Going Back

^ Travel west on Interstate 80 through the heart of South Dakota, and near the middle of the state, the road comes over the top of an enormous bluff and drops precipitously down a steep hill. At the bottom lies the sleepy and well-kept town of Chamberlain, and just beyond that, the mighty waters of the Missouri River. This scenery unfolds in a breathtaking rush; for those who want to savor the landscape, there is a rest area poised at the top of the bluff and it’s a favorite stop for a Streicher Family Road Trip. 

A stiff morning breeze blows chill off the Missouri River far below us. My husband and I huddle in our warm car parked at the rest area at the top of the bluff. Munching our toasty Sausage Egg McMuffins, we stare in awe at the huge sculpture looking out across the powerful landscape. Installed two years ago, this beauty is called Dignity of Earth and Sky, and she is meant to remind us of our shared belief in the sacred nature of this place.

^ I wanted to pose Gracie in this scene to give some perspective to the size of this artwork. But the wind was so unrelentingly cold that my dog and I cowered in the car while my husband ran out to take this photo for me. Suffice it to say that the golden stone at the base of the sculpture is designed as a bench for normal-sized humans. When seated, a tall person’s head would barely reach the top of Dignity’s moccasins. 

Our minds tumble back through the years, and we remember several times during our daughters’ childhoods on other Streicher Family Road Trips, when we stopped at this same rest area. Spilling out of the car in a flurry of half-tied sneakers and bagel crumbs, our little girls squealed with delight and ran back and forth across the then-empty grassy knoll where Dignity now sits. The same crazy winds blew their blond pigtails every which way and sent them running back to our picnic table for food and sweatshirts.

As they grew older, we pointed to the river below and told our girls stories about Lewis and Clark paddling their fleet of canoes right past the very place where we stood  Fighting the currents and dreaming of what they would find in the unknown reaches of the continent, these explorers became very real to us, and  the countryside took on a new richness.

Our minds drift  back over more years, My husband recounts once again the famous story from his childhood: on one of their own family road trips, his father’s car broke down on the interstate near this rest area. Luckily they were able to coast down the big hill to the town of Chamberlain, right there on the banks of the Missouri River, and roll right into a garage for repairs.

The story goes on that a special part had to be ordered and brought in from Denver, and the family was stranded in town for two days. Concerns grew that they would not make it to one of the highlights of their trip, the Calvary Stampede, but in the end, they did and all was well. Still, my father-in-law held a grudge against that old station wagon, and after returning home, they soon after got a new car.

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Though there isn’t a whole lot that is inherently special about this particular rest area in the middle of South Dakota, it has become a special place for us. There’s something powerful about going back and back and back to the same specific place, over the course of generations, that creates layers of sweet memories and a genuine connection to the land..

And that is yet another wonderful thing about a Streicher Family Road Trip. We can always go back.