Brisk awakening

Rest areas have become our new best friend. I never realized how normal it could be to pass out in your car scattered amongst a small herd of other cars all full of sleepy drivers. It's a very comfortable setup, typically secluded in its own pen off the highway, like a small nursery for exhausted engines.


This was the first scenic outlook we stopped at, our reward for actually doing the unthinkable and reaching South Dakota by Sunday. Stepping out of the car into the silence of sunrise, any remaining wisps of doziness were suddenly chased away by the unexpected, bitingly cold air and this sign:


Unfortunately there were no Discovery Channel moments to be had; the most wildlife we encountered were a few vultures gliding lazily above us like suncatchers hung from a ceiling too high and too cloudless to touch.


If we had more time I'd want to lay out in one of these fields for a couple hours and feel the day warm up around me.

{pri}