I was in South Dakota, enroute between my stops in Ft. Pierre and Chamberlain, and I was on a road that was at least 3 steps down the ‘off the beaten path’ ladder. My ongoing desire to stay somewhat close to the River had me on Highway 5, off of Highway 10, off of Hwy 1806, coming south out of Ft Pierre. I was navigating through the Lower Brule Reservation area, looking for Hwy 47, in order to cross back over the River (mostly Lake Sharpe by then), find Hwy 34, leading to Hwy 50 with smooth sailing south to Chamberlain from there!
And this was not turning out to be as easy as that sounds!
I wasn’t 100% sure I was on the ‘right’ (or chosen) path to start with, and I hadn’t seen a vehicle for quite awhile (normally the way I like it) – or anything else really. I had just allowed the notion ‘this wouldn’t be a great place to break down’ pass through my head, when I suddenly came upon a ROAD CLOSED sign!! And it was like no Road Closed situation I had experienced. In the first place, the structure itself seemed confused. The sign looked like it was built to be installed vertically (it was on its side), yet the barrier was situated horizontally – and, even then, across just my lane of the highway only. Up ahead (100 yards or so?) was what appeared to be the exact opposite situation in the other direction.
I was puzzled (and a few other emotions). Was the road closed or not? Why ‘close’ the road, other than for some relatively good reason? But why appear to allow (even invite!) driving around the signs if it was closed?
I was simultaneously pondering what to do, whether or not I could find my way back the way I came, and remembering how long it’d been since I saw any traffic, when, out of the clear blue, up drove . . . . . a FedEx truck!!! Not just a local resident in a vehicle,mind you, but a FedEx truck! The driver rolled down the window, smiling. I asked if we could go around, and she (!) said “Sure – do it all the time! Follow me!!”
I had just enough time to snap a picture (see below) as she headed off, hop in the car to follow, and at the same time, share a huge laugh with my guardian angel!
