It was early, to be sure, but it wasn't the butt-ugly-early o'clock I usually leave at. The weather report on the TV last night was calling for a front to roll across the Dakotas today and hit Minnesota this evening. Nothing drastic, a bit of wind, a bit of rain; this would be the end of the ideal weather that we were having all weekend. There is a bit of snow in Denver, but nothing too bad and it it should be gone by nightfall.
So there I was saying how nice it was not to be trying to beat a harsh weather system home.
My route home takes one of three logical routes. All three begin the same way; west on Minnesota highway 27 to South Dakota then a few miles further on and I jump onto I-29 southbound until I reach Sioux Falls. At this point, I can either go south through Indiana to pick-up I-80 at Omaha, Nebraska, and then west to I-76 Southwest home into Denver. Alternatively, I can take I-90 west out of Sioux Falls to Murdo, South Dakota where I pick-up US-83 south to I-80 at North Platte, Nebraska and then follow it west, to I-76, etc. In certain conditions, I can even keep going west on I-90 all the way to Cedar Rapids and take the back-roads through South Dakota and Wyoming and pick-up I-25 south into Denver. This last one is the longest, but in parts is also the most scenic.
Today it would not have mattered which I took. Here's a news flash for you:
THE WEATHER REPORTS WERE WRONG!
It is just about nine o'clock and I am sitting a hotel room in Rosebud, South Dakota. The first signs of this day going wrong actually came along about the time I crossed the dam at the top of Traverse Lake on the border between South Dakota and Minnesota.
I had been on the road for about an hour and the cloud deck was building. The wind was ripping. My poor car was being tossed about pretty severely as I crossed the dam. I looked into Traverse lake and saw that there were miniature whitecaps on the lake at least three-or-four inches high. That may not sound like much, but it isn't that big a lake!
I got-out when I reached the interstate to top off my tank. For the first time today, (not for the last) I regretted wearing sandals and packing my sweatshirt. The temperatures were noticeably colder than they had been at Dad & Flo's. Not actually "COLD" but cool and windy enough that anything more than a few minutes would have been uncomfortable. The steady wind blowing out of the north was a wonder on my gas mileage.
I decided to take the B route because the traffic back-up while approaching I-90 convinced me not to see how long it might take me to get to Iowa. I headed west. As I drove, the cloud cover kept building, and by the time I hit Mitchell (home of the world famous Corn Palace), Sd, I was driving in a fairly steady drizzle. By the time I reached Murdo, it was snow but not yet accumulating. US-83 started-out as a good drive but steadily declined.
It is now about nine o'clock at night and I am in a hotel just a stone's throw north of the South Dakota/Nebraska state line. The trip started looking doubtful about twenty miles north of here. The snow became heavy and constant. The first sign that there was going to be trouble, ironically, was the road signs. The snow was sticking where it was blown and was completely obscured the road signs. About ten miles back, the road became a bit slushy. It became almost too treacherous to navigate a couple miles back and I decided to keep going until I reached this hotel.
I guess it was a good decision. The room cost about $100.00 but I won $60.00 at the casino. The weathercast that I just watched (if it can be believed) shows that none of the three routes escaped snow. It also shows that it is still snowing in Denver. I guess I'll turn in and try again tomorrow.
I hope that wherever you are this evening, you've had clear, dry roads and good weather all day!
Don Bergquist - 24th April 2006 - Rosebud, South Dakota
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