Thar she blows

Dave and I are driving back from our South Dakota vacation, so brace yourself for a series of posts about our Black Hills and Badlands adventures.

One thing that definitely surprised us is driving in the wind. Sure, we've driven in storms or on windy days, but driving across the prairies of southern Minnesota surpasses all of my windy drives. You almost have to turn your steering wheel slightly into the wind to stay on the road. When you drive past a building or through a small series of hills, you can feel the wind break. Then, it slams into you again when you hit flat ground. It's loud, and sends clouds of dirt flying across the prairie. The wind ripples across grasses and crops and makes you think of ocean waves. But driving....from Sioux Falls to around Mankato, it's a wind tunnel that isn't any fun. I couldn't get a picture to do this phenomenon justice.

However, I have decided that being a wind farmer would definitely be the way to go. Wind doesn't get sick. It doesn't escape or tear down fences. You don't have to chase it or even feed it. Several farmers are catching on to this idea, and it's a good one. After driving through this area, I agree we are the Saudi Arabia of wind. Harness it and use it.

This is beef country, and we drove by thousands of cows. I found it very interesting to see several signs on the side of the road advertising beef cattle farms. They look almost like tourist attraction signs or restaurant advertisements. Do people drive by, see a sign, and then decide to stop and buy a cow? Talk about impulse purchase. They might have less hassle with wind.

It's still amazing to me to see how flat and treeless the land is. You can see for miles, and you might spot a single tree or house in the distance. The land does have a certain beauty to it, though. After being on flat land for eight hours of driving, it's quite a sight to see the Badlands rise dramatically out of the prairie.