Road trippin' HNT

The quality of this photo isn't all that great but it's the best I could do at 85 mph on a two lane South Dakota State Highway at 8:30 in the morning knowing I had a 600 mile drive a head of me. This is a sign of how I know I'm getting close to home.

It's not "technically" patriotic but I think it is also a symbol of a holiday weekend like the 4th of July. People going home, Midwesterners stopping long enough in the fields to gather for picnics, roadtrips, and commaderie. So Happy 4th of July! If I see ya on the road, I'll wave :)

470 miles of my trip is on interstate. Hundreds of poor souls stuck on I-90 across South Dakota with nothing to look at but hoping not to run into a highway patrolman as they fly across the prairie. But when I pull off on Highway 63 north I know I'm almost home because the instant I'm off the interstate I am greeted with this wave for the next 130 miles by nearly every car and definitely EVERY trucker.

You don't take your hand off the wheel, it's propped on the top of the steering wheel comfortably. You simply lift up your thumb, pointer and middle finger in a half wave. Sometimes you nod your head a bit too. But however it's done, it's a general "hi" to everyone you pass. It's an acknowledgement.

Now, when I took this picture there wasn't a car coming to wave at but I wanted to take the shot while I remembered and didn't want someone thinking I was really a lost out of stater with a camera if I took it when I really was meeting someone on the road. So "hi" to everyone this Fourth of July week!