Missouri and a South Dakota ditch

We finally made it to Kansas city later that evening. On the way, we had resolved our disputes, and were able to chalk it up to miscommunication, and over exposure… to each other. But tomorrow was a new day; and we vowed to make it a good one. We woke up with smiles on our faces, knowing that we would soon be eating at our our third stop on the D3 tour: Mamas 39th Street Diner (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ozuXya-t_nw)

As we were shown to our table, we grabbed a local paper, committed to taking our time with this meal. The dim lighting fit perfectly with the wet and windy weather, outside. The highlight of Mama's was their corned beef, so we ordered multiple dishes featuring just that: a bacon, corned beef and cheddar omelet with cheese grits and hashbrowns, and an order of two oinks (sausage links wrapped in pancakes) with a side of corned beef hash.

We settled in, with our coffees and newspapers, and were ready for the table of food that was coming our way. After we finished, we both decided, that the Guy missed the mark. We aren't saying it was bad food, just food that we could have eaten anywhere else. 2 burps.

As we left Kansas City, we saw just about every other building being refurbished, or torn down to make way for new structures. The entire city was under construction. It was a hopeful scene. Our hope was crushed when we reached St. Joseph, Missouri. It was a gloomy, poverty riven town, that seemed to be falling apart at every corner.

We had intended to tour the home where the Legendary, Jesse James was murdered by Bob Ford, but when we arrived, the site was closed. Determined, we crept around the house, starring through the windows, and seeing the room where James had stood to dust, and straighten a painting, just before a bullet rushed through the back of his head. A shot from which the city of St. Joseph never seemed to recover. We had Chills. Followed immediately by tears as we looked out to the the single saddest city this country has ever hosted. We had to leave immediately, before the sadness of the city suffocated us.

When we made it to Sioux Falls, South Dakota, it was about six o'clock in the evening. We had a choice: Stay the night in Sioux Falls, wake up, and drive seven hours to Mount Rushmore; or we could keep driving three and a half more hours, stay over in Pierre, and drive only three and a half hours the next morning. My gut said stay. We gassed up and headed West, towards Pierre. About an hour into our drive, we noticed two cars stranded in the center median, between I-90 West and I-90 East. They were obviously in distress, and I had thought to pull over and see if they needed help. As that thought filtered through my mind, a concerned Jojo warned me to watch my speed. Even though I was already doing five miles per hour below the the posted limit of seventy-five, I began to slow down. It was ill-timed. Without warning, the roads turned from clean and clear, to a snowy mess. No snow had been falling, but the wind had blown snow from across the blanketed plains, and onto the road. We hit a patch of snow, and XDMLX started to swerve. I knew, that if I had tried to recover at that speed by using the wheel or excessive breaks, the car would have flipped, and the results would have been disastrous. We slid across the left lane, and I loosened my grip on the wheel. Knowing we were, at the very least, going off-road, I yelled to Jojo to hold on, and braced myself, as the car flew across the median, heading for oncoming traffic. Before we ended up in the eastbound lanes, I jerked the wheel, hard-right. To our luck, the tires gripped and we slid perpendicular to the roads, down the center median.

After what seemed to be an eternity, the car came to a stop between both lanes. I looked to Jojo, made sure she was OK, put the car in park, and took a breath. I got out of the car and checked if there was any damage. There was none. Just three feet of snow, and darkness. I was amazed. THANK GOD FOR AAA. They sent a trooper and a tow service about thirty minutes later.

Once we were pulled from the ditch, we turned off at the next exit, examined the car again, and checked into a motel. We put the bags in the room, and headed straight to the bar. After a glass of pinot grigio, and a double of The Glenlivet, Jojo and I leveled out. We talked with a kid that was being transferred from Seattle, Washington to Columbus, Ohio. He too, was stranded by the snow-wind, and warned us that the further West, the worse the weather. We warned him to stay in Columbus, and out of Cleveland.

These are pictures from the day after on the same road. It seems other suffered the same situation.