December – Worn Out Shoes

Few transitions are quite as dramatic as the one that takes place while driving west through South Dakota in the winter. After eight dull hours of looking at flat, barren, wind-whipped land from which the only thing one finds refuge in is the nearly inexhaustible Wall Drug signs staked into it, the scenery suddenly collapses into the canyons of the Badlands and then rises inexplicably into the smoothed mountaintops of the Black Hills. Clearly, someone up top had mixed up blueprints while laying out designs for the area we thought, as the memories of the long and uneventful drive that had brought us there quickly turned to excitement for the days ahead.

After several hours on the road we were excited to come across a sign for a “Scenic Overlook.” Intrigued, we pulled off the highway and were met with the view above: not quite an overlook and most definitely not scenic.
However outrageous the number of billboards for Wall Drug seemed along our drive (there had to have been hundreds), they fulfilled their purpose. Almost without thinking, we stopped at the store, as do thousands of other people every day during non-Covid times.
The exact point where the flat, empty plains that had dominated our line of vision for seven plus hours gave way to the canyons of the Badlands.
The rounded peak of a mountain in the Black Hills.
Looking out past the lofty landscape of the Black Hills, you can see the flatness of the land surrounding it, almost like an ocean surrounding an island.

With this being our first trip since Covid-19 broke out nearly a year ago, we were a little worried about what traveling would look like amid a pandemic and whether or not we would be able to stay safe during our time in the state. The answer to the first question would be that it’d look a whole heck of a lot like it did pre-pandemic and the answer to the second would be most definitely not, at least in public spaces anyway; the reason behind both of those troubling answers being, well, the fact that we were in South Dakota.

The Trump Tower of the Midwest.
We can’t imagine ever coming across a “Biden Shop.”
This photo became exponentially less amusing after January 6.
A segment on the local news.

As it turns out, along with the aforementioned geographical transformation that took place during our drive across the state, there was also an ideological one. The Black Lives Matter signs of Minneapolis dissipated the further west we drove, giving way to an outdoor museum of Trump paraphernalia. In one memorable moment, we passed a lawn lined with over twenty (or maybe thirty, we lost count) Trump flags waving ostentatiously in the wind. Yes, we were deep in Trump country, and that meant that mask-wearing was very much not a thing. So, like Puritans shuttering at the sight of a bikini, we winced away from the surplus of maskless faces bustling around us, choosing instead to spend our time exploring the inexhaustible scenery of the Black Hills, which is where you’ll find us in the photos below.

Pine needles encased by a layer of ice
The glassy waters of Pactola Reservoir
A bald eagle hunting for fish in the reservoir
A red squirrel munching on a pinecone
Snow blowing off branches in the sunlight
A nice spot for a picnic
A natural doorway we passed through after getting off the main trail in search of higher ground and a view of our surroundings
Almost at the top
A view well-worth the climb
Our only view of Mt. Rushmore was from the side of the road that wound past it; a strange and unnecessary monument in our opinion.
Devil’s Tower
We were surprised to come across a patch of red earth while hiking around the tower
Contemplating whether or not we wanted to climb up the hillside surrounding the tower to get a closer look at it…
…which we did, and it was exhausting.
Finally at the base of the tower
Some surprising winter greenery floating in the river

Read on for a poem by Kate:

Horsethief Trail

We pull off the road
and leave our car behind
to slip between
two boulders
and step over
the threshold
of the trail.

A downy blanket
embraces the forest,
a ribbon of untouched beauty
winds ahead, inviting us in.

All around us
a hush echoes,
rays of frigid sun
shine off marbled ponderosa bark,
illuminating tiny tracks
left by a mink,
perhaps on a trip to the icy stream
we walk along.

Leaving the path,
we climb up a craggy hill
to perch on a rock
and gaze out
at the world of trees below us.

Patches of snow
and fallen logs
reveal themselves
as we peer between the trees.

We climb down,
taking a new route.
Descending, a doorway in the mountain
appears,
fiercely swirling snow
into the gray sky
it has nothing to cling to—
around or behind.

The door looks to be a portal
to a mysterious realm.
It is alluring as it beckons us forward.
As we step through,
we realize
we’ve been walking in that realm
the entire time,
experiencing first hand
how real the magic is.

As much effort as we put into proving otherwise, we are still children at heart no matter our age. At no time is this more apparent than when we unexpectedly find ourselves confronting a smell, or taste, or sight of something long forgotten that makes us feel like we did long before attaining the overcelebrated title of maturity. For us, what transported our minds to a more youthful state was the window of a chocolate shop that lied down a glittering hallway in Brussels on a gloomy December day. Trimmed in glowing evergreen branches that illuminated the red poinsettia leaves running alongside it, the shop offered a cinematic picture of Christmas that beckoned us towards it. Practically pressing our noses to the glass, we peered inside the shop as elvish workers strolled about the gold and burgundy trimmed store. Sweets of every shape and size filled the shelves with the crown jewel of the collection being, in our mind anyway, the pralines which, befitting of their value, were neatly displayed behind a glass case much like a fine jewelry would be. The value of the two were indistinguishable to us.

Across the hall, the aroma of fresh waffles and chocolate sauce demanded the attention of our noses, which we promptly followed only to be distracted by a nearly life size cookie depiction of St. Nicholas in a speculoos shop. Now, if the word speculoos does not send you salivating, you should know that the cookie can be best described as thin, crunchy, caramelized, and infused with flavors of cinnamon, nutmeg, cloves, ginger, and cardamom among others. Perhaps now you can understand our distraction at the sight of them and also, perhaps, our childlike joy at finding ourselves amongst a heavenly array of sweets. There was only one problem, we were vegan and everything described above was most definitely not. Did I mention that the disposition of children is also very flexible? Along with our obsession over sugary treats, it appeared that we would be adopting that trait as well, if only for our week-long stay in Brussels.

