Part Nine

“Peace be with you”

It is Sunday morning in Pierre and soon I will be heading southwest to my next stop in Gordon, Nebraska. But before that, it’s 10am Mass at St. Peter and Paul Church, a beautiful yellow brick structure up on a hill in Pierre.

A full house was in place for the 10am service. And during part of the Catholic mass, there is a point where the pastor will ask everyone to show each other a sign of peace. And you greet the stranger next to you, shake their hand, and simply say, “Peace be with you”. You will hear no preaching from this writer, but just a note to say that whatever religion or following you do, peace be with you. And so it goes.

At 12 Noon CDT, I say bye to Jenn and her family and worked my way south to and then west on I-90. And yes, this is the same I-90 that begins in Boston, Massachusetts. After a food and fuel stop in Murdo, it is 40 miles west to the town of Kadoka, South Dakota (welcome to the Mountain Time Zone) and then south on South Dakota state route 73. In about 10 miles, you start to see these buttes rise out of the prairie:

Welcome to the Badlands in the Pine Ridge Historic Reservation, some of the most beautiful, and at the same time, most desolate area of our country. It was like going back thru time. These formations are buttes and mountains that have been sanded by the prairie winds over time and you see the layers upon layers of different colored rock. And in about 10 minutes, you climb up a hill and they are gone. Absolutely amazing!! Take a look:

Heading further south on Route 73, I again see this broadcast tower that I saw back in 2008  near the town of Long Valley. So I said to myself, “Self??” And I said, “Yes??” And myself says, “Let’s have a look see”. So I turn right onto:

 And after going up and down this roller coaster road for about 3 miles, I come across the tower:

 At its base, a simple transmitter building:

And the antennas on the tower:

The tower belongs to South Dakota Public Broadcasting. The TV side is KZSD-TV, digital channel 13 and the radio side is KZSD-FM, 102.5, both licensed to Martin, South Dakota. From the looks of where the microwave receive antenna is pointing, the signals originate from Rapid City. Once my pictures are intact, it is back on the roller coaster:

To Route 73 and head south.

And the views are still breathtaking:

Until I see this running up from the ditch on the left side of the road and I stop in time:

That about 1000 pounds of Midwest beef that almost hit me. With a few toots on the horn, he is soon back with his herd.

After taking a right at Tuthill, South Dakota, heading west on U. S. Route 18, thru the town of Martin:

And then south on South Dakota state route 391, I enter back into Nebraska:

And what was 391 has instantly become Nebraska state route 27. Twenty more miles later, it is 2:45pm MDT and we arrive at our next spot, Gordon, Nebraska to visit an old friend and former News8 (actually Newschannel 8) employee Ray Waldron and his wife Elaine.

In his time at News8, we had several names for him from Ray to Raymond to The Ray Man to Ray Ray to Mr. Ray.  But when we called him, he sure came running. Ray was one of our maintenance engineers, certified in fixing any broadcast gear from Sony and was one of the best IT guys when it came to any of the computers and the computer networks that we used in News or Engineering. A few years ago, Ray came out to visit his folks in Chadron, about 20 miles west of Gordon. And Ray met an old high school girlfriend of his named Elaine. Well, one thing led to another and Ray and Elaine ended up getting married and Ray moved back to Nebraska. He works for Gordon Memorial Hospital as their computer IT guy. Ray says he doesn’t miss TV but he was attentive as I brought him up to speed with his former friends and colleagues at News8. And this added note: Ray is a step-grandfather. Elaine's daughter, from a previous marriage, has given them a granddaughter named Gracie. And they have another granddaughter named Daizey who lives in Casper, Wyoming. Grandparenthood is treating the Ray Man quite well.

So now I am back at the Jefco Inn and it is time to call it a day. Monday is a full day on the road and we get back into train chasing, following the BNSF from Ellsworth, Nebraska to Gillette, Wyoming and explore the Power River Basin’s coal mines

I’m Philip J Zocco. On The Road. In Gordon, Nebraska.