Hope this brings a smile . . .

It is being a long wait until spring...

Beyond the unofficial start, when the geese return...
Past the official start, when the calendar decrees...
Gray skies, gray landscape,
Gray thoughts...

With no color in sight or in the forecast.
Instead, a city's Christmas decorations still hang
And the winter's detritus reveals itself as snowpiles slowly melt;
Those same piles now fuzzy with dried grass, leftover sand and shredded garbage
All pushed together and aside in the name of safe travel.

Sometimes, we can joke about it.
Sometimes, the gray swirls too close and a smile is painful.
And sometimes a kind, kind soul with nothing to gain
Brings a gift with the salad dressing to the table at lunch.
Just a simple sugar cookie, perfectly round and soft,
Not ordered, not requested. Just pure gift.
And one woman says to another, "Hope this brings a smile."
And both women do, and the gray retreats behind the edges of hope again.

No camera along to capture that precious cookie (I must learn to carry it always)
But I had these cookies back at the office (my latest attempts at the quest).
Hope this brings a smile.

Spring break, of the best sort . . .

I've been away from the blog...mostly for district and regional basketball tournaments, with the state Class B girls tournament yet to cover (Go, Kenmare Honkers!), but I also took time for a little jaunt south...

to North Platte, Nebraska....

680 miles one way....

and changed our lives here....

for the better.

I thought I should document the trip in photos--see what you think.

Sunrise in North Dakota, March 4, 2011  --  ready to leave.

Lovely view of the Missouri River north of Washburn, ND, on U.S. Highway 83.

Lewis & Clark Interpretative Center, Washburn, ND.
GREAT museum.
Also, one of the best rest areas in the state.

Brief drive east on I-94, looking to pick up U.S. 83 again.

Aaah, back on U.S. 83, headed south, hardly need a map.

Road signs all along the route; not that a road is necessarily there.

Tourist attraction, Strasburg, ND.

U.S. 83 into South Dakota (stay with me now).

Notice odometer reading and trip distance at this point in my 1999 Bonneville,
south of Pierre, SD (also notice full tank of gas), still on U.S. 83.

View at 196,000 miles (we're getting closer).

Two hours later, on U.S. 83 (stay with me).

Sunset south of Valentine, NE, U.S. 83.
(Still two hours of driving to destination.)
No color adjustments made.
Also, essentially no snow!!!!

Sunrise, North Platte, NE, March 5th.

Best sunrise ever, named Morgan.

Headed north into South Dakota.

South Dakota border on U.S. 83.

Lunch on the Missouri River at the Oahe Dam near Pierre, SD....

Tourists' view of the dam
(Morgan, look at the Canada geese in the open water)....

Morgan's view of the dam...and first experience in snow.

Bald eagles might carry away 49-day-old puppies,
BUT no eagles were to be seen here.
On the other hand, 1 bald eagle and 5 golden eagles were tallied
NORTH of Pierre, directly along U.S. 83, waiting to scoop up
one of the thousands of ring-necked pheasants feeding
in corn and sunflower stubble fields.
(Maybe nobody told the eagles about their roosting area!)

Selby, SD, cemetery. Yes, that's what you think it is...

...Easily visible from the roadway.

Crossing back into North Dakota.

Crossing back into North Dakota.
(Not to be confused with the earlier crossing into South Dakota.)

Absolutely worth every mile.

Thanks for coming along on my little road trip...could be the best "spring break" ever.

Note for travelers who may now be interested in duplicating this route: you drive straight down the center of the Great Plains.  Get out your road atlas and check the route.  You can pick up NPR radio stations all along the way; also local high school sports coverage.  In Nebraska, you have to prepay your fuel, which is most inconvenient as a lone traveler.  The only Starbucks available were in Minot and Bismarck, ND, although the other towns and cities along the way had their local coffee shops--and in Pierre, SD, I saw two real life 2010 National Finals Rodeo saddle bronc contestants acting like normal people at Hardee's!