Good food, good vibe

Gann Valley, centre of the population for South Dakota, has a interesting bunch of people who get together in the mornings for coffee, confectioneries and general chit-chat. They waste no time making me feel right at home with their warm hospitality and friendly banter, and even though I don't win the pot in the morning's card game, 50 cents is a small price to pay for delicious carmel rolls & caffeine, not to mention the pleasure of good company.

Well, when the morning social wraps up I'm encouraged to go next door to the post office to meet Mrs. Ellen Speck, long time Corps of Discovery enthusiast and 2013 postmaster of the year. We spend a good hour discussing the Corps' famous journey and places we've been to on the route. I find our talk highly entertaining, as well as educational, but it's noon and I need to shove off if we're going to make Kimble by nightfall.

An easy 21 miles and we're at the next town. Nothing too remarkable on the road...a little rain, but then both Bud and I needed a shower. The first business I see is called The Back Forty. It's a rustic restaurant, not much to it from the front, but around back there's a marvelously well decorated outdoor eating area that utilizes spare farm parts and salvaged pieces of old homesteads. It's a very hip place, but not as though it were trying to be, you know.

My dog is welcomed to come in and meet Sam, the resident canine--I'm not entirely sure why, but Bud's not as friendly with other dogs as he used to be. Anyway, he still gets treated to heaps of leftover prime rib prepared in a Phili Cheese Steak kind of way. I order a burger, and it's a 1/2 lb of amazing, meaty goodness. Later in the evening, a band that does a sort of cowboy, surfer, fusion thing provides some musical entertainment and a local electrician named Bo introduces me to Red Beer, not quite the way his grandma would make it (with chunks in the tomato juice), but a relevant experience nonetheless.

Before I head back to the tent, Kiki--I think she is the owner--gives me a T-shirt from the restaurant as a memento. And as an additional bonus, I get serenaded until the final set since the campground is just opposite.