I had a rough start to the day when I discovered my GPS had erased all its maps while I was trying to download some updates. Of all days, the day I needed to get around or through Chicago!
Well, nothing could be done about it so I jotted down some brief notes about my route through the area, prayed extra hard, and headed out just after 6:30 am. I wasn't very far from Monticello when the morning rush hour heading into Minneapolis started backing up. It actually wasn't that bad, just a couple of spots where we actually stopped, but overall the traffic moved really well.
I saw a sight in Minneapolis that made me swear to myself I had to come back another time and check it out. So there's this spot where there are three or four freeways jumbled together high and low, and then I looked ahead and saw this massive cathedral towering over the freeway (I was on the lowest level, so it did look really really high). There was another huge cathedral looking thing just a bit further down, too. Oh, how I wish I could have taken a picture! It looked so freakish and sci-fi, these two huge holy buildings looming over the frantic mess that is rush hour traffic, and I felt like I was driving down a narrow canyon between them. I'll have to google pictures of Minneapolis and see if I can find that shot.
Shortly after the drive through the twin cities I found myself in Wisconsin. If I didn't go back to that area to see more of Minneapolis I'd go back just to take in the beauty that is Wisconsin all over again. Oh my word, it was spectacular. Hilly, green, peaceful, beautiful stands of trees and clean farms and beautiful vistas; I had no idea it was such a lovely state. By the time I crossed into Illinois it was much flatter. Illinois gave off a pretty industrial vibe and most of my time in the state was trying to keep up with the most incredible number of semis I've seen in my life, all of us in a rush to get through the maze of construction cones all around Chicago. By the time I'd completed the western part of my Chicago avoidance I really had to pee, so I found a K-mart and bought myself a box of Cap'n Crunch with Crunchberries because you can NOT get those in Canada!! So I munched a bunch of those while the traffic inched along on the freeways on the south end of Lake Michigan. Finally, somewhere in Indiana, the traffic tapered off and we could zip along again. It's amazing how hot the cities get with all the traffic and 10 lanes of heat-reflecting concrete road surfaces. I got into Michigan and stopped at a visitor's center and was so happy to find it was much cooler outside there. Michigan, so far, is quite hilly and very forested. I'm in Kalamazoo at the moment, typing away in my huge king suite. The ceiling in here is about 14 feet high, I have a sitting area with a little kitchenette and then on the other side of a stub wall is the massive bed, computer desk and Sony LCD TV.
I was on the road for 12 hours today. I didn't get any pictures (well, I did take some of the room because it kind of blew me away) but I might get around to uploading them here tomorrow or Friday, we'll see what happens when I get to Toronto. Definitely looking forward to sitting still for a few days.
So despite the GPS issue, I actually had a great day. I spent all day listening to talks by John Bytheway, and he really inspired me in a lot of ways. This is a guy who loves the scriptures so much and knows them so well that he can really bring them to life and show us how those examples and principles from so long ago really do apply to us today. He directs his talks to the youth in the church, but his lessons really apply to anyone. I need to buy the second set of CDs now since I finished the last one today and have actually started reruns!
Yikes, it's 9:30 here now. I'm on eastern time for the next week and a bit. I need to get to bed. Goodnight!
Wednesday, June 30, 2010
Tuesday, June 29, 2010
Destination Day 3 - Monticello, MN
I decided to check my tire pressure this morning. Had a feeling I should, and I know better than to ignore those hunches. I drove about 100 feet to the gas station on the same property as the hotel and was stunned to see 3 of 4 tires had a psi of over 45. I wondered why the tires hadn't blown yet!
I headed out from Bismarck and enjoyed the view of the rolling hills. Just a while east of the city was a rest stop called Crystal Springs. There was a plaque there that said that the springs had been a fortunate discovery by the crews building the first rail line across the prairies. They were parched and didn't know if they could continue working when they found the springs. They drank up and washed up and rested and then continued on. Apparently these springs were a very important part of the history of the railway.
