Hayward

Hayward, Wisconsin has a population of 3,279. Compare this to the population of one Gallup F. New Mexico: 20,209. Hayward is a hundred times cooler than Gallup. If Melba and I had been stranded in Hayward for a week with all my stuff in a U-Haul, I probably would have taken it as a sign from a higher being and tried to convince her to just buy a house there. Hayward is a nifty little town, but Hayward's coolness factor jumps exponentially when you add in the niftyness of Joann and Eduardo, our hosts.

Some pictures I took this weekend that tell the tale:That's Joann and Eduardo. This picture was taken early in the evening on our Saturday night outing.

Joann and Eduardo have two dogs (kids?):This is Max. He can sometimes be a little bit cranky. But he's cool.

And this is Bunker. Bunker is so f'ing cute, I could just crap daisies. Not only is Bunker a horrifically cute puppy, she's remarkably well behaved and smart to boot.

Eduardo is the Superintendent of Big Fish Golf Club in Hayward. Eduardo is a man of the earth: he holds advanced degrees in turf, something I previously did not know was possible. Eduardo trusted me with his course enough to set me loose on it for all I could play Saturday afternoon, and I romanced it like a wartime lover. Even though the weather was crappy, I still had a spectacular time. Big Fish is only a few years old, designed by Pete Dye and opened in 2004. I don't remember which hole this was, but it was on the back nine and it was steep:

After golf, we went out for pizza and beer and were joined by one of Eduardo's coworkers, 22 year old Ike. Here's Ike and Eduardo, enjoying what Joann likes to call "Chew O'Clock":I'll never know, but it seems to me that the taste of chew would overpower any beer taste. Maybe that's the idea.

After some excellent microbrews and pizza, we sailed to another bar in town, where the bartender was celebrating a birthday:

When we arrived at this particular bar, there was a curious customer seated at the far end of the bar, sound asleep:
At one point, someone yelled "Shots!" and Mr. Bartender suggested a visit with my good tequila amigo, Senor Don Julio. Don and I caught up on old times - we go back. Waaay back.

About two hours, a number of beers, and some serious interaction with Don, we left. Sleeping dude seemingly hadn't moved:Eduardo was particularly fond of this fellow.

Joann shepherded us all out to the car and delivered us home safely that night, where I preached the good gospel of "aspirin and as much water as you can drink" as my nearly foolproof hangover prevention strategy. I needed it:I don't know why my chin looks like that.

Then we put the young one to bed:Ahh, Ike safely tucked in for the night. Sleep tight, little Ike.

Then Melba was being cute while I was seemingly from another planet:Why do I do that?

Melba and I headed back home this morning, after having a great time in Hayward. Joann and Eduardo are spectacular hosts, cool peeps who are damn fun to hang out with.

I toast you!

Delayed Hayward post #2

I hate being the oldest person in the room. Any bar or alcohol consumption situation where I'm the oldest person at the table or in the room... not good. Sure, its handy that I have the highest alcohol tolerance among the young pups (Don Julio is my friend), but being the old dude lends an air of solemn aged-ness that I'd just as soon not have.

Sure, I'm only 34 - but that's old enough when there's a 22 year old at the table who thinks its really cool that you watched and remember the 1980 olympic hockey team's win over the russians.

I'd just as soon not grow old.

Delayed Hayward post #1

arrived in hayward this evening, had a delightful dinner with melba's friend joann and her husband eduardo who was so tired form work that he almost passed out on his pasta plate.

after dinner, much wine was consumed and joann repeatedly turned the conversation to the topic of children - to have or not to have - that is the question.

in this day and age, the question of when or whether or not to procrate emerges as a socially critical topic, especially for childless women over 30. family pressures build, friends are seemingly popping kids out by the handful, and even society as a whole seems to say "hey... when are you going to start having kids?"

has american society really become so predictable and rigid that it truly seems so foreign to be 35 and childless? so horribly out of the mainstream? I don't get it - if you're an under 40, educated guy or gal from the suburbs, is there really only that one narrow child-infested path to happiness?

don't get me wrong - I don't want to harsh on the mellow of my many friends who have or plan to have children. it works for them, they're happy, and it's cool. I'm just saying that I don't think it is a one-size-fits-all sorta deal.

