Day 3: Hardin - Sioux Falls. 671 miles.

Good day, sunshine ... Icicle, icicle, where are you going? ... The sun will come out, tomorrow ...

Another, longer day. It didn't feel long until the last hour. But I'm getting ahead of myself. Most of today was fantastic. Sunny skies, dry roads, lovely people.

However ... Am starting to call The Fabulous Father /The Snowman/, as each time we trade and he gets behind the wheel, it starts to snow. Or, in tonight's case, rain. Freezing rain. Would have been fine, but the headlights and the wipers got jammed with ice, reducing visibility to close to nil. We crawled along dark and icy roads for the last 90 minutes and into Sioux Falls, only to discover that it's close to impossible to get a beer in South Dakota after 9:30 on a Sunday night. Never thought I'd say this, but gods bless Bennigan's. (Who knew the Irish ate ribs?)

Things I've learned thus far:

• Drive as fast as you can, safely, when roads are clear and dry, and the sun is up.
• Chain Removal Area signs mean you're now free to exhale. Especially when you didn't put chains on in the first place.
• The air, including that coming out of the car heater, is incredibly dry this side of the Continental Divide. Moisturize, baby!

Google Maps.