#3: [24-May-24]

#1: [04-May-02]

#2: [30-Apr-02]

09-Aug-2025 --

I felt compelled to visit at least one confluence during the course of a whirlwind weekend trip to Nebraska, and found that my planned route passed near several options. 45N 99W looked the quickest and safest — only a few hundred feet from a road, and just a block off the highway (SD 45, which almost parallels the 99th meridian). Having never been to northeastern South Dakota, a confluence visit would be especially interesting: a "random" destination in a heretofore unseen land. And nothing breaks up a drive better than intently observing a piece of inconspicuous Upper Midwest pastureland for a couple minutes.

The preceding two hour drive across southern North Dakota and northern South Dakota had been relaxing but relatively bland, save for a gorgeous red-tinted moonset and simultaneous sunrise, and the occasional golden sunflower field. Enjoying the crisp, calm August morning (temperatures in the low 50s, ~11°C!) with the car window rolled down, I thought about what awaited me at the confluence. Almost every single field I drove past was cultivated for something: corn, wheat, soybeans, sunflowers... it seemed lucky that I was aiming for a crop-free spot, especially given the expedited timeframe in which I was hoping to accomplish the visit. The handful of little towns I drove through were very quiet on this Saturday morning, but out in the vast sea of agricultural land I passed a number of farm trucks hauling farm things — there's evidently not much time to rest for those that work the Dakota soil during its short growing season (harvesting will start to pick up in the coming weeks).

Some 30 miles (50 km) north of 45N 99W, I turned onto Highway 45, an indication I'd be getting there soon. It was unintentional, but seemed apt that my first visit to a confluence on the 45th parallel should happen along a highway signed as 45. I continued southbound along the pencil-straight highway, carefully keeping track of the rigidly designated mile-apart grid roads I passed — I'd be turning off at 165th Street. The anticipated sign showed up soon enough (before highway hypnosis took over) and I set off eastbound for one block to the confluence field. It was a good quality gravel road with a speed limit somehow posted at 55 mph (90 kmh), almost comically fast from my city slicker perspective! (I did not attempt to match it for fear of spinning out.)

Just a couple hundred meters north of the first road junction I encountered, I saw my GPS hit 45°N — from here I pulled off to park and scanned the field, happy to find it free of confluence cattle (I assume this field is used for grazing). I don't know how recently any cattle ate their way to this area, given I set off on foot to find knee-deep grasses. Knee-deep grass is preferable to 6-foot corn stalks (by a factor of twenty, at least), and I happily trotted a couple hundred feet through the South Dakota prairie en route to the 45th parallel's intersection with the 99th meridian. Bugs turned out to be the primary annoyance on this two minute walk, the moist summer grass absolutely teeming with gnats and mosquitos. After several swats the GPS coordinates approached and then displayed all zeroes: I was now standing on 45N 99W, halfway between the equator and the North Pole! It was my first South Dakota confluence and first time on this special latitude.

As one would expect (hope?), the views resembled everything I'd seen in the confluence's parent region during my journey there: pancake-flat, nearly treeless, and vibrantly green. The fields adjacent to the south (see photo) and west (across the road) were planted with what I believe are soybeans. The sky appeared massive above the nearly featureless green plain, deep blue with a few clouds to the far southeast. The temperature had quickly warmed to about 70°F (~21°C) under the August morning sun (just past 9 AM), about normal for South Dakota this time of year. It was generally quiet, although I could hear an occasional passing vehicle from the nearby highway. A peaceful and pretty enough location, though probably not something the South Dakota tourism agency should use in their advertising.

Photos taken and geographical satisfaction achieved, I started back to the car. The entire visit took under 10 minutes, and very soon I found myself back on the road to Nebraska — several more hours of wide-open, empty, and occasionally rolling landscapes, sharing many characteristics with the spot I'd just visited. It was a wonderful way to start the weekend!