Wisiganota Syndrome

Wisiganota Syndrome is a more specific subset of Flyover Disease. Those afflicted with the syndrome exhibit one particularly annoying geographical delusion in which they believe Wisconsin, Michigan, and Minnesota are all the same state. In my 9+ years living in Southern California I met many sufferers, with the worst case being a guy I briefly worked with who believed Minnesota and Indiana were interchangeable.

Angelenos and other Southern Californians seem to be afflicted with this malaise the worst, and many sufferers will display arrogance when called on their error claiming "it's all the same flyover land to me". Just yesterday, I was IMing with an Angeleno friend who told me to "watch out for Senator Sensenbrenner". I had to think about this for a second since I haven't brushed up on Minnesota politics yet, but then I found out that Sensenbrenner is a Congressman from Wisconsin.

Goodtimes.

My teams are #4!

This is not a regular post. I am only writing to bitch about the fact that my two favorite teams in baseball are both holding down second-to-last place in their respective divisions. The Twins deserve to be in last place, but they're lucky enough to share the AL central with the Royals. The Dodgers, even though they're in 4th place, are only 1.5 games back. The NL west is looking uniformly sad this year.

Back to your regularly scheduled blog, already in progress...

Up nort der, oh yaah

This weekend, Melba and I will be heading north and a little bit east to the exotic resort getaway also known as Hayward, Wisconsin. For those of you not lucky enough to have lived in Minnesota, let me explain one of the favorite pastimes of the peeps around here.

As soon as spring takes a good hold - say the middle of April or so - Minnesotans start thinking of small weekend getaways. There's a phrase that almost everyone uses to describe where they go for those getaways:

"We're gonna go up north."

If the particular person you hear utter this phrase is from a small town outside of Minneapolis/St.Paul, you might get:

"We're goin' up north der, oh yaah"

Or if you're REALLY lucky:

"Oh yaah, we're goin' up nort der, you betcha".

Notice the lack of a finishing "h" on the north. That's key. It's pronounced just like "snort", without the "h".

I don't think I ever knew anyone who took weekend vacations "down south" (nobody goes to Iowa on purpose) or "out west" (nothing out there but open prairie). There were a rare few who went east to Wisconsin, but even they usually went northeast like Melba and I are this weekend.

For my next blog post, in the interest of equal opportunity I'll discuss a nifty little quirk that Angelenos and other Californians exhibit from time to time. I call it "Wisiganota Syndrome".

The Two-Egg Egg and Muffin Sandwich

I've previously posted about the delights of the Egg and Muffin Toaster, but I want to add a small addendum. I recently discovered a nice "hack" especially if you're an egg lover: The Two-Egg Egg and Muffin Sandwich.

Here's how it works. When buying eggs, get a little bit less than the largest eggs you can get. When making your sammich, use the same amount of non-stick coating in the egg pan, but use about one and a half times as much water in the bottom pan. Now drop two of your smaller eggs in the egg pan, and off you go.

When making a two-egg sammich, I would not recommend the addition of sausage or bacon - meat plus that much egg overloads the structural integrity of the muffin.

If all goes well, you'll end up with an egg that's about the size of a hockey puck, perfectly cooked.

Delightful.

A story?

As I was sitting in the Anchorage airport waiting for my flight out, I had a strange feeling of not knowing where I was going - was I headed to Minneapolis, or was I on the next flight to LA? Even when I returned home, I felt about the same as I did when I had only been here a week or two. I felt like I had regressed while I was driving.

Getting used to Minneapolis as my home again is taking a bit of time. I can feel it happening, but it is a slow process. I still miss LA.

Reuniting with my hometown, driving to Alaska, missing LA, and diving head-first into a new relationship seems to me like an interesting beginning to a story. Maybe even a story that I can turn into a film. I already have the characters, the back story, and a good chunk of the conflict... I just don't know how it will end.

Home at last

Had a delightful flight:

Anchorage to Salt Lake City to Chicago to Minneapolis. 14 hours of flying, two different airlines. Shockingly, the duffle bag I had to check didn't make it.

I'm home.

The return trip

As with most things on this trip, my return flight to Minneapolis has been up in the air and more than a little bit unknown. Finally found out this morning that I fly out of Anchorage at 12:55am on Delta, but I don't know how many stops it makes or when I arrive in MSP.

I guess I'll find out when I get there.

Here are a few pics that give a good idea of the vibe of the trip:Spotted on a gas pump in Tok, Alaska. Bears.All the road signs in Alaska have bullet holes.Some of the delightful weather we drove through.Alaska Gold Rush.

