Road Trip Day 9 - Fairmont, MN

Yeah, I don't really know why we're here either - except that this is the halfway point between Mt. Rushmore and Chicago, our next destination. And apparently, we really didn't want to be here, since somehow, despite checking out of our hotel at 11:00 this morning, we didn't check into the Fairmont Holiday Inn until 10:30 at night. That was definitely an accident.

Another accident was me calling the Super 8 Motel from the road today and booking a room there instead of the Holiday Inn, then marching proudly to the Holiday Inn desk and demanding that there'd been some sort of mistake when they said they didn't have my reservation. As a result, we're now in a seemingly temporary room with a Murphy bed (yes, that's one of those beds that folds down off the wall). But at $39, it still beats me having to break my promise to myself never to stay in a Super 8.

So what the hell did we spend so much time doing today? I have NO idea. I just know we kept following Wall Drug billboards and eventually ended up at this Western bazaar selling crap no one should ever, ever buy. Native American headresses, spurs and gummy candy are all examples of things you might find at Wall Drug. You can also get free ice water, and free coffee and donuts if you are honeymooning. I'm not making this up. We settled on smoothies and a photo of Moby below a very apropos sign.

Then we took a small detour through the Badlands to start our journey. It's basically exactly what it sounds like - a bunch of bad land you wouldn't want to be stuck on. In my opinion, that loop could have been 5 miles, not 35 miles. It was fascinating for the first few minutes, but then it was just hot and dusty. Plus, when we learned the resident prairie dogs were infected with the plague, AND there were rattlesnakes present, I was shockingly uninterested in getting out of the car.

Now here's something interesting. It appears there are 3 things this region is so proud of, it deems them billboard material: Water Parks, Adult Superstores and The Right to Life (is it any coincidence that this last message once appeared outside of a cemetery - yikes?). Okay, the water parks stand on their own - I mean, sure, it's hot here in the summer. I can see how it might be refreshing to learn that there is one just off the freeway on your way to...BFE. But does anyone else raise an eyebrow at the juxtaposition of the adult superstore and the pro-life proselytizing? Doesn't God frown upon porn? I just want to know how many bible-thumpers almost flip their cars exiting to the nearest "Trixie's Treasures."

So after many hours and the sad realization that we would not make it to our hotel at a reasonable hour, we decided we should get dinner. This is more than a notion when you're on I-90 near the South Dakota/Minnesota border. And then finally, it called to me - KFC. Yes! We haven't actually had true fast food on this trip so far (by design), cat-bear burgers yesterday exempt. And chicken sounded so good. After passing the first one by accident and cursing for the next 5 minutes, knowing we wouldn't cross another for at least an hour (try 2 hours), we pulled off in Worthington, MN for some satisfying Colonel goodness. And after one bite, it all came rushing back to me...KFC is the WORST of the chicken chains! Damn you, KFC! I might as well be eating Long John Silver's.