By the time I got to the Minnesota border the land was flat as a pancake. I figured as I angled toward Lake Michigan that more trees would spring up, and I was right. Just SE of Fargo the hills started up again and I saw so many gorgeous lakes and ponds right along the highway but, again, nowhere to stop safely. When I approached St. Cloud it seemed that a forest had just sprung up out of nowhere. A while later I stopped in a town called Avon for a bit of a break and saw a sign on the road that said "Lake Wobegon Trail." It brought to mind Garrison Keillor's books about his (supposedly non-fictional) youth in the area. The Lake Wobegon series are some very entertaining books, if you've never read his works.
I arrived in Monticello around 5:00 pm local time. I had inadvertently booked a smoking room when I made my online reservation, and I'm grateful that the desk clerk pointed it out to me when I checked in. I said I didn't want a smoking room and he looked on the computer to see where else he could put me. He only had 4 rooms vacant for the night so he handed me the card key for a two-room suite! It's like an apartment, it has a living room with 4 chairs and a couch, a dresser, TV, desk and table, fridge and microwave, and the bedroom has a king-sized bed, another chair, and another TV. I also got a little gift bag for being a rewards member with the hotel chain. I am so spoiled! :)
I went for a bite to eat and then headed down to the famed Mississippi River that flows through town to get some pictures. It's barely a creek compared to the leviathan it is by the time it hits Missouri, but it was still rather awe-inspiring to stand on the banks of that legendary river. This is a trip of firsts for me. First time I've driven this far from home by myself, first time in North Dakota and Minnesota, first time seeing the Mississippi. I'll be seeing it again in a couple of weeks when I'm in Nauvoo and I'm sure it'll be much bigger by then.
I got a fortune cookie after dinner and laughed when I saw what it said: "A new voyage will fill your life with untold memories." No one can tell me things on this trip are just a coincidence!
I have a very long day ahead of me tomorrow and it takes a really long time to upload pictures to this blog, so I'm going to get to bed. I have posted pictures on Facebook. I probably won't have time to upload pictures here until I get to Toronto. If you want to see some pictures before then, add me as a friend on Facebook.
Tomorrow's destination: Kalamazoo, Michigan. What a fun name. Wish me luck, I'll be going through Chicago during rush hour!
I headed out from Bismarck and enjoyed the view of the rolling hills. Just a while east of the city was a rest stop called Crystal Springs. There was a plaque there that said that the springs had been a fortunate discovery by the crews building the first rail line across the prairies. They were parched and didn't know if they could continue working when they found the springs. They drank up and washed up and rested and then continued on. Apparently these springs were a very important part of the history of the railway.
By the time I got to the Minnesota border the land was flat as a pancake. I figured as I angled toward Lake Michigan that more trees would spring up, and I was right. Just SE of Fargo the hills started up again and I saw so many gorgeous lakes and ponds right along the highway but, again, nowhere to stop safely. When I approached St. Cloud it seemed that a forest had just sprung up out of nowhere. A while later I stopped in a town called Avon for a bit of a break and saw a sign on the road that said "Lake Wobegon Trail." It brought to mind Garrison Keillor's books about his (supposedly non-fictional) youth in the area. The Lake Wobegon series are some very entertaining books, if you've never read his works.
I arrived in Monticello around 5:00 pm local time. I had inadvertently booked a smoking room when I made my online reservation, and I'm grateful that the desk clerk pointed it out to me when I checked in. I said I didn't want a smoking room and he looked on the computer to see where else he could put me. He only had 4 rooms vacant for the night so he handed me the card key for a two-room suite! It's like an apartment, it has a living room with 4 chairs and a couch, a dresser, TV, desk and table, fridge and microwave, and the bedroom has a king-sized bed, another chair, and another TV. I also got a little gift bag for being a rewards member with the hotel chain. I am so spoiled! :)
I went for a bite to eat and then headed down to the famed Mississippi River that flows through town to get some pictures. It's barely a creek compared to the leviathan it is by the time it hits Missouri, but it was still rather awe-inspiring to stand on the banks of that legendary river. This is a trip of firsts for me. First time I've driven this far from home by myself, first time in North Dakota and Minnesota, first time seeing the Mississippi. I'll be seeing it again in a couple of weeks when I'm in Nauvoo and I'm sure it'll be much bigger by then.
