Thoughts Turn Toward Home

Thursday, July 23, 2020 – Medora, ND to Savanna Portage State Park, MN

The drive across North Dakota seems boring on the surface, but paying attention to the change in scenery made it fascinating. Going west to east first I noticed that the buttes disappeared. Then a few lakes started to appear. The grassland turned to cropland. Then there were some trees between the crop fields. Then more lakes, more trees, and less crop land. And before you know it you are in the dense, wet woods of Minnesota. I know I mentioned it before, but it is worth repeating – I love the speed and efficiency of traveling by plane, but traveling by car is a worthwhile experience if you have the time.

Along the way we stopped in Fargo for lunch. A few years back when I was still trying to get to North Dakota for my 50^th state I considered going to Fargo for their annual half-marathon. Those plans didn’t come together, but I have wanted to pass through ever since. We stopped at a burger restaurant for a nice leisurely lunch and drove through downtown and then across the river into Minnesota. It was pleasant enough, but I don’t think I need to go back for the half-marathon.

As we made our way across Minnesota we crossed the Mississippi River at Brainerd. There is a Dairy Queen right next to the river, so our daily ice cream was Blizzards by the Mississippi.

Google maps said the day’s drive would be 8 hours and 15 minutes, but it was 10 ½ hours by the time we reached Savanna Portage. And that was fine. We had a nice lunch, ice cream by the great river, and a few other gas and bathroom stops along the way. It’s about the journey and this was a good one. Just the day before I read in The Snow Leopard Matthiessen talking about thoughts turning to home, work, and routine near the end of his journey. And I thought about how true that is for me. With every trip, as I near the end I start thinking about home and work. On the long drive I was thinking of what I had to do on Sunday to unpack and be ready for work on Monday. Sunday and Monday will come, I should enjoy Thursday through Saturday.