Thursday, November 28th, 2019
Los Angeles, CA and Rapid City, SD
It’s 3am PST and I am waking up for my 6am flight to Rapid City, SD. Today is Thanksgiving and I will be landing in Rapid City, SD by 11am MST. I am very groggy but willing to tolerate the early wake-up call in order to get the most out of Thanksgiving Day.
I enjoy a quick coffee and meditation before my Lyft picks me up for the airport. The first flight to Salt Lake City is smooth and I make a quick connection to the next plane. The Salt Lake City airport is built like a bus terminal and I am very charmed by its minimalistic aesthetic. The next flight boards right on time. The airplane is teeny, tiny and I can barely stand up in the aisle. I wait patiently through an hour delay before the plane is able to leave the runway.
After about 2 hours in the air, the pilot makes an announcement that weather conditions are making it unsafe to land but he is going to try anyway. My immediate reaction is laughter. I think he could have communicated better, but am happy to hold on to the hope of landing. The pilot makes an attempt but ends up ascending back into the sky. He makes a second attempt with the same outcome. At this point, the plane does not have enough fuel to continue to circle the airport and we are diverted to Casper, WY.
30 minutes later we are on the ground as the crew refuels. The plan is to wait for a break in the weather and then try again. Because of the rapidly changing nature of the situation, the pilot asks that all passengers stay on the teeny, tiny plane. 2 hours later, we are back in the air.
As the plane approaches Rapid City, the pilot announces that conditions are still not good and the last plane was unable to land. He announces that he will try again. I truly love this guy.
As the plane descends I can feel the whole plane holding its breath. I stare out of the window and can only see fog. Suddenly the wheels touch down. We have arrived! We all exchange high fives with the pilot and crew on the way out of the plane. I overhear the gate attendant say this is the only plane to make it into Rapid City today. Wow, I feel lucky. I almost spent Thanksgiving alone in a regional airport in Wyoming.
By 3pm I am meeting my parents at their rental car in front of the airport. I am only 4 hours late.
My parents inform me that the Thanksgiving buffets have closed for the day and there are only 2 hours of daylight left. A group decision is made to use the daylight to see Sturgis and then eat a regular dinner later. I am starving, however, so end up buying a couple of beef sticks and some black coffee at a gas station. This is not the culinary experience that I expected.
Sturgis, which is famous for its summer biker rallies and motorcycle bars is completely empty. We drive around the town center, but the only thing open is another gas station. Dad asks if I’d like another beef stick and I politely decline.
It turns out that we are not far from Deadwood and there is still some daylight left. We make the drive around a small mountain and end up in a quaint town that looks like a deserted version of the log ride at Disneyland. As we get closer to Main Street, I can see that the road is lined with motels and casinos. Some dedicated gamblers sit at slot machines next to the smudged-up windows. They look kind of sad. I suddenly realize that I’ve never seen a casino with windows before. Maybe this is why.
It’s nearing 5pm and the sky is darkening. We drive back to Rapid City to try the 3 restaurants that are supposed to be open. The first one, Minervas, is clearly closed for the day. The second one, called Menards, turns out to be a very large hardware store. While it’s technically open, they don’t do dinner service. We pass by a Perkin’s, which is open, but my Dad refuses to eat at a chain on a holiday. I silently think that beggars can’t be choosers, but I hold out hope for the next and final option. Marlin’s is in the parking lot of a large truck stop and, hallelujah, it’s open. I have never been so excited to eat Thanksgiving dinner at a truck stop.
I order a large glass of their only white wine and proceed to embark on a 3-course meal of fried cheese sticks, taco salad, and a brownie a la mode. This meal is great and I am so happy that I made it here.
My parents landed in Rapid City from Austin, Texas yesterday and had almost an entire day to explore before I arrived. I casually ask what they’ve seen so far. There is a pause that lasts a beat too long; I know something’s up. They went to Mount Rushmore without me. They promise to go back tomorrow, but to be honest, I really can’t blame them. Weather conditions are deteriorating fast and it’s possible the roads may be closed tomorrow.
After dinner, we check into the Rushmore hotel and are very happy with my room. It’s starting to snow outside, but my Dad still somehow manages to find a bar across the street for an after-dinner drink. As soon as we enter, we realize the bar is in fact an Indian food restaurant. We order a bottle of wine and add a few appetizers to be polite. No one touches the food, but we enjoy the wine together. Around 9:30pm the restaurant closes and we have no other choice but to call it a night.
I crawl into bed and say a little prayer that the weather holds for tomorrow.
