And So The Journey Begins

My big road trip would begin on Thursday, May 26th after putting in about a half day at the office.  With our midyear board meeting scheduled for early June, I needed to be sure to have all of my work done before leaving town . . . or plan to be back as scheduled on Wednesday, June 1st.  Fortunately things went very smoothly for me that week and I was able to hit the road around 1:30pm.  This was especially good since I was going to be at least a day ahead of the Memorial Day Weekend travelers heading to Wisconsin's Northwoods in RV's with their boats and other motorized toys.

David had prepared his van for the trip, getting my bedroll and sleeping area set up, the night before.  So I took it to work as I planned on leaving from the office, since it is west of our house and in the direction to drive to Minnesota and points beyond.

No road trip in Wisconsin is complete without a train!

The early part of the drive was nothing too special.  Usually for me, it's about getting settled in for the long cruise.  Don't get me wrong, Wisconsin is really a beautiful state . . . as is Minnesota.  But having done a lot of rural driving in Wisconsin visiting bowling centers, I was looking forward to a change in scenery.

I found my mind racing through all of the checklists that should have been reviewed BEFORE I started my drive.  BCAW board meeting agenda packet complete? YES!  Follow-up calls made before checking out of the office?  YES!  OOPS not so fast . . . missed one!  (Sent a text to Bob in my office so that I could take care of it before going off the grid the next day.)

St Croix River Lanes - a vintage 4 laner in Gordon, WI

It was really nice to get out after work on Thursday.  As I headed towards the Mississippi River along I94, I toyed with making a stop or two along WI Hwy 29 to visit with a couple of non-member bowling center owners.  GASP!  What was I thinking???  I'm road tripping to checkout and recharge, not make center visits.  Besides, a lot of the smaller centers in rural Northern Wisconsin typically close for the summer.  Any detour, even 15 or 20 miles off the interstate, could be a grand waste of time.  I kept focused and moving north and westward!

As night fell over Minnesota, the bugs were out in force.  They sounded like bb's hitting my windshield and hood driving in the dark.  The bug carnage on the windshield, front bumper and side mirrors was gross!  There is no other word for the amount of blood n guts covering the front end of the van.

Having made it to Fargo by 11:00pm, I called it a night.  I found a campsite at the Lindenwood Community Park Campground.  It was really too dark to figure out the lay of the park, so I just registered at the night dropbox and parked in the front parking lot near the entrance.  I figured that was as good as anywhere.

Total miles for the day was 588.

Driving into the sunset in Minnesota