9/22/14 - Day 8 Back in the Shop

The T-bird was first in line and at the mechanic's and was able to get into the shop to get its brakes fixed first thing this morning.  They had to turn the rotors 3 times to get the surface flat. They were very helpful at L & A Welding and Machine,

So as a result, we got a late start on our days travel.  We had to get moving along to get to the other side of South Dakota and make up time for the late start. Our first stop was at Wall Drug Store.  What a big place!  They have almost everything you could want and might even have something you might need? Joe got a free doughnut for being a vet.

The next part of our excursion was the Badlands.  We took the scenic route and saw   vistas that were very impressive.  We also came across a mountain sheep a couple of types including the big horn sheep that we have been looking for ever since we were warned that they could be in the road.

After leaving the bad lands we drove to the Minuteman  Missile National Monument Headquarters. We were going to get tickets for the tour but found out that the tour was 20 miles back the way we had just come. We settled for the 15 minute video and then continued on.  At our next stop for gas we were exiting the freeway we heard a loud thunk.  We figured that we hit a big-ish rock or something but didn't think any thing of it. As we left the fuel stop we heard it again and stopped.  We found we could mimic the sound by bouncing the front fender.  It sounded like the shock has come loose.   We are two time zones east of Portland, OR and that means two hours ahead.  It is dark before we know it now.  We decided to check it out in the morning in the daylight.  We were able to drive another 70 miles on the freeway without any problem and pulled up in Mitchell, SD,  home of the Corn Palace.  Hmm, that might be worth checking out before we travel on.