Minot, ND may be one of the most boring places we have visited yet. Since my last posting, we have traversed the entire state of Minnesota as well as most of North Dakota and to be truthful, there is really nothing up here.
We left Duluth to begin our trek on Route 2, the route we will be taking all the way out to Montana. Long stretches of two lane road with nothing very interesting to look at along the way. Lot of open fields, few trees, and some extremely small towns along the way. The downfall of the trip over the last week has been the wind - 15 to 20 mile an hour headwinds that make 60 mile days as long as 120 mile days. Our direction sheets though have become quite short, turn out of church onto Route 2, continue on 2, turn into church at arrival. No chalking, few people getting lost, and a lot of people getting bored on the road.
The ride into Duluth was pretty flat, the ride out of Duluth was very hilly. We managed to hike up the ridge overseeing the city giving us quite a view of the city and the lake. Might I add too that I put my feet in Superior and it is quite chilly. It doesn't ever warm up past 60 or 65. So getting out of Duluth was a challenge and so began our battle with the wind. The day started out windless, but by the end, we were battling 15 mile an hour winds making the trip quite a long one.
The evening consisted of a "carnival" which should have been called dinner with games. By presenting dinner as a "carnival" many people had their hopes up, unfortunately it was a bust. Not enough food and the group and a number of goofy locals failing miserably at the hoola-hoop.
From there we touched on a number of other small Minnesota towns before crossing into North Dakota. Not much excitement, certainly not worth dwelling on. The ride though into North Dakota was the second longest day we've had yet, about 116 miles. The ride into Devil's Lake was an exciting one because we were going to be spending the evening with the Berg family. One of our trip leaders, Isiah, is from the small town just north of Devil's Lake. We all managed to get over there after the 116 mile ride only to be greeted by tractor rides, horse rides, and a hot tub (I also managed a haircut out of the equation as well). The farm was fantastic and the Berg family was so generous with everything - I would have lost my mind with 30 people destroying my home....
Being that the next day was only 58 miles, we felt it would be a good idea to sleep in at the Berg farm and get on the road by 10; bad idea, that was the worth wind we've dealt with yet. Anson and I managed to finish the trip in about 6 hours, the same amount of time we finished 120 miles the day before. That evening though we managed a dance party and a formal dinner which was fantastic. Everyone had a great evening and we hung out at the Dairy Queen following dinner giving everyone the necessary sugar to stay up past nine.
Today was our day off in Minot and again, not much to say for Minot. I don't think I will be relocating to Minot anytime soon. The ride in yesterday was fantastic, 60 miles in about 3 hours.
From here we will be heading off to Theodore Roosevelt State Park and then onto Montana for 11 days. Once we've traversed Montana we'll be on the home stretch, only Idaho and Washington left. We're slowly getting there one day at a time, a few more miles on Route 2, then the Rockies and the Cascades....
Keep writing and I'll post when Internet is available.
2 comments:
You sound here like you did during college when it was week 10 of the term, you still had 5 weeks to go, you had a ton of assignments and the classes were boring. I hope you are headed for some scenery and excitement in Montana. I remember that part of the country being very beautiful. Mostly, I remember the sky being so much bigger there than here - how does that work? Anyway, I hope you got your package in Minot. I'm using my mom energy to prepare another box for Chinook. Keep your eyes open. Godspeed.
Hey Ian.
Congratulations on your formal dinner and dance party. I hope there was music by the Ventures and Johnny and the Hurricanes. Maybe GWAR. GWAR rules, as does Pantera.
As you describe the relative tedium of the present portion of your journey, I'm somehow reminded of an incredible conversation I once had with your mom as we were driving to see her parents. I was complaining about the scenery: there was nothing but flat farmland all around us, and a "red rubber ball" of a sunset and some wispy clouds. Crass and insensitive New Yorker that I was (and still am), I complained about there being nothing worth looking at. Robin explained that if I had been raised differently, in a non-urban setting, I would know how to appreciate, and selectively attend to, various beautiful aspects of a rural scene. I am sure she was right about that; but the challenge is to reconcile that idea with the fact that some situations are just objectively boring. It's a tough contrast to draw.
Anyway, it sounds like all is well with you and the group, and I continue to be impressed with your progress and resolve. Keep the postings coming; they are great fun to read; it's good to know how your world is looking.
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