For the first week of this trip our trail has hewn close to the Misssouri River. The area is familiar for both its scenery and the high humidity that blesses areas in a river valley. Our trip today only took us 220 miles, but it’s beginning to feel like we’re not in Missouri any more. Perhaps that’s because we’re in South Dakota. That would explain it.

With my trailer air conditioner on the Fritz and the weather warm and humid, I have not wanted to leave Ollie alone in the trailer for any extended periods. So we have engaged in dog-centric activities for much of the time. Five dog-friendly wineries and seven dog park trips in seven days, plus a few hours yesterday at the very cool Omaha Dog Bar. It’s a place where the dogs can run free and play with each other and in sprinklers and large washtubs while their owners can have a beverage and something to eat while the kids are playing. The dogs there were well behaved and they have several “bark rangers” on hand to make sure any misbehaviors are nipped in the bud, if you’ll pardon the expression.

We traveled tonight to Salem, SD, a town of about 1,300 people that’s 35 miles west of Sioux Falls. We did make a quick stop at the Camping World in Sioux Falls to get an L-pin for my trailer hitch to replace one that I misplaced in St. Joseph. My jury-rigged solution of a padlock got us this far, but I did not want to press my luck too far.

The campground is a smaller, family-owned oasis in the the middle of farmland, about a mile south of Salem and a mile north of I-90. It has a relaxed feel to it and today the ample shade is blessed by a breeze that keeps it very comfortable. The campsites aren’t large, but there aren’t many people around so it feels like we have it more or less to ourselves. The people here are nice and make visitors feel welcome. As we checked in they had graham crackers for Ollie and chocolate chip cookies for me. They said there is only someone at the office until 8:30 p.m., but if I need anything after that just come take it and let them know in the morning.

The air conditioning continues to concern me. As I said earlier, it’s already kept me from doing some of the things I want to do. After I got camp set up today I called the campground in Spearfish, SD, which is my next stop and where I will be staying for five nights. After several calls I was able to make an appointment to have the A/C unit services the morning after I arrive. With any luck that will free me up from concerns for Ollie for the remainder of the trip. As an added bonus, the temperature is supposed to drop starting Friday, with highs in the low- to mid-80s while I am in Spearfish, and not too much hotter than that for my destinations for the following week. By then I’ll be in northern Minnesota and hopefully will have the worst of the heat behind me.

Tomorrow Ollie and I are going to visit the Corn Palace in Mitchell, SD in the morning and then take care of some camper hygeine in the aftenoon. While Wall Drug is a famous, must-see stop for many as they go through South Dakota, I think it’s highly overrated. For my money, the place to see is the Corn Palace. I had never heard of it before a trip to this area about ten years ago, and I found it to be totally worth a visit of an hour or two. More about it after I go to this dog-friendly (of course) attraction. Then the next day (7/26) we’ll go into Sioux Falls to see what we can see there. And then… I’ll tell you all what we did.