Blue Mounds and Sand Hills

I headed west yesterday on the first leg of a trip that's going to take me on a big loop: to visit my parents in Colorado, then to a week of retreat in Kansas before I get back home in mid-July. Here are the first photos:

Rock County, Minnesota, in the southwest corner of the state.

Blue Mounds State Park, in Rock County, Minnesota

The resident bison herd at Blue Mounds.

Today, I cut down from I-90 to I-80 by way of the Rosebud Lakota Reservation
and the Sand Hills of Nebraska...

...and went over the Dismal River, just south of the little oasis of Thedford, Nebraska.
Nothing dismal about this place as far as I could see.

Along the way I saw several white pelicans, one of my favorite birds. When I got to the town where I planned to spend the night, I happened upon a roadside business selling concrete lawn sculptures. I briefly considered purchasing a 275-pound lifesize concrete pelican, but am happy to report that I regained my sanity in time to prevent it. I'm sure my housemates and neighbors will be relieved. Anyway, after I got back into my car, it had a minor meltdown, which has turned out to be a broken serpentine belt. It's spending the night at a local garage so as to be checked again tomorrow when it's thoroughly cooled. Meanwhile I'm comfortably ensconced in an air-conditioned motel room and have just enjoyed a nice salad and mini-pizza, along with free wifi and 100 cable channels. I am very thankful the meltdown didn't happen during the several hours I was way, way out in the boonies. I'd probably have been fine, but this is better.