As we move eastward across South Dakota, new species are being added to the toll cars take on the local wildlife. I’m seeing way fewer deer (although I still see deer in the fields almost every day) and a lot more raccoons, especially today. I still don’t know what to make of it, but over the last four or five days, small and medium-sized birds have been a constant still presence, and the last couple of days have brought a progression from snakes to frogs and now turtles.

I see very few carrion eaters, and the stench and the condition of the animal remains is ghastly. It is a perspective that is uniquely the purview of the cyclist I’m afraid, and it is an unfortunate part of the trip.