May 2, Day 2:  You can read the entire blog and view photos on our website. If you enjoy the account, Please . . . share it with your friends. Photos from the trip can be viewed at: http://astilesphotography.com/f390536220 Thanks!  We got up early with a target departure time of 7:00 AM.  Got packed and had breakfast at the hotel, and were on the road again by 6:45 AM.  About 10 miles west of Columbia, we left I-70 in favor of Missouri Highway EE and drove north through the farmland on two-lane roads.  Found a pretty little cemetery along the road and stopped for photos, giving everyone a chance to check camera settings and practice some exposure bracketing.  We continued north and west on backroads, crossing the Missouri River as we drove past huge farms, ethanol plants, and the fertile river bottom land.  Stopped for coffee in Carrollton, Missouri and was asked by a couple of old gentlemen where I was from. I told them, and they said they were trying to figure out my license plate, which is retired military. We talked while everyone else got their drinks, and I thoroughly enjoyed talking with them.  I explained where we were headed, and they seemed to appreciate the fact that we had gotten off the Interstate in order to see the “real” Missouri.  On US highway 65 we found a beautiful old church in Van Horn Township.  Pleasant Hill Christian Church had been built in 1880 and was now abandoned.  I talked to a young man who was cleaning up the cemetery who told me his parents, grandparents, and great grandparents were all buried there.   We enjoyed watching the Amish farmers along the way and one agreed to us taking a photo of his horse and buggy.  Continued west and picked up I-29 and drove north.  North of St. Joseph, near Rock Port we crossed the Missouri River and entered Nebraska, picked up US Highway 75 and headed north through vast farm lands and the Omaha Indian Reservation.  Near Blair, NE we found an old barn sitting all alone on a hill to take a few photos of. We then continued north, crossing the Missouri again and into Sioux City for the night.  453 miles  26 MPG

May 3, Day 3:  After breakfast in the hotel, we headed north on I-29 and turned west onto I-90 at Sioux Falls.  Found an old abandoned farmstead in Plankinton, SD and took some photos.  We wanted to make Rapid City, SD for the night, so we drove mostly on I-90 this day.  We took a detour through Badlands National Park, and while the light was not good at midday, we enjoyed the rugged beauty of the park; and found a town of white prairie dogs at the little homestead museum prior to entering the park.   Leaving the park, we had to make the obligatory stop at Wall Drug Store in Wall, SD for ice cream and coffee.  We stopped in Rapid City, SD for the night after 441 miles because we wanted to drive to Devil’s Tower the following morning.  17 MPG – climbing uphill all day