As time begins to pass it gradually dawns on us that there are a mountain of ‘tasks’ to be completed before we leave. We wash up. We make beds. We carry cases out. We stow skis in the shed. Richard decides to hoover. Then he decides to spend a long time picking things up, moving them, and putting them down somewhere else. His ADD is in full effect - he tells me in the car later that his nickname used to be ‘Lightning’ for this very reason.
A few skuffles later we finally roll out at 5, with an 8 hour journey ahead.
It’s a massive relief to be moving at last. We’re travelling in two cars so we keep changing the configuration. Richard keeps up a constant stream of conversation. He has bags of cheese and meat and olives on the dash. The club soda is flowing.
We see wild turkeys right in the middle of the road. We see buffalo. We see beautiful sunset.
By the time we reach the halfway point - a place just over the Missouri called Mobridge - it’s getting late and Richard decides to overnight. The Mo’Rest is full. The Wrangler Inn is expensive. We head to the casino a couple of miles out of town where Richard works the comp system by telling them we’re here making a documentary about Native American culture and wangles a free room. It’s the last empty one in the place - they’ve got 20 Indian families staying here after their village flooded. Josh and I head back to the Wrangler and collapse.
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