South Dakota told me to tell you that it says Hi.

So we are now back on I-90, where the speed limit is now 75 (!) miles an hour. No need to speed, obviously. We just left Sioux City, SD, and the total trip mileage count is now at 1500, with the state count already at 9 (NY, NJ, PA, OH, IN, IL, WI, MN, SD).

We woke up this morning at our Super 8 motel and had the continental breakfast, which was the most glorious collection of jelly and honey packets I've ever seen. Jim was loving it, as you can see below

(This is genuine breakfast happiness)

While we were eating, we met Robert "Bob" E. Hayes, CSP, P.E., Mining and Safety Engineer (this is taken directly from the business card he gave me), who was traveling with his daughter on their third annual genealogy trip, during which they visit cemeteries and town halls, combing gravestones and occupancy records in search of distant relatives.

(The Mining Engineer and I enjoy the instant oatmeal)

When we left the Super 8, we immediately filled up the tank and saw a genuine South Dakotan tractor, which was moving at a very relaxed pace.

("You will drive behind me while I go 2 mph, and you will like it")

We drove across Minnesota, noticing a couple of key mainstays: Wind Energy Generators, and Corn

(Dozens of miles of corn as far as the eye can see)

(These massive wind generators have red lights that blink at night, causing an eerie effect as you drive down the highway, flanked on both sides by elevated blinking lights, thinking you are about to get beamed up into an alien spaceship)

As we crossed into South Dakota, we took out the "ROADFOOD" book that my buddy Jeff Salomon (who will be joining me through Texas) and his girlfriend Hayley Barton gave me as a gift before I embarked on the trip. They mentioned a great little place called Bob's in Sioux Falls, which apparently merited the following quotes:

"Best burger between Seattle and Chicago" and "The best reason to be in South Dakota"

We pulled up to Bob's , which was a very small building off a minor highway (It is worth mentioning that the place has a contest called the "Megabob", for which you eat a pound of burger, a pound of fries, a cookie and a large Coke as fast as you can, and if you do it faster than the fastest guy before you, your name goes up on a wall. I would have tried, but we had had our continental breakfast at 8:30am, and we got to Bobs at 10:30am, so I wasn't exactly ravenous). After exiting the car, we were immediately greeted by a man who called himself "Ben-Bob", as his name was Ben, but he claimed to be "The new Bob", as the original Bob had apparently just retired. After he offered to sign our book, we went in and spent the better part of an hour scarfing down an order of ribs, a couple of pieces of "Broasted" chicken, a surprisingly good cheese steak, and a couple of sides of beans and potato wedges. Here are the pics of Jim and Ben-Bob, a couple of Bob's signs, and the food itself:

(Bobs is definitely worth a look if you're ever in Sioux City)

(10 Ten Reasons to go to Bobs - #1: Our Chicken is "Clucking" Good)

(Jim with his South Dakotan twin, Ben-Bob)

(Philly Cheesesteak with provolone, red and green peppers, and onions. Hemo would be proud.)

(Boneless ribs, Broasted Chicken, Potato Wedges and Beans)

While in Bob's, we met Jesse, who was Ben-Bob's son (although he claimed to have been working at Bob's for 15 years longer than his Dad), who saw the cookbook and decided to give me the following recipe

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Jesse's South Dakotan 5 Hour Cordon Bleu Stew

Ingredients:

1 Smoked Ham Bone (Meat On)

Marinated Chicken Breasts

Bay Leaves

Chicken Stock

White American Cheese

Celery

Carrots

Potatoes

NO ADDED SALT

Directions:

1. Add the stock and the bay leaves to a large pot, and then add the ham bone, place over heat and simmer for an extended period of time

2. Remove the ham and carve the meat onto a place, set it aside, and discard the bone

3. Add carrots and celery to the simmering stew base, then add potatoes (Cut the potatoes into different sizes before adding them. If you do this, some of the potatoes will break down, while others will retain some shape), and continue to simmer

4. Add the chicken breasts (you can pre-marinate these if you want) to the stew and continue to simmer

5. 15 minutes before you're done with the stew (make sure chicken is well cooked and falls apart easily), add the ham meat back in, along with the cheese

6. Remove and serve. The whole process should take about 5 hours, according to Jesse

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Needless to say, we left Bob's happy. On our way out of Sioux City, we saw a coffee shop with quite the amusing name. Perhaps they do have Jews in South Dakota:

(Shalom right back at ya, Sioux Falls.)

Now we are heading to the Badlands National Park, and will be having dinner in Rapid City, SD, before heading through the Northeast corner of Wyoming into Montana and crashing for the night before heading to Bozeman tomorrow. We hear that the world's largest annual motorcycle rally is currently underway in Sturgis, South Dakota, which is on our way, but I get the feeling that Jim is less than enthused about the prospect of rubbing shoulders with Hell's Angels.

See you in Montana...