12FD9728-BCEE-40F7-B311-77668E1114C6 — Checking out a waffle shop

Like our other stops in Europe after finishing El Camino, our main purpose for traveling to the Belgian capital was to visit friends. This time, it would be to see Doriane, whom we had shared a house with in Spain in 2012 and who had traveled to the States to be a bridesmaid in our wedding in 2016. It was time to return the favor, and we were very glad we did, if not only to see a good friend, then also to experience the festive mood of the city as it kicked off its holiday season.

CB430D10-BFB4-4DA7-8401-DB7E8D087048 — Enjoying some Christmas tea with Doriane in her apartment

EB0380E1-0554-4D35-89B6-C93500E1A6CB — On our way into the city

AD193DDC-EC2D-4884-BD13-DDD7F3460004 — The gilded buildings of Grand Place which most definitely earned its “grand” moniker. Like the skyscraper-laden banks of Shanghai’s Bund, it was hard to believe that a place so impressive had started as nothing more than a small market in a muddy swamp.

ADD51852-6C6F-41A6-BF43-84CE333825C4 — The spire of the Town Hall. No matter where we went in Brussels, whether it be candy shopping, museum hopping, or looking for a cozy place to enjoy a hearty Belgian ale, our path always seemed to lead back to Grand Place. We were happy for this as our feeling of awe at entering the plaza never faded even after a week of countless visits to it.

8BCD6C24-C619-46A2-B795-5ACDEBB03B0A — The buildings in the plaza were no less spectacular at night

B263D446-29BA-41FC-BD02-4CB6E6A2EE40 — The crowded walkways of Brussels’ sprawling Christmas market

25BE9C3D-4656-4315-9305-CF724C371E3A — Enjoying stew and fritters from one of the few vegan-friendly booths at the market

93D88286-4300-4114-9B96-E55961E49302 — Outside of Grand Place, we were never at a lack of finding buildings that peaked our interest. We were especially enamored by the tops of the buildings, which were usually pyramidal in form but varied from one to the next in how they went about from arriving at their point from their base. Some curved elegantly upwards towards a mushroom-like cap and others rose jaggedly like a set of stairs. Because of the uniqueness of each building, we were always making sure to look up as we wandered the streets of the city.

2A650B05-E32A-4309-BFC2-138E6D693AFE — The National Basilica of the Sacred Heart

D3552300-AAC0-40A8-80CF-FC56B09EADBC — The famous Manekkin Pis, which we were surprised to find was an incredibly small statue lying unceremoniously on the corner of an intersection. We probably would have walked right past it if Doriane hadn’t pointed it out. While naked in this picture, the statue is usually wearing a costume, a tradition that dates back to the 18th century.

C3BB1B1D-28DF-4369-94D1-6881DF8FAAF5 — We thought this building looked a lot like Gringott’s Bank from Harry Potter.

429579C4-315A-4F89-BA08-2CE74C6C4054 — If there was one thing we enjoyed more than Belgian sweets, it was Belgian beer

9D0DF8DB-2C8F-4828-A1F3-486ED6A74DA6 — Taking in a Magritte painting at a museum dedicated to his life and work. Relatively unknown to us prior to our visit, we were very glad to have been introduced to the surrealist artist, whose work tickled our brains as we tried to make sense of his unordinary depiction of ordinary objects.

1A5AC6C3-F0F7-4B68-9D45-7AF9F8FDDDEB — During our time in Brussels, it felt like we stumbled upon this group of musicians just as much as we did Grand Place. Their music added a jazzy liveliness to whichever street we found them on.

525A3AD9-632A-4A8C-A9E8-75907A08198A — Worthless junk or priceless antiques? That was the question looming over us as we toured an antique market in Brussels. After walking through it, we leaned more towards the former.

3C47D4A8-DE89-4D67-BE29-CD0A6D81E713 — Another city fixture that we fell in love with, along with sweets and beer, was Art Nouveau, an early 20th-century art form that inspired various architectural projects from the same era. We were always excited when we happened upon a building that we could identify as being Art Nouveau.

1493C9A8-78A7-49E0-82EC-A8CD8B379333 — An Art Nouveau-inspired bar, one of our favorites of the many we would visit while in the city

BBE8F9FF-384F-4F05-BCBA-978C2A1020B8 — As our time in Brussels, and, by a very long extension, our time abroad, came to an end, we nostalgically reminisced about all of our travels while traversing the city on foot. It was fitting then that we came across a shell marking the way of El Camino, one of our greatest adventures from our eight years spent overseas.

02137FF2-1A0E-4D1C-89E0-95B2EEDF1010 — Have I mentioned yet that we enjoyed beer…

12504C6B-F3AA-4988-87CC-9BDC267772C5 — …and sweets while in Brussels?

21941345-BC52-4ECD-9B7B-0FED5A932790 — Decorating for Christmas in Doriane’s apartment on our last night

4AF4D641-8027-4958-902B-4EAA290FFC74 — I started the blog talking about how easy it is to feel like a child at times and will end it on the same note. On our last morning in Brussels, we were giddy to find that our shoes had been stuffed with presents from St. Nicholas.

And of course, no blog about a visit to Doriane would be complete without mention of her cat Pumpkin Pie, or as his friends know him, Pumpkin, whom we will pay homage to in the next two photos.