I always wanted to drive a long distance through the USA to feel the vastness of this country.
Because of the snowstorms last week, many flights were cancelled, the higher the demand now – and the more expensive the tickets. So I rent a car, one way from Rapid City, South Dakota, to Denver, Colorado. Because I will cross the borders of several US states the rental car is not cheap, but still cheaper than flying. Plus, I get to see some of the countryside.
Here we go…
At the first gas station in Hotsprings, still in South Dakota, I chat briefly with Harry. He has a baseball cap on with the American flag embroidered on it, and “Trump 2020.”
South Dakota is a conservative “red neck” state. Governor Kristi Noem is a Republican.
First border crossing: Wyoming. I stop briefly in Lusk, population about 1,500. The police station could come from a children’s book, so dreamy it looks with the Christmas penguin in the shop window.
Since I can hardly keep my eyes open and am afraid of falling asleep in the car, I ask for green tea at the gas station snack bar. As expected, there is not. However, I am helpfully offered hot water if I want to pour over a tea bag I brought with me. I want. I don’t have to pay anything for it.
Then, after seven hours: the Denver skyline.
Almost a city of millions. After nearly two months in sparsely populated South Dakota, in the countryside and on the Indian Reservation, “back in civilization.”