Made it.

Pulled into Anchorage late friday night and dropped the RV off after hours. Oslo lives in Homer, so we borrowed a cube truck to go the 230 miles to his place. I will probably fly home monday or tuesday and post a full recap when I can.

Alaska!

Finally crossed the border into Alaska.Had a thoroughly uneventful stop to chat with the fine folks from Homeland Security and was on my way. Decided to stop in Tok for the night.

Alaska Travelogue

4/14/06
elev1640
Tok, Alaska
Holy crap is it cold in Tok this morning. Tok is the northernmost portion of this trip, 63deg 20.126'N

12:49pm
elev1965
Christochina, Alaska
Beautiful Christochina river, smooooooth new road, especially nice after catching air off the lumps and bumps

1:34pm
elev1580
195 miles from Anchorage, 164 as the crow files
bright sunshine today

2:24pm
Glennallen, AK
Just turned onto the road that will take us to Anchorage in 187 miles.

3:30pm
elev3352
High mesa, deep snow cover with people on snowmobiles about, bright, white mountains all around

5:21pm
elev52
30 miles from Anchorage
Looks a lot like Colorado. Lotta traffic on the 4 lane highway

7:53pm
Anchorage, AK
Gassed up the RV and dropped it off at ABC Motorhomes. I'm a little sad to part ways with my home for the last week - it served me well, despite the abusive frost heaves.

--

Starting odometer: 31,528
Ending odometer: 35,292
Total miles driven: 3,764

Liard Hot Springs

Tuesday night, we stopped at the Liard Hot Springs. The cool factor of this place cannot be described - it was incredibly relaxing and a welcome break from the drive.Ahh. Delightful.

Teslin, Yukon

I drove around the sprawling metropolis of Teslin, Yukon for 15 minutes before I found an open network - at one of the two gas stations. I guess gas stations are popular WiFi hotspots in the Yukon. Teslin is on a little peninsula that sticks out into Lake Teslin, and is a pretty little town. I can imagine that it looks even better when the grass is green and the lake isn't frozen.

Woke up this morning to find that a half inch of snow had fallen overnight, and it was still coming down. It's a light fluffy snow, and doesn't seem to have made the roads too treacherous.

We're making pretty good time now, but still have about 1300 miles before we reach Anchorage. We're about 100 miles from Whitehorse, the capital of the Yukon Territory. Oslo says that Whitehorse is "an interesting town", so I'm a bit curious to see what he means by that.

Alaska Travelogue

4/13/2006
6:09am
Just outside of Lake Teslin, YT
Woke up a few minutes ago to find that it had snowed last night. Got about an inch, looks like. At some point in the night my RV's battery died, which stopped the propane furnace, and made for a chilly wake up call. Thankfully, the truck runs off it's own battery and the engine heater warms things up pretty quickly while the RV battery recharges.

8:31am
Drove back into town about an hour ago and "war drove" around Teslin 'til I finally found an open WiFi network. Posted to the blog, and drove back out to the campground - Oslo is still asleep.

Big 'ol raven was wandering around the parking lot, so I threw him a couple of grapes. He suspiciously snapped them up, but turned his nose up at cornnuts, melon, Tostitos, and cherry tomatoes. Picky bastard. Now the parking lot looks like a grocery explosion in the snow.

9:48am
2km outside of Jake's Corner, YT
CFET 106.7 - a Vancouver station, evidently has a repeater up here somewhere: "we put the K in quality" http://rock101.com

Still snowing, road is pretty slick in some places.

12:21pm
Whitehorse, YT
elev2550
Had a delightful breakfast/lunch at a little café in downtown Whitehorse

Still no cell service! Figured Whitehorse would be big enough. Pop. 20,000.

Stopped at the Yukon Brewing Company. Oslo knows a guy who works there, so we got to go in back and check out some of the workings. Pretty cool little brewery. Bought a liter, a six pack, and a t-shirt for Melba.

Found out that Whitehorse does have cell service, but the local provider doesn't accept roamers.

2:24pm
elev 2200
Back on he road, the pavement has gotten pretty rough and frost heaved. Lumpy.

4:46pm
elev2833
Haines Junction, YT
Solid overcast obscuring the tops of the mountains to the west. Wanda Jackson on the CBC singing rockabilly.

