Oacoma to Worthington, Minnesota

9 30 09

Breakfast at Motel Al's Oasis

Dr. Oz was on TV in the breakfast area and the few guests were watching. An elderly woman started talking to us a few tables away. It was difficult to hear her but after a while I got that she had come this morning. "Did you drive here", I wondered. "Yes, I drove in my Buick which has 160,000 miles on it and I drove every one of those miles myself. "I have two mechanics", she stated and showed me two fingers. She came by herself "because if you bring another woman she would complain that I want to leave at 6 AM or that the car is too hot - I like it hot". "No, my best friend is my car." Her husband died 23 years ago. "We had a lot of fun and I miss him every day."

When she was 64, she learned to dance - polka, waltz, etc. - and that was why she had come to Oacama this morning. There was to be a dance there that night and she was already here.

She asked where we were going and we answered that we were going to the Corn palace in Mitchell, SD. She stated that she had recently been there for four days to dance. "The men were coming out of the woodwork to dance with me!" She was smiling. The wives had pains here and there and told their husbands to go and dance with her instead. She had so much fun! All pain would disappear. She stated that she was very healthy, did not eat fast food but lots of fruit and vegetables, did not drink or smoke. "Guess you wonder how old I am?" she said just when I was thinking that same thought. "83". She looked petite and full of life. She laughed a lot. "I live in a beautiful mobile home near my daughter and I only have to pay four utilities." (showing four fingers). She definitely did not want another man in her life. "I don't ask my daughter, I just go." I hope I will be dancing at 83! Better start practicing.

We crossed the wide Missouri River at Oacama. The wind was so strong in the flat landscape that the car shook and Jalil had to concentrate to keep the car straight. The mileage is down because the gas has 10% ethanol added. It has an octane of 89 versus 85 in regular gas but is was 6 cents cheaper than regular gas.

Mitchell, SD is famous for its Corn Palace. It was established in 1892. It is a Moorish-style building with minarets. The exterior and interior are covered with murals made from ears of corn, local grasses and grains. The designs are changed every year. The original intent was for farmers to display the fruits of their harvest thus showing how fertile the soil was in the region.

In Sioux Falls we went to see the falls late in the afternoon. The sky was so dark but no rain. There was not much water in the falls compared to pictures we saw but it was beautiful anyway. We crossed into Minnesota to a town called Worthington.