WWW.RIDESIDE.NET

??, south dakota: they lied; there wasn't any gas here. or at least, the pumps were so old they had cracked displays and didn't have card readers, and there were no people around to sell me any gas; it was also unclear whether those people had stepped out a few hours ago or a few years ago. minnesota: leave far later than i intended, but whatever. stop off for coffee at another of my still-remaining old coffeehouse haunts, this time the one in which i Really Smoked my first cigarette and thusly discovered the nicotine buzz (you know, back when you could do that kind of thing in a coffeehouse). the guy is *really* nice, and i have one of those weird split-second moments of thinking, "you know, maybe it wouldn't be the end of the world if i had to move back here someday," before coming to my senses again. new roadkill species: porta potty! the terrain is obscenely flat, my god...though i see my first wind turbines since the one in south boston. south dakota: see signs for brandon, realize i don't think i've been to SD since my dad had the factory here - when i was 11 and 12 and thought working in a factory for a weekend was a fun thing to do. "dick's body shop - 24 hour toe service" (is this intentional?) fields of sunflowers; a convenient store called "kum-n-go." the corn palace; wall drug. have the sudden realization that, wow, most of america is a lot of nothingness (in this case, a nothingness growing mushroom-clusters of billboards for tourist attractons). am now in bug country for real - droves of tiny little things (and some big ones) that go SPLAT!, mostly leaving opaque white stuff all over my windshield, occasionally exploding in yellow or bloody red; i double-scrub every time i stop for gas. spot a single, solitary duck flying due south. drive into a sunset colored like a man-o-war jellyfish. "we invented nightlife - deadwood!" SD isn't into those roadside memorial crosses; instead signs come in two flavors, "X marks the spot - THINK!" and "why die? drive safely." finally arrive in deadwood and find hotel; pass out.