South Dakota Trip - Day 13

Had decided last night that this would be the last day of the trip (sad, actually, but kids were ready...). After getting breakfast in our hotel (Holiday Inn Express Village West), we got on the road by 0900L. Used I-435 to get to I-35 - turned into a toll road. Got lucky when we needed a bathroom break: ended up getting off at a rest area (Matfield Green) near Bazaar on the Turnpike and found that it had a monument to Knute Rockne! As a Domer myself, had always wanted to find the site but hadn't tried hard enough to locate it. I guess it was really as close as we could get to the airplane crash site since it is on private land... What a treat! Continued on I-35 and got gas just after the toll road ended (south of Wichita). A short time after crossing the border into Oklahoma, got lunch at Taco Bell. Started to see a LOT of Texas plates - hardly anything else. Took I-35 into Oklahoma City and used I-40 to locate the Oklahoma City Memorial. Had always wanted to visit and had heard that it was a beautiful, quiet place of contemplation to remember the people who were killed by Timothy McVeigh. Those things are true - it is also now part of the National Park system. We spent a little time there but didn't have a chance to visit the museum because we needed to get on the road again. Worth a return visit... Back on I-35, saw low flying aircraft in formation (Thunderbirds ?). Traffic jams started (aaaggghhh!). Wasn't missing the traffic AT ALL! Crossed the Red River around 1800L - all the way up to nearly 40 C by this point... Dinner at Rumpy's German Deli near Gainesville (see APR 2010) - very good! Back in Fort Worth by 1915L. Everyone (especially Frosty!) glad we made it home. A great trip!