Day 8 - The day I didn't get arrested and fell in love with prairie dogs.

Day 8
Valentine, NE - Badlands National Park, SD
2 hrs + time driving around 2 parks
Total miles driven:  2,383.4
Highlights of day:  Feeding peanuts to prairie dogs, watching the sunset over the formations at Badlands...oh, and not getting arrested.

So, to kick off my police involvement I was pulled over in the booming town of Valentine, NE last night after driving for 9.5 hours...because I didn't have my headlights on.  Ugh.  Find license, find registration, wait with bright light shining in eyes...police returns and asks what's in the baggie in my front seat.  Oh, you mean my drug stash?!?  Just my teabags.  He did, in the end, recommend a hotel to stay at.  That was just my warming up.  So, on Monday I saw this hand in a canal:

I thought, what a great gag...someone put a fake hand in this canal.  On Tuesday a friend of mine said she thought the hand was real and I maybe should call the cops.  Well, I had already started having my doubts, but really...who finds a dead body on a random canal stop on vacation?  It kept nagging at the back of my mind though, so today I figured out where I took the photo and called the sheriff.  Kind of Dukes of Hazzard like.  I thought what a fabulous concerned citizen I was...until I got called back 4 times with questions about why I hadn't called sooner, if anyone had seen the hand with me, if I noticed anyone else in the area, how close had I gotten to the hand, what was the exact time of the photo, had I seen a body and why did I have a close up photo?  Suddenly, past CSI episodes started flashing through my head.  Was I a suspect now?  What are the laws on reporting a random hand you think is fake to the police.  My last call ended with the sheriff and crew at the canal checking into things.  Panic attack ensued.  I wondered what jail in small town Indiana might be like.  How would I get my Element back to MA?  Could I hide out in a cave in the Badlands?  After an hour of playing worst case scenario I called back to check.  The nice lady Joyce was gone.  What is your name and what is your business in calling was the response when I asked for her.  Gulp...I'm the person that called about the hand?  It was fake.  We had a shift change and got busy so we couldn't call you back.  Phew?!?  So, I guess I'll be traveling a few more days after all.  Tonight I am camping inside Badlands National Park.  It is amazingly beautiful and so far there haven't been any suspicious hands.