5:27pm
elev 2624
Kluane Lake, YT
Beautiful frozen lake that runs right up against the base of a mountain. Feels like utter desolation, especially after passing an abandoned hotel along the side of the road.

7:13pm
elev2353
mile 1118
Kluane Wilderness Village, YT
The road is horrible here - frost heaves have turned it into a bad imitation of a kiddie roller coaster. Beautiful birds in the gas station parking lot.

7:39pm
elev2369
Came upon road construction - poor construction flagger woman stuck out in the middle of nowhere's nowhere flagging cars because the road had been knocked down to one lane.

8:09pm
elev2262
I've had the same recurring thought over and over the last few days. As I pass by all this beautiful mountain scenery, I continually expect to see a house or a cabin or a hotel or a small town around every corner. The landscape here is so amazing and beautiful that I keep forgetting that so few people live here.

8:36pm
elev2362
We're driving into a snowstorm. So far, none of it is accumulating on the road - but it has made the road a little wet. If temperatures drop once it gets dark, and the snow starts building up on top of the wet roadway, we might be in for some tricky driving. Or just an early bedtime parked safely on the side of the road.

9:32pm
elev2115
Beaver Creek, YT
Beaver Creek is the westernmost town in Canada. Tiny tiny town. Two gas stations, a few houses. $1.25/l (C$) for gas - the worst we've seen all trip.

The snow has stopped.

9:26pm - Alaska time
elev1954
Alcon, Alaska
Thoroughly uneventful border crossing. We had to stop and park, pay $5, and we were on our way. Easy as pie, and quicker than the Canadian crossing. The border patrol seemed to be of the same brand of suspiciously friendly as the Canadians were.

Thankfully, the roads on the Alaska side of the border are in a lot better shape than the Yukon roads.

The snow has started again.

11:45pm
elev1648
Tok, Alaska
Made it to Tok. Tired.

Wifi. Woo.

Update

Since I haven't been able to post a good update in awhile, but I want to keep moving while the daylight is good, I'll post a little teaser photo:Dunno about you, but I don't see wild buffalo chillin' by the side of the road very often.

WiFi!

We just crossed the border from BC into the Yukon Territory. Haven't seen cell service in a day and a half, and haven't found WiFi in almost as long. Pulled off the road at a tiny gas station in Contact Creek, YT... they've got WiFi! God bless 'em.

Alaska Travelogue

4/12/06 12:49pm
Leaving Liard Hot Springs after spending the night in the springs' parking lot and enjoying a long morning soak.

1:20pm
elev 1500
Spotted 4 buffalo grazing on the side of the road, stopped and got some stills and video.

2:15pm
elev1700
Just a few miles south of the Yukon territory border. Got my veggie sampler platter spread out on the center console, and am munching happily as I tool along. Good stuff.

Weather today is partly sunny with weird little packets of sprinkles about once an hour.

3:30pm
elev2050
Contact Creek, YT
Tiny little gas station in contact creek has wifi! Kickass.

Contact Creek gets its name from the construction of the Alaska Highway. One crew of US Army Corps of Engineers started in Fairbanks, Alaska and worked southeast, the other started in Dawson Creek, BC and worked northwest. Contact Creek is where the two crews met.

5;24pm
elev 1900
Just passed a curious sign for what looks like a military base: must remember to Google "Lower Post, First Nation" located near the border in BC

Just experienced a crazy 30 second snow/sleet storm.

7:26pm
elev3000
Rancheria, YT - 325km from Whitehorse
Very light fluffy snow is falling, nothing accumulating
Tons of foot tracks in the snow - none of them human. Oslo says they're bear and moose tracks.

Passed over George's Gorge awhile back, wasn't quick enough to get a picture of the sign for my dad.

All of the campgrounds and gas stations in this area are closed for the winter.

7:45pm
elev3131
Just before Swift River, YT
Just passed over the continental divide. Water flows west from here.
Snow has stopped almost as quickly as it started.

Canadians don't call snowmobiles snowmobiles - they call them "skidoos".

8pm
elev2900
The road keeps crossing back and forth over the BC/YT border. YT's slogan: "Canada's True North". I wonder what the folks in the Northwest Territories think of that particular marketing claim.

First radio station I've gotten in a long time: CBC am 970

9:52pm
mile marker 804
elev 2249
Teslin, YT
Beautiful town on nicely sized (and completely frozen) Lake Teslin - huge steel bridge coming into town.

