Road to Alaska: Springfield to Mitchell

Mountain Dew is my friend.  I dreaded the 10 hour drive today but a bottle and a half of Mountain Dew made this drive the easiest so far.  I don't drink coffee or tea, so I always struggled with getting caffeine.  I don't particularly want to drink soda first thing in the morning, but after yesterday I realized I need it.  I did stock up on energy drinks, but they didn't help me stay awake.  From here on out, it's Mountain Dew all the way. 

Today I got an early start at 0430 thanks to Millie waking me up. I saw the sunrise from my rear view mirror while driving (& thermometer said it was minus 3 degrees Fahrenheit outside). It's actually a good thing because the early start got me to my hotel just after sundown.  I didn't really want to drive after dark too much since there's long stretches of nothing where I was driving.  Thanks to the Mountain Dew, I didn't feel the need to stop much for a rest.  However, I ended up stopping a lot anyways because the Mountain Dew made me pee a lot.  Luck would have it though that there was only ONE rest area the first 5.5 hours of my drive.  On top of that, there were very few towns with shops or gas stations to stop in.  I'd come across a sign for a town thinking, "Cool, I can stop."  Only to approach the exit and see nothing but an unmarked building off to the left or right.  So I curse and keep on....

The drive from Illinois to South Dakota was uneventful.  Traffic was sparse, road conditions were good, and the scenery never changed.  If I was lucky I would find the occasional 80's or other songs I know on the radio and sing along.  Rest of the time I'm flipping through the radio station looking for the one in ten channels that's not playing country music.  The highlight of my day was finding a car wash.  My car was filthy and it was bothering me.  I feel clean now. 

Millie is a very good puppy lately.  She seemed to have gotten used to the ride.  She only whines when she needs to go potty, or when she sees me eating because she wants some too.  She had a lot of pent up energy upon checking into the hotel though, and spent about an hour or so jumping around on the beds and playing.

Tonight I am in Mitchell, SD, home of the "World's Only" Corn Palace.  I know this because I saw a sign every 5 minutes while approaching my destination.  No, I am not going to check it out.  I have better things to do.

I have a busy day planned for tomorrow.  After about 5 hours drive, I should be hitting Mt. Rushmore.  If I have time I'd like to take Millie to Bear Butt State Park for a walk.  Then a night in Sturgis.  I want to get up early tomorrow but I'm pretty wide awake now (darn Mountain Dew).  I hope I can get to sleep soon.

Road to Alaska: Columbus to Springfield

Ice at rest area

Today was a 6 hour drive (plus stops) to my dad's in Springfield, IL.  It was supposed to be an easy drive today but I was sleepy the whole way.  I suck at long distance driving. I think I stopped at every rest stop along the way.  I'll have to make sure I caffeine up for the 10 hour drive tomorrow.

Road conditions today was actually pretty good.  Aside from the sun and snow blinding me, it was good driving conditions.  There was a short stretch of highway that had some snow cover, but mostly it was clear.  The side roads and such weren't so clear, but it wasn't too much worse than what we had back in Virginia last week.

I'm at dad's now waiting for dinner.  I skipped lunch (couldn't be bothered to stop in town to get food) so I am starving.  Chili mac for dinner.  And trying not to get hooked on NCIS marathon.  Gotta get up early tomorrow for the drive.