Again, I feel the dust of the town trying to find the Shopco store and I end up in the darkness, remembering again I'm on prairie with the town behind me. I stop the car to turn around, cursing I missed the Shopco and suddenly see the full moon behind me. Large enough to throw a lasso around. Maybe some have arrived. Coming through the clouds. And above me  - stars but not a few stars - I'm talking hundreds of millions of stars. I've just broken a major rule of travel - I've critics  the town I'm in. Waterloo. I'm sorry, I don't know what it's like to live there so I should complain. As a critisized  traveler I feel guilty.

The morning of the 23rd, through South Dakota - 1-90 west of Mitchell. Ducks, through South Dakota everywhere, it's just incredible. They're all flying northwards - hundreds, maybe thousands. I feel sad that many will end up in the sits of hunters and realize this is the way things are. But somethings so free and so purposeful shouldn't complain. I eat. A farmer shooting a few ducks to eat doesn't bother me, but wealthy corporate heads from Chicago or Los Angeles paying to come up and shoot something they really don't need bothers me. Listening to a S.D. radio station, the dj's talk about seeing the geese last night and at morning. Refreshing change from murder, accidents and pollution index's.

Just above me is a flock or whatever of ducks/geese, probably is about 2 - 300 flying  overhead. It's incredible. They turn, they fly forward, such precision . It's incredible, they turn, they fly forward, such precision something very powerful about the image, sounds of them another year, they  like another about the image, sounds of them another, they like me, . I realize are returning over and will continue to go until they 're shot or old. Now I don't feel so bad about repeating my life. There must be a purpose to it. Ducks don't think of dying and therefore aren't plagued by self-doubt or meaning or purpose in life. They just live it every day.

 

The old Towne House Cafe and Lounge - chicken fried steak. I passed on the 32 0z Town House Sirloin special. I don't think I can eat two pounds of beef at one sitting. The Chicken Fried Chicken, a standard of road travel, comes the way it should, breaded chopped beef, comes the way it should be, au jus as opposed ( chicken gravy), American fries, sides of vegetables, salad bar (not too big). No de-caf  coffee, cowboys don't drink decaf.

Outside, dusty, dirty main street, trucks and cars "dragging the gut". Somewhere here, is the Corn Palace, haven't s seen the the Corn Palace, haven't seen it yet... 2 great - looking blondes pass by the by the street. I'd marry - or both Tuesday cowboy night, a 60 Chev passes by, looking as old and more but we get. Inside there's a hall - called the Majestic Hall, inside - they're having fun. The waitress told me about a store open at night - Shopco, just up the street, so we're, just up the street, so we're going there. Pass by the Corn Palace, there radio station is KORN, get it? The Palace is closed and dark. Sure enough there's a corn enough, here the sound of cornhusks in the wind, mixed with the sounds of teens doing the ritual.

A whole carlead of girls pass beside, dragging the gut, give me the once over, checks the plates, can't see the fortyish balding guy inside dark. But they like the car. The car feels good at the attention. A whole carload of girls pass me, dragging the gut, give me the once-over. Again I feel the dust of the town, I guess that hasn't changed since the cowboy days of the 1880,s. Feel good, full, saw the corn palace, teenagers still being teenagers still being teenagers, life is good.

 

Passing World's largest completed animated  cowboy town - world famous of course. Looks like it's closed, too. West of Humboldt, up in the air, a flock of about forty geese going south. Maybe it's too cold. One of the difference (going south. Maybe it's too cold for them. Flying in their V-formation. They're turning around. As I speak I saw them. In mid-air, they just turned around, get back into formation. Slowly get back into formation, get that V fellas, get heading north again. For a moment it was, ah' theres it was just not sure but then but then 

One of the differences between now and then I was taking this car on it's virgin trip is the amount of FM stations FM stations now, and how strong they are, they're stronger than they used to be. , used to get about get about twenty miles outside of a town if you're lucky, now you can get them fifty, sixty, eighty, a hundred miles out of town. Why is this? I'll have to find out. As the geese fly overhead, Dan Seals sing a pretty song called RAGE ON. I aim my partner into the setting sun straight ahead of us across the flat prairie . A big fireball at the end of the highway, try to catch it, try it catch it and I don't and never will -who does (they have a theory that the sun (or moon) always stays the same size even though it appears bigger until it catches me again and passes, always ending ahead of me.

