The plains. They're pretty great.

7-9-11 - Menno, SD

It's hot. Still 95F at 9pm. Not to mention that breeze that nearly blew me off the road the whole way here has up and vanished. Probably because this lake is in a bowl of sorts. Definitely sneaks up on you. I was following the directions and thinking, "It's completely flat out here, where are they hiding a lake?" But then you drop into a little gully and there it is: a nice little lake tucked into a hilly depression. From down at the shore, south-east South Dakota boasts gently rolling hills covered with a blanket of yellow and green tall grass, with stands of evergreens speckled throughout. Not bad. But from highway-level, it's flat as paper, adorned with the same corn/soy motif as Iowa and no doubt the rest of the midwest I have yet to traverse.

I rolled into Menno about 3:30pm this afternoon (Sat.), brimming with anticipation. Realistically I knew I wasn't about to discover long-lost celebrity relatives or stumble across a family fortune, but it's still exciting knowing that my flesh & blood was and is so rooted into the character and history of this midwest "nowhere" town.

Not surprisingly, the Menno Heritage Museum was closed. There was a list of phone numbers (including a Cindy Aisenbrey) on the door, but I had no reception, and didn't feel like rousing someone from an afternoon nap so I could look at turn-of-the-century cookware. I grabbed my camera and ambled down 5th Ave (more of a 'Main St' than the actual Main St) snapping nondescript touristy images.

The Schnitz (a 5-star dining establishment, no doubt) was closed. The Open Door Cafe didn't live up to its name. I wandered into a confusingly-labeled shop, filled with vhs tapes and fridges full of home-grown produce. The couple behind the counter struck up a conversation and ended up being a repository of information as to the history of Menno, and the Aisenbrey family. We chatted for half an hour, and they gave me phone numbers for resident Aisenbreys, and directions to an old cemetery out of town they thought might feature some Aisenbrey tombstones. Apparently the fence had been moved in when the church changed locations, evicting the long-since rotted wooden crosses that marked the graves of my great-great grandfather, Christian Aisenbrey, and his father, who now lie under row after row of soybeans. Maybe they would've liked it that way.

I located a couple other family-members I'll have to look up later, but the bugs were relentless, and the South Dakota sun was starting to forego the cloud-cover it had graced me with thus far.

[and now I have to go brave the swarms of no-see-em's and shoot the sun setting over the lake. BRB. . . . Worst. Bugs. Ever. Non-stop onslaught until I made it back to the tent. Gorgeous sunset though. Probably gonna miss some of the good post-sunset light, but I wasn't about to let those bugs lay eggs in my ears.]

So back to the story. I headed back into town in hopes that the Open Door or the Bier Garden would be open, but alas, one out-of-towner must not warrant opening the whole store on a Saturday afternoon. So, having seen what there was to see in town, I headed off to the lake to scout out a campsite. I guess I shouldn't have been surprised that there were so many people at the lake (which is really just a dammed river/glorified pond) given the heat, but luckily there was still one camper spot open, so I hurriedly set up my tent and retreated, once again, to its bug-proof-ness, only to sweat my ass off while trying to read.

One hour and a gallon of sweat later, I gave up and set out to find dinner in the next town over, since every door in Menno is apparently locked on Saturdays. Olivet, SD may have played big brother to Menno back in 1900, but as of July 9, 2011, its population is soaring at 63, with a grand total of zero restaurants. Back to Menno, and the sole gas station convenience store. Unfortunate.

Now I'm back in the tent, still sweating with no sign of a breeze. Guess I'm gonna try out one of the local churches tomorrow morning, then head out for Hutchinson/Wichita, KS tomorrow afternoon. Supposed to be hotter down there. Hooray.

P.S. - Lady in yellow tanktop, from air conditioned motor home just invited me to join them for fireworks in honor of her 40th birthday. Many happy returns.