I got a fortune cookie after dinner and laughed when I saw what it said: "A new voyage will fill your life with untold memories." No one can tell me things on this trip are just a coincidence!
I have a very long day ahead of me tomorrow and it takes a really long time to upload pictures to this blog, so I'm going to get to bed. I have posted pictures on Facebook. I probably won't have time to upload pictures here until I get to Toronto. If you want to see some pictures before then, add me as a friend on Facebook.
Tomorrow's destination: Kalamazoo, Michigan. What a fun name. Wish me luck, I'll be going through Chicago during rush hour!
Monday, June 28, 2010
Destination Day 2 - Bismarck, North Dakota
The GPS is already showing its weakness. I knew I could get from Great Falls to Bismarck by following highway 200 across Montana, which then connects with I-94. Tomtom had the highway in its system because it correctly identified it once I was on it, but it could not plot a route on that highway. The worst route it suggested was 30 hours, 3000 km from Great Falls south to like Phoenix or something, then back up. It was just stupid. Ah well, good thing I bought an old-fashioned paper map of the US the other day so I could go and just keep an eye out for the right signs.
It was another clear, hot day and again I was so impressed by the lushness of the land. Eastern Montana was really flat and I expected North Dakota to be much the same, maybe worse. Listen, I've driven across southern Saskatchewan enough times to know how to dread the long, flat, uncurving highway disappearing to a tiny point on the horizon. I figured, geez, if North Dakota is due south of the mind-numbing trans-Saskatchewan drive, it must be the same. Boy, was I pleasantly surprised!
When I crossed the border into North Dakota I became aware of a smell coming through the vents along with the air-conditioned breeze (it was hot out there today, about 30 since 10:00 am). It smelled sweet. And moist. And green. I've finally done it, I've identified a smell for a color. It smelled like hay. I was so happy to discover that North Dakota is actually quite hilly and very green and lush, and it is pretty humid here. My hair is rather froofy today.
I saw a couple of photo-ops today but was unable to find any safe place to pull over. The first was a little while east of Great Falls, with a view west to a small range of mountains with a tiny bit of dusting of snow on them. A lovely old red barn stood in a vibrant green meadow on a long, low slope up to these mountains. It looked like something you'd see on a calendar. Alas, nowhere to stop.
The second...oh, I will likely never forget that one. This was a few hours later in eastern Montana, still on highway 200, a single-lane highway with shoulder about a foot wide, and deep ditches. To the north, up on a rise in the pasture, were four horses grazing. One of them, the one on the farthest right, raised his head and looked east. He was a bay, a reddish-brown with black socks and mane and tail. A gust of wind tousled his mane and tail, and the sunshine on his red hair made him glow and he just looked so regal. Stupid narrow highway. Ah well, at least the image is in my head.
So I didn't get any pictures today and I'm in the CDT time zone now, so I've lost an hour and I need to get to bed and I won't be uploading the pictures from yesterday either. I probably can tomorrow. Today was about a 10 hour drive, tomorrow is only 6. I'll be in Minnesota tomorrow, just outside of Minneapolis/St. Paul. Hope there's something cool near the hotel that I can go shoot!
Oh, one last thing. Today was an interesting day, emotion-wise. I found myself a little stressed about my GPS crapping out on me and I wondered if I was going the right way. Time was an issue today as I had a dinner appointment with my friend Cheryl who lives in Dickinson, ND, 90 miles west of Bismarck. I thought, "You know, I'd feel much better if I was driving with someone who was familiar with these roads and could tell me, 'Yeah, you're fine, I know where you are.'" And then I realized that I certainly was not alone and that my co-pilot and travel agent was always with me and certainly knew the way. I felt very comforted by that.
