Day 2 - August 29, 2011

Another day of chewing up the miles. Our plan is to travel west on I-70 across Missouri to Kansas City, then turn north following I-29 along the Missouri River past Omaha (Nebraska), Sioux City (Iowa), finally reaching southeast South Dakota at Sioux Falls, and ending at Mitchell, SD -- about 600 miles. That is hard driving for us, but we had high hopes! Well, we were surprised to find that I-29 was closed at Rock Port, MO, due to the flooding of the Missouri River, nearly 60 miles south of Omaha. We were so stunned by the flooded farm houses and barns that I didn't even take any photos! We followed the detour signs through tiny Rock Port, stopping for gasoline and news. I spoke to the two women working at the convenience store about the flood and the impact on their community. The said the flooding took place in June and that I-29 wouldn't be re-opened until "next year sometime." The flood had "ruined our crops, closed our towns, devastated our levees, and ruined businesses." Then, they proceeded to show me a map and discuss our travel plans. They directed us north on two-lane Highway 59 to Interstate 80 in Iowa, saying that we should be able to re-connect with I-29 north of there and continue to South Dakota. Here's a story about the impact of the flood. I read many such stories after googling 'I-29 closing' on the internet. Sid and I were surprised that we weren't aware of the long-term devastation caused by the flooding of the Missouri River.

Although we knew we wouldn't reach our destination of Mitchell, SD, because of the detour, we were back on the two-lane highways that we prefer. Traveling through the small towns of America, seeing the mailboxes and homes of residents, is our kind of trip! We were delighted by the number of windfarms found in the middle of acres and acres of corn fields on this unexpected route. After 576 miles, we settled in for the night in Sioux Falls, SD, with some frozen concoction and protein bars for dinner!