Sleepless in Sioux City

AARGH

It's 3:30 a.m. and I haven't been to sleep yet. I get into a few nights like this. The good news is that it is a driving day tomorrow and I can sleep in the car.

So instead of snoozing, let me remind myself about the day we just had. It started out in the best way. We ate breakfast at Baker's Bakery in Custer, South Dakota. I had seen reviews of this place online, and it was recommended by many. So, we went and I must say that it lived up to the reviews it had. This was one of the best breakfasts we have had on this trip.

It started out with a breakfast burrito--sans green sauce. It was spicy (but not hot), and soooooo good. First we shared the burrito and then we shared the cinnamon bun. I confess that when I took the first bite, I was transported back to a time when I was oh so small, and visiting my grandparents. The bakery in their town made the BEST cinnamon buns, and it had been my intent to visit there for a trip down memory lane. That didn't happen because of my brother's heart attack.

Baker's Bakery made up for all that! This bun was all caramelly nutty bad-for-me goodness, and it is the closest thing I ever had to one from Grandma's house. And because it was so tasty, and not cloyingly sweet, we decided that we would take two donuts for lunch. Oh yeah, it was a real nutritious day! I'm going to have to work on that when I get home or risk my brother's fate.

After indulging, we went looking for animals, with some success. First, we saw a buffalo, who was lumbering along the road. He touched the mirror on my side and he was so close I could have kissed him. I resisted that.

Then we saw a herd of burros. They were intermingled with stupid people. I mean really, the burros look tame, and they were obviously begging for food. But is it wise to stand in the way of one's hind legs just because you want a picture of the baby? One lady actually knelt down to pet the baby, and her backpack kept hitting the burro behind her. She didn't even notice when he stamped his feet. Me? I got out of there. After I took my own picture of the baby. But I have 18x zoom on my camera!

We saw lots of deer and antelope play too, and it was all-in-all a lovely little excursion. It was however, just the beginning of our drive. We had a long way to go.

On the way, we saw this.

And now, here I am, sleepless in Sioux City. It's now 3:43. Just in case you wondered how long it took me to type this.