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Taking a southerly course through South Dakota (stopping at Wall Drug and the Mitchell Corn Palace, naturally), don’t forget the town of Murdo and the Sioux Motel where Bonnie has scoured antique stores for cow skulls and wooden sculptures to attract visitors to her digs. Get back on the road and aim for Sioux Falls and the Cloud 9 Motel. As dusk descends and the pungent odor of the nearby stockyards drifts over the parked semis, take a look back down the road. From Rapid City to the end of the line, you’ve traveled much more than mere distance.

Heading for Spearfish, just a little south of Belle Fourche? Bring your camera. Practically every outer surface of the All Star Traveler’s Inn is covered with murals thanks to an itinerant painter who has discovered a wonderful way to see the country and earn free lodging. Peter Teekamp has painted a “History of America” from a Native American myth of the world’s founding to the aftermath of the September 11th attacks. Most intriguingly, you’ll admire the artist’s ingenuity as he integrates air conditioners and exposed pipes into his artistic vision. As the local paper sums up, “Some people take pictures when they travel, Peter Teekamp leaves pictures behind.”

All text copyright Andrew Wood. Photos copyright Jenny Wood and Andy Wood.