Do you have any idea what it is like to be married to an Aurora Hunter? Here's a hint. When the predictions for a Northern Lights display ran high, Rich suddenly changed our route to Denver to stay far enough north to see the display, should it materialze. Never mind that it added 80 miles to our trip. The mere possibility of seeing the aurora was worth it, in his mind. He's the driver, so I went along with the plan.

Our new route took us through South Dakota. To be honest, it looked a whole lot like Nebraska to me – flat and devoid of trees. Not a whole lot to see. Instead I set my sights on the reading material I'd brought along, and got caught up on umpteen issues of Time Magazine.

The lack of scenery was such that when Rich suggested we take a quick detour to see the Corn Palace, it actually sounded like a reasonable idea. Never mind that it was merely the exterior that was made of corn, they actually did some pretty cool things creating murals out of corn cobs. It's amazing what can be interesting when faced with mile after mile of undulating land.

Kadoka SD is our home for the night. The Club 27 Steakhouse was the best joint in town for dinner, and we felt as though we'd stumbled on the hot spot for miles around. Valentine's Day seemed to bring out all the town folk, and the place was hopping. Valentine decorations, dinner specials and folks dressed in red all signified a special night, and Rich tried to gain credit for taking me out for a Valentine's dinner. We enjoyed the preponderance of cowboy hats, flannel shirts and the locals all greeting one another.

Unfortunately, the clouds have rolled in so the likelihood of seeing any Northern Lights – even if they appear – are slim. But we did see a pink sunset, and a huge full moon rise at the same time on opposite sides of the sky. That was pretty cool, and may just be our excitement for the evening. Detour or not.