And then a while later I was thinking about when my parents and brothers and I drove to Toronto when I was six. I was thinking how happy my mom must have been to know that after those long days of driving she'd be able to see her mom again. And then I lost it. Just to imagine, to wish, that my mom would be there waiting for me in Toronto just turned on the taps and really made me realize how much I miss her. Today was first time since she died that I've cried about her. What would I give to hear her laugh again! I know it was her time to go, but I miss her. A lot.
It was another clear, hot day and again I was so impressed by the lushness of the land. Eastern Montana was really flat and I expected North Dakota to be much the same, maybe worse. Listen, I've driven across southern Saskatchewan enough times to know how to dread the long, flat, uncurving highway disappearing to a tiny point on the horizon. I figured, geez, if North Dakota is due south of the mind-numbing trans-Saskatchewan drive, it must be the same. Boy, was I pleasantly surprised!
When I crossed the border into North Dakota I became aware of a smell coming through the vents along with the air-conditioned breeze (it was hot out there today, about 30 since 10:00 am). It smelled sweet. And moist. And green. I've finally done it, I've identified a smell for a color. It smelled like hay. I was so happy to discover that North Dakota is actually quite hilly and very green and lush, and it is pretty humid here. My hair is rather froofy today.
I saw a couple of photo-ops today but was unable to find any safe place to pull over. The first was a little while east of Great Falls, with a view west to a small range of mountains with a tiny bit of dusting of snow on them. A lovely old red barn stood in a vibrant green meadow on a long, low slope up to these mountains. It looked like something you'd see on a calendar. Alas, nowhere to stop.
The second...oh, I will likely never forget that one. This was a few hours later in eastern Montana, still on highway 200, a single-lane highway with shoulder about a foot wide, and deep ditches. To the north, up on a rise in the pasture, were four horses grazing. One of them, the one on the farthest right, raised his head and looked east. He was a bay, a reddish-brown with black socks and mane and tail. A gust of wind tousled his mane and tail, and the sunshine on his red hair made him glow and he just looked so regal. Stupid narrow highway. Ah well, at least the image is in my head.
So I didn't get any pictures today and I'm in the CDT time zone now, so I've lost an hour and I need to get to bed and I won't be uploading the pictures from yesterday either. I probably can tomorrow. Today was about a 10 hour drive, tomorrow is only 6. I'll be in Minnesota tomorrow, just outside of Minneapolis/St. Paul. Hope there's something cool near the hotel that I can go shoot!
Oh, one last thing. Today was an interesting day, emotion-wise. I found myself a little stressed about my GPS crapping out on me and I wondered if I was going the right way. Time was an issue today as I had a dinner appointment with my friend Cheryl who lives in Dickinson, ND, 90 miles west of Bismarck. I thought, "You know, I'd feel much better if I was driving with someone who was familiar with these roads and could tell me, 'Yeah, you're fine, I know where you are.'" And then I realized that I certainly was not alone and that my co-pilot and travel agent was always with me and certainly knew the way. I felt very comforted by that.
And then a while later I was thinking about when my parents and brothers and I drove to Toronto when I was six. I was thinking how happy my mom must have been to know that after those long days of driving she'd be able to see her mom again. And then I lost it. Just to imagine, to wish, that my mom would be there waiting for me in Toronto just turned on the taps and really made me realize how much I miss her. Today was first time since she died that I've cried about her. What would I give to hear her laugh again! I know it was her time to go, but I miss her. A lot.
Sunday, June 27, 2010
Today's Pictures
This internet connection I have is really slow and it's taking foreeeeeever to upload these. I have to get to bed, so for today you can just look at these two. More tomorrow! I have it on good authority I will be driving through the badlands. Should be some photo-ops there!
Friday, June 25, 2010
....what is this "home" you speak of?
In a few years I will undoubtedly look back on this summer with fond memories. Lots of driving, new adventures, new vistas to explore. The reality of lots of driving and living out of a suitcase, though, isn't quite as romantic. So I'm hoping I'll be able to look beyond the same seven days worth of clothes for four weeks and see the bigger picture.
