I think I killed a thing

Darn - I was hoping to make it through this whole roadtrip without running anything down, but tonight on the way through South Dakota a crazy bird flew out into the road and couldn't get out of my way fast enough. It hit the windshield like a rock (no damage, at least..) and then went who-knows-where. I feel kind of bad, but I tried to swerve around it (as much as I could at the last minute going 80mph) but it really just flew right out in front of me to get something in the road and then couldn't manage to get out of the way in time. Dear bird: SORRY! :(

Anyway, at the beginning of this trip, I was really freaked out by all the birds dive-bombing the highway. I'd try to avoid them by hitting the brakes or turning a little bit, but they always ended up flying off at the last minute, so I just got used to ignoring them and going on my merry way. Apparently this bird was a little bit retarded, or something. Am I a bad person for thinking that the highway birdy gene pool collectively just got a little smarter? I'm no bird, but I look both ways for traffic when retrieving a tasty morsel from the middle of the highway.

Also, speaking of crazy wildlife, did I mention that South Dakota has turtles crossing the highway ALL OVER THE PLACE? Holy cow, they're cute. But some of them are also tragically squished. I saw a great one this evening going as fast as he could (quite slow) with his neck out, trying to get across the left lane. Go, little turtle, go!

I'm actually surprised that we made it through Wisconsin without hitting anything - we got a little off-track after deciding to ignore the GPS, and ended up driving along county road HH and 1D and K and some others. Basically 55 mph back roads, which are FUN but also had deer and racoons around every bend. I had to slam on the brakes for 2 separate racoons (they apparently freeze and stare straight at your headlights when you're about to hit them. Then they wait a good 5 minutes and scamper off into the underbrush - delayed reaction will clearly be the death of them.) and there were lots of deer wandering around on the side of the roads as well.

There was lots of flooding in souther Wisconsin as well - people's houses and cars were completely surrounded by water, but at least they built the houses on a somewhat raised bit of ground. Otherwise the whole thing would be under water.

"Short" day

Drove from Helena, MT to Rapid City, SD today. We left around 9AM (keeping with the hour late trend) and arrived at Coyote Blues B&B at 6. We're also staying here on the way back (but in a different room). They apparently have 2 cats, who I should go upstairs and meet. But first we're sitting in our room, being antisocial for a while. (What!? We're from Seattle...)

Breakfast this morning was delicious, if cheeeeeesy - a cheese and veggie omelet with fruit and a warm slice of rhubarb bread. Mmm. With OJ and coffee, plus a mug of coffee to go for me.

My car's engine took a few seconds to start - I don't know if it's this dumb 91-octane gas (Seattle 'super' is 92) or the crappy Montana gas (no Chevron, no Shell, not even a Mobil or Exxon, my last-resort gas choices. Yes, I'm a savvy consumer...) sold at the stations with the dinosaur logo. Though I do like the fact that they're selling something made from dinosaurs! HAH.

We're having the last of our sandwiches for dinner tonight, which leaves us with a cooler full of salads, veggies, hummus, and protein bars. And boiled eggs. Lots of snacking will be in order, apparently. The stuff in the cooler is still pretty darn cold, so that's good. Did I mention how much I love the chicken and bacon sandwiches? It's just chicken, bacon, and chopped tomato and lettuce in a whole grain wrap (not those 250-calorie monsters, either; think flatbread) so it's got lots of protein and won't make me fall asleep at the wheel from eating too many refined carbs.

The southeast corner of Montana is chock full of deer - we were passing through around 5:00 and there were huge herds of them on either side of the highway, hanging out in the cow/horse pastures and eating. It's funny seeing huge crowds of them, but they're all standing as still as possible because there's a busy highway next to them. "Maybe if I stand real still here next to the 4-lane highway in broad daylight, no one will see me!" Even though they're all small and white, not HUGE and brown or black like all the cows. EXCEPT we saw this awesome all-white steer. Cool!