181km to Whitehorse. Sun went down about an hour ago, but the sky is still blue.

10:00pm
We're spending the night just outside of town in the entrance to a campground that's closed for the season. Drove just a bit over 300 miles today. Not bad, considering our late start (soak in the springs), the frost heaves, and the heavy trailers we're towing.

Alaska Travelogue

4/11/06 8:56 AM
Fort St. John, BC

RV Dreaming
Spent the night in Fort St. John, BC. Parked the RV in town outside of a strip club, and got ready for bed. Just before I climbed in bed, I noticed that even though the sun had gone down hours earlier, the sky was not yet black - there was still a post-sunset blue tint to the sky at 10:30pm.

Woke up multiple times in the night because of the same dream/nightmare that the RV had slipped into neutral and was starting to roll into a ditch. Each time I had the dream I woke up in a panic and got as far as jumping out of bed before I snapped out of it and realized that the RV wasn't moving and that there weren't any ditches nearby anyway.

10:58 AM
Driving the Alcon
Elev. 3500
Metric
I like kilometers - it's a more precise measurement than miles and most of the roads we're driving have a 100km speed limit. A nice even number.

I hate celsius. The difference between 20 and 21 degrees C is something like 15 degrees F. Ok, maybe it isn't that bad, but it's close.

BC road report says "300+ km of frost heaves". Wonderful.

11:01am
Finally starting to see the snow capped Canadian Rockies off in the far distance. Besides a small group of deer, I have yet to see much wildlife - but Oslo keeps asking me things like "Did you see that big 'ol moose off on the side of the road a few miles back?" Either they know I'm coming and hide before I pass by, or I'm just oblivious and don't notice massive woodland creatures standing by the side of the road. I have been noticing a whole lot of road kill in the last couple hours of driving, and some of the carcasses have been huge. One interesting carcass was a new-ish Jeep off in the ditch, shiny side down, that looked like it had just been abandoned there. Odd.

11:21am
222km from Fort Nelson, BC
elev. 3300
stopped behind Oslo on a turnout a half hour ago, he needed to pee, so did I. by the time I finished doing my thing and returned to the driver's seat, he'd already left. Since he is driving pretty slow, I figured I'd catch up to him quickly. Have been running a pretty good pace since then, but haven't seen him ahead yet.

11:30am
Just past Sikanni Chief, BC
elev 3400
Still no sign of Oslo. I hope he didn't fall off the road, but I can't imagine not seeing him if he did - the roads along this stretch occupy the center of a 100 yard wide strip of land notched into the dense pine forest on each side. There's more and more snow on the shady side of the road now, and the mountains off in the distance are almost completely covered.

11:50am
Historical Bucking Horse River Lodge - mile 175

I've decided to stop at Bucking Horse for a little while, to see if Oslo might catch up. The Bucking Horse River looks like it's frozen solid. Haven't had cell service since we left Fort St. John this morning.

12:40pm
Gave up on waiting for Oslo. He must have decided to speed up the pace when we stopped.

1:10pm
~70 miles outside of Fort Felson
elev 2600

Finally caught up to Oslo. He'd gotten farther ahead than I'd thought possible given his slow pace, but he didn't seem to mind the wait for me to catch up.

Saw a sign on the side of the road advertising a CBC radio station at 102.3fm, but I'm not getting it yet. I pushed the "seek" button on the radio and it just spins through the dial over and over.

Oslo is worried about making it to Alaska in time for some work commitments of his, so the plan might change to me driving alone at my own pace after we pass through Fort Nelson.

More snow on the ground here, and the outside temp is around freezing.

More hills on the road now too.

1:32pm
elev 1800

Weather has turned from mostly sunny to over cast, with a few raindrops tickling the windshield - just enough to scrub the dead bugs off with the wipers.

102.3 finally comes in - seems to be a soft rock station outta Fort Nelson. Enjoyed a rock block including mike & the mechanics and canadian hero bryan adams. CKRX Energy FM!

Just passed over the Prophet River. Not frozen.

2:11pm
35km out of Fort Nelson
elev 1800
Nothing interesting to report.

3:04pm
fort nelson, BC - mile 301
elev 1300
Stopped for gas... this will be the last large town for a long time. Surprisingly, no cell service in this town. Since Edmonton, every town we've stopped in has been progressively dirtier, and Fort Nelson seemed to be covered in about an inch of dried mud.