So, yeah. Four weeks on the road is coming up. Woo hoo. But is it enough? I mean, is it REALLY enough time away from home? Apparently not.
I just got off the phone with a stellar friend in Vancouver (with whom I'll be bunking on the "almost home" leg of my cross-continental tour) and we've decided to attend Education Week together in Provo in August. So I'll be going back to Utah for a week, and will probably be away from home again for about two weeks.
We have really short summers way up here at 51°N. And I'll only be home for two weeks of it. My bedding out plants better still be alive when I get home.
Honestly, though, I'm stoked about this second excursion. I'm looking forward to this time spent with my dear friend Larraine, having a lot of laughs (we're soul sisters that way), and definitely looking forward to attending so many excellent lectures. I'm really going to be well-armed for teaching seminary in the fall!
This is going to be the most amazing summer of my life. Yay! :D
Thursday, June 24, 2010
You join the action three years later...
Today is June 24, 2010. Three years and nine days ago I quit my job and embarked on a rather interesting journey into my mid-life crisis.
Two months and one day ago my mom died.
Today I wrote a final exam that was deferred because mom died during finals. The instructors and the registrar's office were very understanding.
In three days I start an adventurous drive that will take me from Calgary to Toronto and Boston, then back to Vancouver along a meandering route, then home. I'll be gone for 30 days, but still connected to my virtual universe by means of my trusty laptop and internet access in my hotel rooms.
This trip will be a pilgrimage of sorts, as I will finally be able to visit church historical sites. I've been wanting to do this for 20 years. I'm doing it now because mom wanted some of her ashes buried with her parents in Toronto, and the church history trail starts across the lake in Palmyra, New York.
When I get back I will look forward to starting my third year of university, aaaaand I'll be teaching early morning seminary every weekday morning. Brand new seminary teacher in the house! :D
The older I get, the more I realize I've had a pretty remarkable life. If I have time I'll prove it to you! :?) (by the way, that's a new smiley I accidentally invented a couple of days ago. I call it "freckle by nose.")
I am 42 years old and am living an extremely blessed and joyful life in Calgary. These last few years have been the most adventurous, exciting, challenging, and fruitful years ever. I created this blog so those family and friends who are *not* on Facebook (cue Craig Ferguson "I KNOW!" /Craig Ferguson) can follow along with my journey. I just dropped some big bucks on a Nikon DSLR so I'm certainly hoping I'll have some good photos to share here, as well.
TTFN. Have to finish up some stuff for my trip. I'll be back in a few days!
Two months and one day ago my mom died.
Today I wrote a final exam that was deferred because mom died during finals. The instructors and the registrar's office were very understanding.
In three days I start an adventurous drive that will take me from Calgary to Toronto and Boston, then back to Vancouver along a meandering route, then home. I'll be gone for 30 days, but still connected to my virtual universe by means of my trusty laptop and internet access in my hotel rooms.
This trip will be a pilgrimage of sorts, as I will finally be able to visit church historical sites. I've been wanting to do this for 20 years. I'm doing it now because mom wanted some of her ashes buried with her parents in Toronto, and the church history trail starts across the lake in Palmyra, New York.
When I get back I will look forward to starting my third year of university, aaaaand I'll be teaching early morning seminary every weekday morning. Brand new seminary teacher in the house! :D
The older I get, the more I realize I've had a pretty remarkable life. If I have time I'll prove it to you! :?) (by the way, that's a new smiley I accidentally invented a couple of days ago. I call it "freckle by nose.")
I am 42 years old and am living an extremely blessed and joyful life in Calgary. These last few years have been the most adventurous, exciting, challenging, and fruitful years ever. I created this blog so those family and friends who are *not* on Facebook (cue Craig Ferguson "I KNOW!" /Craig Ferguson) can follow along with my journey. I just dropped some big bucks on a Nikon DSLR so I'm certainly hoping I'll have some good photos to share here, as well.
TTFN. Have to finish up some stuff for my trip. I'll be back in a few days!
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