 

Finally find a motel (back near the expressway), go to cafes that are closed. Cafes close at 8 pm here strange our. Find a place that closes at 9pm - salad bar looks like it was attacked by barbarians, have a meatloaf special, with the last piece of meatlow, friend older waitress. Two other people in the place - now I know why they close so early. Everybody eats at home in these towns. Wednesday, travel through music man town too other people, where I buy a pillow for my back in a small mall. Sunny, cool day.

Forest City - Winnibgo plant. In a group of about ten shunted around the house plant. In the nearly-built showroom I see diehard recvec people. Talking about and features. Some were disappointed and couldn't see there favourite model. A movie shows how the guy build his industry in his small town. And how he developed the Winnebego, how Americans have the freedom of the road God-given right to have the freedom to travel. Wonder about the right of the guy in the car, trailing a convoy of winnies or trailers, going 10 miles an hour when, after all he's got the freedom to do fifty-five an hour, after all, he's got the freedom to do so.

No road trip of place, tour guide, question about glue small and plastic and description of place, tour guide and plastics. Talk about. Talk about connection between cars and their big brothers, the rec vec. No road trip is complete with out your favourite music on cassette tapes. I'm still not into CD's. but prefer my own precorded cassettes. There is traveling music and there isn't. Bob Seger, Eagles, some Jefferson Airplane, John Cougar Mellamp. A great song is Emmy Lou Harris' version of Towns Van Zant's Pancho and Lefty. Music, like any art, should, should make you think, remember, feel. Music that doesn't do that is a waste of time. March 22, 4;10pm cross into Minnesota. A note about my choice directions  - entirely be feel I want to go north, I do, if I want to. I do, if I want to see a particular hill or lake or town, I drive that way. I love this.

Middle of Iowa, listening to East Indian music on the radio, it's 7.30. I noticed how music or sounds are important to city people. My Arizona trip with 2 friends in search of something on the radio. After they'd gone through religion, country  and hog prices there was nothing on the radio, they were almost angry that they want that they want to listen to human voices for for travelling . I do this for an hour or too, until it's boring. Guess I like the silence the. Tuesday night. Somewhere. So where here in the hard land and there's enough East Indians to warrant there own radio show or station.

Times where I read (books, AAA, guides, maps Once in D.D). read a book for two hours. Another station - religion in the heartland. Two things out here - God and the weather - that's what you talk about, that's and that's what you care about for. Not that there's you hope for. Not that that's no religion elsewere , there is. Just that it's more obvious here. Waterloo Iowa , the worst street in the world. It's got to be the most street in the world. It's got the most amount  on a single street per capitiva. you drive and stop and drive and stop. I notice it more because  I've got a clutch to push and gears. And this old girl doesn't like it too much at her age. The street goes on forever and curves and goes up hills.

No room at the motel,  have to go to another motel, restaurants and cafes are all closed. Don't  want Pizza, local place. A word about motels. I pass one at the expressway - Vacancy . Naturally I pass it at the expressway exit. vanancy. Naturally I pass it to find the "Perfect place". This method fails more than it works. Same for cafes. I have a feeling for cafes. Kind of like a feeling for the place, kind of like the holy grail. I'll know the place when I see it.This drives other people nuts. Waterloo has the worse traffic control systm  I've ever seen in my life with country music playing, stop lights don't anything - made for you to stop all the time. I'm probably hitting them wrong and that motels are full and cafes are closed.

 

Just a few miles west, I see a drive-in movie theater, something else made for cars and the people who own them. Funny how the more cars we've gotten, the less drive-in 's. One of the bad things about TV is that you stay home to do. Maybe that's why neighbors don't talk to each other. They stay inside too much and eventually  lose the skills of communicating . MacDonalds now has a menu that all you do is order 1,2, or 3. MacDonalds. I like to ask McMuffins. Just east of Woodbine, I'm the only car on the toad, 2 -lane and I'm alone windy towards to Elizabeth, Illnois and I'm alone for the first time since I left this morning. Ahead the Mississipi. The big thing here, I'm on the east side. Once I drive the next thousand or so feat or so feat the drive side. Once or so feet. I'll be in a different world, the west. This is what divides the country.

About 7 pm I'm rolling through the hills of Iowa myself (Field of Dreams country), twilight, sun's should be down in fifteen mintes or so and I'm by myself, nobody else sight, not even a house. It's cold outside. This is no time for the old girl to break down, not that she would. This would be take me a little further. I hope she Karma comes into play in this kind of situation, I'm sure and look ahead. I look again and probably see a light. Finally a farm house maybe a mile away. Finally a farm house maybe a mile away. Probably a vicious dog who's ready to rip my lungs out if I have to ask for help. Speed limit - 65.