Family Road Trip – Day 5

To accomplish our “monster” driving day of 700+ miles, we got an early start at 630am. Heading east out of the Black Hills to the seemingly endless Prairie of flat corn and soy fields – Interstate 94 due East took us to Sioux Falls for a quick stop and then on to Minnesota.

We had looked at both the southern route via Chicago and the longer northern one over the top of Lake Michigan in preparation for this trip. Today was decisision day on the selection and we opted for the northern one due to weather and for a special stop.

It dawned on us that the only way to balance out Mt. Rushmore is to stop and spend a moment of silence at the George Floyd shrine in Minneapolis.

It is hard to put the horrible 8:46 minutes of suffering at the corner of Chicago Ave & 38th street in perspective and yet, being here in person helped. Documented on video, we all bared witness to a horrendous injustice to a fellow citizen and the event challenges us all to reflect on our own humanity. I was profoundly taken by standing myself at the scene of the crime.

With a heavy heart we drove the rest of the way to Eau Claire, WI for another hotel overnight. Along the route, we stopped along the Mississippi in downtown Minneapolis to walk to the middle of the river. A symbolic gesture to commemorate Greg’s first drive across the dividing line of the eastern and western US.

A cozy bed and air conditioning awaited us for the night courtesy of Best Western Plus in Eau Claire where dogs are welcome. stay tuned for more adventures and details on our lodging experiences tomorrow.