The following details my trip to and from Bonesteel, South Dakota, a voyage I undertook with the simple mission of finding out why on earth there's a town called Bonesteel in the middle of the Midwest. I called the Chamber of Commerce in the nearby city of Gregory, SD where I was invited to take photos of their Fall Fest, meet the locals, and explore their history during my 3-day stay. Having never traveled to the Midwest before, I figured it was worth writing my impressions.

Day 3 Starting early (ish). Apparently you can eat granola with a fork, which is the only utensil the girls at the local restaurant/store gave me along with my meat/potatoes/eggs/cheese breakfast bowl. That lineup of ingredients seems so common here, must be "rancher" food. Gratefully, the store attached to the restaurant offered gluten free granola, fruit, non-dairy milk, etc. I'm definitely the outlier in this region in terms of dietary restrictions, although I wonder if so

Dayspring Coffee Co in downtown Gregory Day 4, final day and departure Started day at 6:15am for my first shoot at 8:00, more leisurely morning because the elementary/middle/high school complex is fewer than 3 minutes away. I played a song in the car and reached my destination before the first chorus, to give an impression of how near everything is. Given I had an extra few minutes, stopped at Dayspring coffee (an old bank converted into a coffee/flower shop), asked for the

Resolution of sorts, typed at a small in-airport cafe with a cold gluten-free muffin. Just completed the 2 hour flight from Sioux Falls to Dallas. Ordinarily no problem, everyone's sleepy since the flight is 6am. All board the plane, and there's a free row in the back, directly behind me. A man flags down a flight attendant, I figure he's going to ask if he can sit there. He does.. and he invites this older lady from a few rows down to join, and she's ecstatic. RANT AHEAD: