Winter expedition in South Dakota

Saturday, November 30th, 2019 

Rapid City, SD

It’s 8am MST and I am jumping out of bed to see my first blizzard. I excitedly pull back the blinds to a completely deserted landscape. Everything is covered in a blanket of white snow. I can see buildings and parked cars, but it’s impossible to see where the streets end and sidewalks begin. Snow is blowing upwards, sideways and in every other direction but down. I think this is so cool. 

I get ready for the day and make a cup of coffee. I have nearly 30 minutes to stare out of the window before breakfast. I watch intently as snowplows start to appear, seemingly out of nowhere. Some are big and some are small. They slowly and methodically draw lines in the snow and I am reminded of Tibetan monks silently moving around a sand garden. 

At 9am I meet my parents for breakfast. We find a table next to a window and I continue to stare at the snow. Now we are on the ground level so I can see the full height of the snowdrifts, some of which are as tall as the cars. 

I order an omelet and more coffee for breakfast. We check the weather and it quickly becomes clear that we are not leaving the hotel today. Luckily there is a bare-bones staff and the electricity remains on. 

After a long breakfast, I come to the conclusion that I must go outside. It takes nearly 20 minutes to prepare for the trek. My Dad will come too, while my Mom takes pictures through the hotel window. At 11am I meet my parents in the lobby and I am literally wearing every piece of clothing from my suitcase. 

I look out of the lobby window and honestly, feel a little scared. The wind is blowing furiously and visibility is low. My Dad goes first. He ventures directly into the wind. Me, my Mom, and the lobby attendant watch through the window. He quickly returns and announces that the wind is strong. 

Alright, I will go outside too. I push through 2 layers of doors to the drop-off area in front of the lobby. I turn away from the wind but remain within 10 feet of the door. I take a few pictures and attempt to create a snowball. I only succeed in soaking my gloves and throwing a pile of powder back into the incessant wind. I go back inside. 

Now my Dad has an idea to venture farther; he wants to walk to Murphy’s, a closed pub located across the street. I’m not excited about this idea, but honestly, there is nothing else to do. I send my Mom to the top floor of the hotel to take pictures. I zip up my jacket and put on my Spectacles, which are sunglasses with an embedded camera. 

5 steps into the expedition my glasses are completely fogged over. I try taking them off, but the fast-blowing snow stings my eyes so much that I can not keep them open. I put my sunglasses back on and wipe them with my soaking wet glove. I can barely make out my Dad, who is a few paces in front of me. As I follow him, I snap a few pictures. 

The wind is loud and my ears are covered by multiple layers. We communicate with hand signals. The conversation goes like this: Me: No, no, no. My Dad: Yes, yes, yes.  Once we successfully touch the door of Murphy’s, I take the lead into the wind to get back to the hotel. I can see the hotel, but still find it scarier to be in the front of the line since I can no longer follow my Dad’s path. 

Eventually, we make it back inside the lobby. I take a few minutes to dry off my Spectacles and pair them with my iPhone to look at pictures. Only some of them came out as the camera actually froze after only a few minutes. 

My Dad wants to drive around the block, but me and my Mom refuse to go. He treks to the car and then comes back 10 minutes later. There is no way to move that car. I am relieved. 

Now it’s 11 am and there is officially nothing left to do. We agree to spend some time in our respective hotel rooms and meet for lunch at 12noon. 

At 12noon I am not hungry at all but head back to the lobby anyways. We learn that the lobby restaurant will not be open for dinner, so I end up ordering some crab dip in a purely defensive move. 

Around 1:30 pm, lunch is done and there is still nothing to do. We agree to take a break and then meet back in the lobby at 3 pm. For the next 1.5 hours, I sit quietly in my room, alternating between watching the window and the weather channel. 

At 3 pm we learn that the lobby bar has been opened. My prayers have been answered! The bar is small but full of stranded guests. I spend a few hours chatting with my parents and eventually, everyone agrees to play Heads Up. We spend most of the evening making a small scene as we all yell out clues. Eventually, we move to the charades version of the games, causing an even bigger scene. 

Around 6 pm we learn that the kitchen is closing and make an emergency order of all 4 available appetizers. We spend the rest of the evening finishing off a large portion of the bar’s cabernet and eating more crab dip.

Eventually, the bar closes, forcing us to call it an early night. I still have time to watch a few more episodes of Undone before falling asleep well before 10 pm.