting hot, the bottom fell out! Cooked dinner with George Forman. Still, it was great!

Supposed to be down in the 30's here tonight!

Finished "Alice's Tulips" and will start "The Shack" tonight if I can get it away from David.

Hoping David Archuleta is going home on AI tonight. He probably won't and it will be the two David's next week. Sorry to see Marissa and Tony go on DWTS, but it was time.

See ya down the road!

Jenny :)