SOUTH DAKOTA - GREAT FACES GREAT PLACES

After driving through a sea of corn in the heartland Iowa and too-many-to-count farmhouses that dotted as-far-as-the-eye-can-see flat cornfields,

we continued on to Nebraska, a land that once was the "great American desert" occupied by Native Americans and millions of buffalos roaming the open space, the Cornhuskers becomes a "breadbasket" State, providing corn, wheat and cows to the rest of America. We drove east to west on US-30 through vast tracts of rangeland (my husband laughed at me when I got the horses and the cows mixed up - heh heh). The land gradually slopes upward, stretching to the Rocky Mountains,

we finally arrived to the land of the proud and mighty Sioux, the Lakota, Dakota or Nakota. Hot Springs, South Dakota is a very nice town and I wished we could spend more time there.

South Dakota is exactly what I have imagined all these years - charming, romantic and filled with fascinating history of the Old West. I wished we were not bounded by the schedule (wedding in Colorado), I would love to slow down and enjoyed more of the mountain scenery and so many breath-taking natural beauty.

The mountains shaped by the glaciers that chiseled the landscape thousands of years ago, leaving large boulders in the middle of the plains where warriors once hunted buffalos by horseback.

We had to stay on schedule (as other typical tourists) following the signs pointing to Crazy Horse and Mount Rushmore.

When we got out to take photos in Hot Springs, I discovered that I no longer wore my pearl bracelet. I first looked around my seat and in the back of the car but did not find the bracelet. CP asked and I told him I didn't remember when I last had it on or where I might drop it. I explained to CP that the bracelet was not a special keepsake. I bought it because it was on sale, after Valentine special at 50% off (the store charged higher price to take advantage of the men who would not dare to forget to get his lady something on this supposedly romantic day). I also received a coupon for 30% off, including discounted merchandise. For a bracelet that cost less than $100, we decided to continue on our Westward journey. There is no turning back, especially when we might have to go back to Sidney, Nebraska!

It was a good decision that we did not waste our time looking for the bracelet because we found it when we got home and after unloaded everything in the trunk. I probably dropped it when we took out the overnight bags at night or loading up in the morning. CP said he would fix the clasp for me. Lesson learned - Weigh your options accordingly because letting go or accepting loss could be one of the best decisions in your life.