Ed's place

South Dakota was so different than Minnesota that it's really hard to compare the two. As a life long Minnesotan - a life long North Western Minnesotan to boot, I have come to love the flat prairie. I like the feeling of being able to turn 360 degrees and be able to see for miles around me.

That is not the case in most of South Dakota. Where Ed and Lori live - just outside of Custer - the pines seem to go on forever or until they collide with rock. Then they climb up the hills/mountains (though I don't think they're technically mountains - but to me they sure seemed like it). Weaving into the park instantly gave me a headache and a feeling of claustrophobia.

The central part of the state is more like what I'm used too. But they still had waves of hills that gave me the feeling of being at sea - well, a sea of farmland. Going north on highway 83, I bet we say close to a thousand different grain bins. One town in particular had more grain bins than people.

Here is Ed's house.



Here is an old wood stove Ed has sitting just outside his house. Last year we huddled around it at night while having a few beverages, telling stories, and listening to the coyotes. This year it was just too damned cold.