3:50pm
elev1400
Just passed the junction of BC highway 77, which is the Laird Trail to the Northwest Territory.

Oslo says that we'll soon be turning westward into the Canadian Rockies. We've got a bet going as to what wildlife we'll spot first - I say caribou, he says brown bear.

4:42pm
elev3100
Finally getting into the mountains. Steep grades and beautiful views all around - and except for an occasional truck, no traffic at all. This would be a great road for a motorcycle if every corner didn't have loose gravel.

5:18pm
elev2700 mile 378
Overcast skies have started to snow, but the ground is too warm for accumulation. Tetsa River on the left side of the road.

Glorious mountain peaks miles ahead of us, the falling snow acting like a thin haze with occasional holes in the cloud cover projecting shafts of light on onto the hillsides.

5:32pm
elev3200
Crossed Tetsa River Bridge #1

5:44pm
elev3300
Tetsa River Bridge - spotted three Caribou in the river, jumped out and got some good video of them wandering off. For those keeping track, I won the bet. Caribou.

6:15pm
elev4200
Summit Lake. Spring is just starting to arrive here - the snow is just beginning to melt, but Summit Lake is still frozen. The highway snakes along a valley, and the view in all directions is beautiful. I don't have the vocabulary to describe the beauty here. The sun is peeking out through more and more holes in the clouds now.

7:30pm
elev2400
Just crossed the Racing River. Sun is still pretty high in the western sky, and continues to peek out through occasional breaks in the clouds. The Racing River is not as fast as its name implies.

7:45pm
elev2300
Toad River, BC
Stopped for gas in Toad River at the gas station/restaurant/hotel/post office/general store that features 6,834 hats stapled to it's ceiling.

7:53pm
elev2400
Sun is still going strong, saw my first moose. Tried to get a pic of him, but he was almost totally obscured by the time I got close enough.

9pm
elev2700
Muncho Lake, BC
Sun has dropped behind the mountains immediately to my left (west), but I still pass occasional gaps in the range that let sunshine through.

According to a sign I passed, Muncho Lake marks the northern end of the Canadian Rockies.

9:45pm
elev1500
Liard Hot Springs - mile 496
What an amazing little place tucked off deep in the woods so many miles from the nearest small town.

The Liard Hot Springs are spectacular. Formed by fissures in the earth's crust that allow water to seep down, become superheated, then bubble back up to the surface, hot springs are undoubtedly my personal favorite geological phenomenon. After driving 2,500 miles, what could be better than stopping in the middle of the Canadian wilderness for a soak in a giant natural hot tub? It's pure bliss, I tell ya.

Poutine

WTF is poutine?

Beautiful British Columbia

Just crossed into BC and it looks like we'll be spending the night in
Dawson Creek.

Yes, that's really the name of the town.

Dawson Creek is a milestone for the trip, as it is mile zero of the
AlCon highway - the road that takes us to Alaska.

Cruelty

When I picked up my RV in Elkhart, the little gauge panel inside said
that the fresh water tank was empty and that the waste water tanks were
full. Oslo's RV was in the same shape.

Since Minneapolis neither one of us had had a shower, so I was pretty
excited when we found a spot to fill and empty. Picked up some soap and
shampoo at a grocery store and ran out to take a shower right there in
the parking lot.

Denied. Somehow, between the RV fill and the grocery store, I lost 40
gallons of water. RV is dry.

So I took a shower in Oslo's RV. I feel like a new man.

Grande Prairie

Passing through Grande Prairie, Alberta right now. Seems like it'd be a
nice town if it didn't have a half inch of dirt on everything in sight.

The good stuff?

The most scenic parts of the drive ahead of us are also the most
remote. Cell service is already spotty, so I suspect I won't be able to
post for a lot of the drive.

I'll take good notes.

Pics, v5.0

Crossing the border into Canada was interesting. We had a bit of paperwork to fill out, since the RVs are rentals and the trailers we are pulling are brand new and have no license plates yet. I was a little bit worried, as I wasn't sure if I had all the paperwork I was going to need.

The border checkpoint.

I made a run for the border. Get it? Ooo, I slay me.

This is Oslo, pictured here in a state of relief after the border crossing paperwork was done.

This truck was parked next to me at the border station. Evidently the good 'ol USA does not have exclusive ownership of rednecks - it's tough to read it, but "Saskatoon, Sask. Canada" is painted on the door.

