For a little while, Labor Day Sunday morning, I was further north than anybody else in the contiguous United States.
It all started around 30+ years ago. A friend and I were looking for road trip destinations. We decided to go as far north, east, south and west as you could go.
East wasn’t too bad. Maine in March (spring break) isn’t ideal camping / tourist season. But that’s ok. Didn’t let that stop us. On the plus side, we got to try out a luge on the Olympic track in Lake Placid.
West was easy. He was going to school in Tacoma. Quick summer visit. Camp weather was great. Getting the last campsite that night, #42, seemed like the Universe was smiling on us.
Then grown up life happened and getting the other 2 points seemed to take a back seat. Fast forward to this year. Moved my kid off to college. The wife wanted to spend some time with her friend in Colorado. Leaving me alone for the long, Labor Day weekend. Time to road trip north.
The northern most point is in that little blip of northern Minnesota. The village of Angle Inlet holds the title as the northern most town. Getting there isn’t that hard, but it’s not that easy either. It's a long way from anywhere and you have to drive through Canada to get there.
Friday afternoon after work, the plan was to drive up to Fargo, ND, use some Marriott points and finish the drive on Saturday. Leaving town, something felt a little off. Couldn’t place my finger on anything specific, so I kept going. About 30 minutes later, I realized I forgot the cash I had pulled out of the bank to pay the locals up there for the room. Too late, not worth turning around. Credit card will have to do. Five and a half hours later as I was pulling into Fargo, it hit me. I forgot my passport! After giving my steering wheel a thorough beating, shouting a few obscenities, I decided I have to go back and get the passport. Can't do the trip without it. Adding 820 miles to the trip didn't sound like a great idea. But I would have felt more foolish seeing people on Tuesday when they asked how my trip went and then telling them I didn't make it because I forgot my passport.
I might as well go ahead and check into the hotel. Maybe take a quick nap, then drive back and get it. Too late to cancel the room and get a refund for the room. Might as well get some use out of it. I don’t know if it was the anxiety of the situation, or the people next door talking loudly away, but I couldn’t fall asleep. Back in the truck and start heading 6 hours back home.
Made it back before dawn. Grabbed the cash and the passport. Thought a nap would be a good idea before I start heading north again. Neighbors were quiet. Anxiety was gone. Caffeine flowing through my system from the drive back was not gone. So, back in the truck again. Luckily, none of my neighbors are up at 5 in the morning. I didn’t have to explain my boneheaded move.
The drive up (again) was uneventful. There are some reaaaallllly straight roads in South and North Dakota. There were a couple of stretches where I turned the steering wheel more to change lanes than I did for the curve in the road. North Dakota is really flat too. And that is coming from a guy who has driven all over the States. (You guys on the east coast aren’t immune to knowing what flat areas are either. Don’t want to hear your Midwest comments.)
At one point, the Ukrainians decided this part of Canada was the place to be. They built a couple of very distinct and beautiful churches. Ukranian Orthodox Church of Canada. Here is one in Vita, Manitoba.
View attachment IMG_7455 - reduced.JPG
It all started around 30+ years ago. A friend and I were looking for road trip destinations. We decided to go as far north, east, south and west as you could go.
East wasn’t too bad. Maine in March (spring break) isn’t ideal camping / tourist season. But that’s ok. Didn’t let that stop us. On the plus side, we got to try out a luge on the Olympic track in Lake Placid.
West was easy. He was going to school in Tacoma. Quick summer visit. Camp weather was great. Getting the last campsite that night, #42, seemed like the Universe was smiling on us.
Then grown up life happened and getting the other 2 points seemed to take a back seat. Fast forward to this year. Moved my kid off to college. The wife wanted to spend some time with her friend in Colorado. Leaving me alone for the long, Labor Day weekend. Time to road trip north.
The northern most point is in that little blip of northern Minnesota. The village of Angle Inlet holds the title as the northern most town. Getting there isn’t that hard, but it’s not that easy either. It's a long way from anywhere and you have to drive through Canada to get there.
Friday afternoon after work, the plan was to drive up to Fargo, ND, use some Marriott points and finish the drive on Saturday. Leaving town, something felt a little off. Couldn’t place my finger on anything specific, so I kept going. About 30 minutes later, I realized I forgot the cash I had pulled out of the bank to pay the locals up there for the room. Too late, not worth turning around. Credit card will have to do. Five and a half hours later as I was pulling into Fargo, it hit me. I forgot my passport! After giving my steering wheel a thorough beating, shouting a few obscenities, I decided I have to go back and get the passport. Can't do the trip without it. Adding 820 miles to the trip didn't sound like a great idea. But I would have felt more foolish seeing people on Tuesday when they asked how my trip went and then telling them I didn't make it because I forgot my passport.
I might as well go ahead and check into the hotel. Maybe take a quick nap, then drive back and get it. Too late to cancel the room and get a refund for the room. Might as well get some use out of it. I don’t know if it was the anxiety of the situation, or the people next door talking loudly away, but I couldn’t fall asleep. Back in the truck and start heading 6 hours back home.
Made it back before dawn. Grabbed the cash and the passport. Thought a nap would be a good idea before I start heading north again. Neighbors were quiet. Anxiety was gone. Caffeine flowing through my system from the drive back was not gone. So, back in the truck again. Luckily, none of my neighbors are up at 5 in the morning. I didn’t have to explain my boneheaded move.
The drive up (again) was uneventful. There are some reaaaallllly straight roads in South and North Dakota. There were a couple of stretches where I turned the steering wheel more to change lanes than I did for the curve in the road. North Dakota is really flat too. And that is coming from a guy who has driven all over the States. (You guys on the east coast aren’t immune to knowing what flat areas are either. Don’t want to hear your Midwest comments.)
At one point, the Ukrainians decided this part of Canada was the place to be. They built a couple of very distinct and beautiful churches. Ukranian Orthodox Church of Canada. Here is one in Vita, Manitoba.
View attachment IMG_7455 - reduced.JPG
