Breakfast was biscuits and gravy for me. You'll never guess what Sandy had:-))
The hotel computer and Internet were down this morning so the lady on the desk said she would email the folio to me. This plus the deterioration of the WiFi last night made me think that Stewey might be right. I could be an Internet jinx.I already know I can wipe out a NASCAR driver just by adding him to my Fantasy team.....
As we headed out on I-94 East at 7:10, it was a refreshing 73 F. The only downside was that the flags, stretched out on the brisk wind, were pointing WEST. The prevailing winds here are from the west but, if I am going east, there is a strong probability that I will be pushing against a head wind. Today was no different. I turned off the Traction Control in the Equinox because, if it senses trailer sway, it starts applying brake to different wheels to try to stabilize it. The trailer tows so well that these robotic efforts are not required and bother me. Plus I suspect this micro braking does not help my fuel mileage.
The first stretch of I-94 was two lane because they were doing some extensive work on the other side. After a few miles, we got both of our eastbound lanes back. If you want to feel alone, drive I-94 in Montana early in the morning.
We saw new railway ties alongside the tracks near the state line. It made me wonder how they change ties on an active rail line. Google has all the answers. It is a neat process.
We left Montana for North Dakota at 7:45 AM. The temperature was 72 F and the speed limit dropped from 80 MPH to 75, not that this mattered while I was pulling a trailer into a headwind with an Equinox. Just as we crossed the state line, our odometer turned over 50,000 miles. Not bad since it only had 14,000 on it when we bought it 22 months ago.
I reflected on days gone by when it made me happy to settle into the driver's seat with 1,000 miles ahead of me and a box of McNuggets within easy reach. Or to ride the bike all day and end up feeling more rested and relaxed when I was done than when I started out. I am starting to realize that those days are gone and we need to adapt to who we are and what we can handle today.
I mentioned yesterday that I preferred I-94 because it was more interesting. The Little Missouri Grassland, Theodore Roosevelt National Park and Painted Canyon were examples of the beauty to be found along this road less traveled.
Camel Hump Lake?
Painted Canyon
I was listening to an ad on XM Radio for Credit Associates. They said that people who owed a lot of money on plastic should not let the credit card companies trick them into thinking that they have to pay all that money back. Trick them? They should have said that they will help deadbeats who do not honour their commitments weasel out from under debt they legitimately owe without declaring bankruptcy. I wonder how many people subscribe to this kind of dishonourable tactic?
Still more interesting than I-90
We approached Dickinson, one of the fastest growing cities in the USA. We fueled up and stopped Mickey D's for a smoothie for the boss and a sausage McMuffin breakfast for me. This store had the absolute fastest service I have ever seen. By the time I walked from the cash to the pickup counter, my breakfast was there. It took a few moments before the smoothie appeared, but I was impressed.
I noted something at Dickinson that I saw a few times before. Cenex must have realized that people prefer to gas up on the same side if the Interstate that they get off. This was another location with two Cenex stations, one on each side of the big highway.
Oil wells near Dickinson ND
Water tower - Dickinson ND
No idea what the shiny dome is
We did not take the Enchanted Highway at Exit 72. I wasn't about to go 32 miles out of our way but Sandy did get a nice photo of Geese In Flight.
Geese In Flight (2001) - Enchanted Highway ND
We passed a large wind farm. Despite the strong breeze, now out of the north, the turbines were idled. We saw the same thing later on at another location. Too much electricity, perhaps?
Idle wind turbines
We left the Mountain Time Zone at 9:51 and it was instantly an hour later.
Salem Sue, the world's largest Holstein cow
Her presence shows that New Salem grows
With milk-producers' yields;
We've got the cow, world's largest cow
That looks across our fields.
With milk-producers' yields;
We've got the cow, world's largest cow
That looks across our fields.
Lees-ure Lite motorcycle camper trailer
Subaru with canoe and mountain bikes - I bet he wears Weejuns
20 MPH in the fast lane - do they get danger pay?
There was a lot of road work through Bismarck. It was a single eastbound lane until we got out of town.
I thought the motorcycle rack was supposed to be level
Erector set?
Canola
Our exit?
This end of the state got all the water
They said it again
All the cows were congregating
We stopped in Jamestown at a busy Dairy Queen. A very pretty girl served us (I have been lucky this way recently). Sandy ordered a turkey BLT while I had a mushroom Swiss burger, fries and Diet Coke.
On the way back out, we saw four Sno-Bears at a used car dealership. Despite my history with snowmobiling, I had never heard of this conveyance. It looked to me like a modern version of J. Armand Bombardier's early over-the-snow vehicles.
Sno-Bear
I stopped at an Exxon station for fuel and found there were two 87 octane offerings. One was with the usual 10% ethanol and the other was ethanol free but commanded a $0.25 premium. It was nice to be offered a choice. I opted for the alcohol free version.
Choices are nice
It was busy when we arrived in Fargo just in time for Friday rush hour, but we stayed on I-94 until we crossed the Red River into Minnesota. There, we took Moorhead City Exit 1A, even before we passed the Welcome to Minnesota sign.
Welcome to Minnesota
The Microtel was not far from the highway and had lots of parking space. The girl at the desk said I could park wherever I wanted to. Sandy decided we didn't need supper after our DQ feast, but we finished the Sargiento snacks we got from WalMart a while back. I worked on the blog and am happy to say that this post will be up before we go to bed.
Tomorrow will be 100 miles further than the last few days and we will lose another hour on our way to Marquette, Michigan, so we will be leaving earlier than usual.
Today's Route (389 Equinox miles):
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