Day 20 Winner to Parkston

Had we gone by car, we would probably just have said “we just crossed the Missouri”, but now we happen to travel on bicycles and a crossing of the Missouri River is something you build up to. We had 35 miles from Winner to the river. It looked broad and quiet, which is due to the fact that it is a lake or a reservoir created by a dam down the river where we crossed on route 44. The bridge crossing the reservoir is the longest in South Dakota.

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Approaching the river you, or at least I, could sit and wonder how long time it takes a water molecule or a small object in the river to travel a certain distance. Maybe some of the water we have seen in Yellowstone, Shoshone, Big Horn, Cheyenne and White Rivers we saw again this morning? All these rivers run into Missouri which is the longest river in North America and itself a tributary to Mississippi River close to St. Louis.

Green Landscape and Mosquitos, Avenues and Streets

Everybody we meet tells us that it is an usual year we are crossing South Dakota. A lot of rain has painted the countryside in green colors and also created perfect conditions for the South Dakotan Mosquito. When we see a lake or a pool of water, we do not think “how nice”, rather we say “There is another mosquito breeding site”. They are very aggressive but luckily their bites do not keep us awake at night.

Maybe it is perfectly normal but we consider it a little strange that the country roads out here are called avenues (north-south) and streets (east-west). Maybe some DOT (Department of Transportation) people at State Level are just forward thinking and envision that South Dakota could become the new New York some day. It might happen – but by my guesstimate not before the Crazy Horse Monument is finished in the 22nd century.

Today’s Map