My first gas buying experience in Canada. If my math is right, $1.02/liter Canadian works out to roughly $3.50/gallon US. Ow.

This is a shot of a typical rural Saskatchewan town. I think we passed through a few dozen of these, but I was bummed that we didn't get a chance to visit Moose Jaw.

Driving through rural America, you don't pass by stuff like this too often. In Canada, every damn farm has at least one abandoned building. They're *everywhere*.

This was just off the side of the road in rural Saskatchewan. In case it's tough to see in the pic, that's a mannequin sitting in a lazy boy with an exercise bicycle and the bottom half of a toilet behind him and the maple leaf proudly flying from the TV in front of him. I almost locked up the brakes on my RV trying to stop for a picture of this little gem.

Lotsa sky here. Wide open spaces.

Pics, v4.0

More random things seen along the way:

Bad enough that you're stuck living in a podunk little town 75 miles from nowhere in North Dakota, but they actually named the damn town Downer.

Barnesville, Minnesota. This shot is for Joe.

I'll take "Things you do not see on Los Angeles freeways for $100, Alex."

You see a LOT of these things on the side of the road, especially in North Dakota and Saskatchewan. For you LA folks, these are called grain elevators.

Damn... there are so many things I could say about this sign, but my mom will probably read this.

Oooo! I want an Easter Buffalo! I can only hope the buffalo will be in better shape than that sign.

Pics, v3.0

Here are a few shots of the inside of the RV:

This is the kitchen. Microwave, refrigerator/freezer, gas cooktop. Basic, but functional.

The dining area.

The bedroom. Bathroom is just out of the picture on the right.

This is a shot of the front of the RV. Dining area on the left, a bed above the cab, TV on the upper right, and a small chair on the right.

Pics, v2.0

I hope these pictures aren't too dull. Oslo promises me that once we get to the other side of Alberta, the scenery will improve. Until then, I have just been poking my camera out the window whenever I see something curious. In the last pics post, I got as current as my stop in Minneapolis for the night. These pics pick up the trip since then.

This is the inside of the Cabelas store in Rogers, MN. Evidently there has been a trend in the outdoor and sporting goods equipment business that demands ridiculously huge stores. This place is enormous. Notice the yellow blob thing up high in the very back of the shot.

This is looking the same direction, closer to the background. The yellow blob thing can be seen at the top of this shot - the nose of a small airplane. That's a full size 4 seat airplane. In the building. Ricockulous.

Ever used drugs? Check out The City of Waite Park. Instead of providing rehabilitation or treatment to try to help you if you're a drug user, they just take your shit.

Because of the strong winds we were getting through western Minnesota and eastern North Dakota, I had to have the wheel cranked over just to go straight down the highway.

More pics on the way.

Pics intermission

Before I post more pics, I thought I'd fill you in on how I got this weird little gig. Last monday, Melba and I were at Bryant Lake Bowl for "Cheap Date Night". Every monday, they have this deal where you get two dinners, a bottle of wine, and two games of bowling for $25. Pretty cool, especially considering the food is quite good and the wine is decent.

Anyway, BLB is usually pretty busy monday nights, and after dinner we were bowling next to an interesting couple in the next lane. We started chatting with them, and after introductions, the inevitable "so... where ya from? what do you do?" questions were asked. I mentioned my previous work/home in LA, and Oslo mentioned that he was in town from Alaska. He also mentioned that he was looking for someone with my blend of media skills for a few projects he is working on, and after a few minutes of talking, we decided to meet again the next morning for breakfast - again at the BLB.

Oslo and I chatted for about two hours the next morning, and the short version of our conversation was that he was interested in my help with a video project he is working on, and it happened to involve driving RVs through the Canadian Rockies and up to Alaska. Oh, and he was leaving the next day.

I volunteered almost immediately.

So here I am, tapping out a blog post at 2am on a Sunday night, in an idling RV in Whitecourt, Alberta on my way to Anchorage. Funny how life can change.

Pics, v1.0

As promised, I'm posting pics. I'm in Whitecourt, Alberta right now and had to war drive around town for 20 minutes before I found an open WiFi network in front of "Spruceland Ford". As a thank you for the free WiFi, here's a link. Thanks!

And now, the pics:
Spotted this creative wreck on the northeast side of Chicago on our way back to Minneapolis. Looks like a normal wreck, but if you look close, you can see the 18 wheeler is on it's side and facing the wrong way. That had to have been a pretty sweet maneuver.

