Here is a quick update to let you guys know what I’ve been up to so far:

I drove 15 hours on the first day to get to Parkston, South Dakota. By lunch, I managed to drive 7 hours north to just above Salina, Kansas where I decided to pull over in to Minneapolis and get some lunch. This is also home to Rock City which I decided would make a good detour while I’m here. Rock City is about the strangest group of rock formations I’ve ever seen.

The rock formations at Rock City were formed millions of years ago and you can get more information at these three links:

Official Site: http://www.naturalkansas.org/rockcity.htm

Wikipedia Site: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rock_City,_Kansas

Fan Site: http://www.washburn.edu/cas/art/cyoho/archive/KStravel/rockcity/

On Saturday I went to Mitchell, South Dakota to see The Corn Palace. I really have no words to describe this place. Every year, the town commissions the redesign of The Corn Palace exterior and murals on the interior using nothing but corn of various colors. The first Corn Palace was built in 1892. Every year The Corn Palace is redecorated with a new theme and the 2009 version is currently underway. Here are some links to help describe this better as well:

http://www.roadsidephotos.com/sd/sd3.htm

http://www.roadsideamerica.com/story/2215

On Suday, I finished the drive in to Mount Rushmore. Along the way I drove through the Badlands National Park. This is truly an amazing view and I was absolutely stunned with the scenery. It was just as stunning to see the Badlands and in less than an hour drive in to the Black Hills – talk about a complete change of scenery. I haven’t seen real trees this entire trip so it’s great to see the forests and pitch camp within. I’ll have more pics of the Black Hills in my next blog.

So, be sure to check out the gallery. I have a lot more pics there.

I’m almost ready to take off. I still have a few last minute items to pack, such as my clothes (not such a minor thing) and then I’ll be ready to hit the road. I plan to take off as early in the morning as I can possibly handle. If I can hit the road around 3am then I should be able to make it to SD by 7pm allowing plenty of time for stops.

My biggest fear right now is that I haven’t packed everything I’m going to need. I’ve been accused of being able to start my own sporting goods store with all the gear I own and I’m taking nearly all of it. You would think all that gear should cover me, but there is always something you forget in a trip like this and I’m not going to know it until I really need that item I forgot.

I tried to organize my gear into my big boxes to help me stay on track and I’m at least pretty certain that I have enough cooking gear; camping gear and bike gear. I have my tent, sleeping bag and air mattress (I can only rough so much); I have my bikes and all my bike gear; I have all those other items like my hatchet, hammer, first aid kits, biodegradable soap, trekking poles, camel baks, compasses, whistles, flares, GPS and probably a hundred other items I just thought might be good to have along. I think I have everything covered, but you really never know. It’s not like I’ve packed for a two-week road/camping trip before.

Regardless, I’m hitting the road tomorrow. Wish me luck! I’ll post as often as I can and keep all of you updated along the way. I’ll also try to remember to take lots of pictures and post them as well. If I don’t post for three or four days, don’t panic – but if you have my cell phone, it might not hurt to check in on me