Harvard, Illinois... Home of the Milk Day! I like milk a lot, but I don't think I could handle a full day of it.

First time I've ever put $100 worth of gas in a vehicle. The first of many times this trip.


Mmmm... Revenue Enhancement. Not a worry for me on this trip - because of the hugeass heavy trailer Oslo is towing with his RV, we're usually running 5-10 under the limit.

Wisconsin welcomes ME! Well... ain't that just mighty neighborly of 'em?

More pics in the next post.

Hello Alberta

Got a late start this morning, and had a forgettable buffet breakfast in a tiny town called Maidsburg, Saskatchewan.

Just crossed into Alberta. Oslo tells me that we won't be hitting the good scenery until we get to the western side of the province.

Spent the night...

Instead of the usual accommodations, we decided to stop at the Radisson last night. Nothin' but first class for us.

Not really. We parked on the street outside a campground in Radisson, Saskatchewan.

RV dreamin'

I normally don't remember my dreams, but last night I had a vivid one that managed to stick. I was 12 years old, out in my childhood neighborhood riding my bike. I was wearing nothing but my boxer shorts, but this didn't seem odd in the dream.

As I rode closer to home, I had to ride faster and faster to avoid torndoes that kept springing up in my path. I was even able to ride on the surface of the nearby creek, but had to pedal extra hard against the huge waves and rough chop of the little creek. I finally made it home, and waited outside in my underwear for my mom to get home so she could let me in. End of dream.

I'm sure there's some symbolism in there somewhere.

Punishing

I figured that the combination of socialism, high taxes, and Canadian efficiency would make for nice roads to drive on. Nay. Instead, I'm beginning to think that "Saskatchewan" is a native american word meaning "rutted, frost-heaved wagon trail".

Saskatooooooooon

I don't know why, but I love to say "Saskatoon, Saskatchewan". You just don't get names like that in the states.

Smitty's

Stopped in Weyburn, Saskatchewan at the Smitty's for an early dinner. Smitty's seems to be the slightly nicer Canadian equivalent of Denny's. I can't wait until I can post some of the dozens of pics I've taken of random stuff along the way.

O' Canada

Just had a delightful and thoroughly uneventful border crossing at North Portal, Saskatchewan and just passed through the town of Estevan which made me think of my good friend Brigitta.

Will post pictures as soon as I can find a WiFi hotspot.

Minot

North Dakota has a lot more geographic diversity than I'd expected. Rolling hills, massive farms punctuated by an occasional pond or lake. Once springtime green takes hold, I bet this area looks pretty cool.

I'm about 7 miles SW of Minot on state highway 52.

Fargo... you betcha!

My travel compadre (I'll call him Oslo, since he might not want his real name used), has a friend who lives in Moorhead, MN, so we stopped in and went out for dinner in nearby Fargo.

It was good to get off the highway this afternoon anyway - the winds made for crappy driving. Headwinds were so strong, I only got 230 miles out of 37 gallons of gas ($100 worth). Anyway, we had a delightful dinner at The Granite Co. and are now back on the road making better time sans wind.

Looks like the plan is to take I-94 west to highway 52, then take that northwest all the way to the border and cross into Saskatchewan at a little town called North Portal. Dunno if we'll make it that far tonight though.

Holy windy, Batman

We got a laaate start tody, didn't hit the road til a few minutes after 1pm. "We" are a convoy of two RVs for now, to be joined by a third sometime tomorrow.

I'm pulling a pretty big trailer with my RV, but my compadre is pulling a much heavier trailer - and he's getting pushed all over the road by the vicious crosswinds.

Right now, we're about 7 miles to St. Cloud, MN heading west on I-94.

A few pics

Since I'm home for the night, I uploaded a couple of pictures from today's drive:
This is my trusty steed and home for the next week or so. Ain't she purty? The trailer on the back makes for a long vehicle to pilot around gas pumps and such, but it drives pretty well on the open road.

While slogging through Wisconsin tonight, we got hit by a pretty solid thunderstorm:
This is pretty much all I saw for the last 120 miles of the drive.

More from the road tomorrow...

Wissssconsin

I feel like I've been driving across Wisconsin all day, and we've still
got about 110 miles to go 'til the Minnesota border. We're stopping
back in Minneapolis for tonight, then heading out on the trek early
tomorrow.

Yay... it's starting to rain.