Saturday, September 23rd

~9:30am. Moderately early start today. Let's see how far I get.

~9:45am. Couldn't resist taking a picture of these cows. I'm can almost hear the soundtrack for Open Range.


1:45pm. Mitchell, SD. $2.51/gallon for 92. 18.27mpg.
Takin' Care of Business - BTO (radio)


6:38pm. Oacoma Outlook, SD. Beautiful views from a supposedly famous Lewis & Clark trail spot. Stopped here for an hour.

Wish I'd brought a tripod along for these shots.






This is the poisonous snakes path. Didn't see any.








"The Chamberlain-Oacoma Bridge, completed in September 1925, was built and fabricated by the Missouri Valley Bridge & Iron Works of Leavenworth, Kansas. At the time State Bridge Engineer Kirkham estimated the cost of the Chamberlain Bridge to be $303,623." source



6:50pm. Entering the West South Dakota mountain range. My spirits are instantly lifted up. I guess I wasn't meant for the prairie.
A Prairie Home Companion (radio).

8:30pm. Wall, SD. 15.89mpg, ouch! 92 is $2.71/gallon. Boy, the Badlands are pretty cold at night.
Shangri-La - Mark Knopfler

10:50pm. Spearfish, SD. 16.9mpg.
Venus in Furs - The Velvet Underground




11:17pm. Bell Fourche, SD - A "shortcut" (Highway 212) turns out to be worse than any gravel I'd seen during my years in Iowa. Potholes, mud, one-lane with a cliff for a shoulder - and now there's 5 trailers ahead of me and we're not moving. There's a reason why the Interstate is the preferred route for most drivers. Sigh.


6:22am. Sunday, somewhere in Montana. 18.47mpg, 91 is $2.80/gallon. Highway 212 turned out to be quite an adventure. Besides being mountainous (and thus slow) I saw an average of one deer every 7 seconds, and one big male deer with antlers every minute. All of them on the shoulder/road every time. I almost killed one, but instead shaved his tail. And a rabbit decided to test the pattern on my tires, only to end up adding a thud to the otherwise silent night. And I saw a 4/5 ft wingspan bird (eagle?).



The reward for this mad Montana road, in what has to be the most remote place in the US: an intense starry night, complete with aurora.

Thursday-Friday, September 21-22

2 days is just not enough. Especially after one whole year. Good thing Sarah gets married this Christmas, it'll be a strong excuse to see all of the Iowa peeps again.

Trivia Question Of The Day: What (or who) was the center of attention during my Iowa visit?

Wednesday, September 20th

11:08am. And it shall come to pass, that ye shall receive a sign, a sign unto ye shall be given, by which ye shall discern whether ye have come upon the promised prairie-land: It stinks like shit pig manure in Iowa.

12:35pm. 89 is cheaper than 87? $2.25/gallon, 18.02mpg.
April Skies - The Jesus And Mary Chain

~ 8 o'clock. Sioux Center! Hurrah. Get to hang out with Arlo and Heidi and Taede for the next 2 days.

Tuesday, September 19th

11:00am. I need an angle grinder. Humph. Well, let's see if the border guys really need to get in.



1:15pm. On the road again after a nap.
John Wesley Harding - Bob Dylan



1:22pm. I've been stuck here for 8 minutes now.



5:28pm. Port Huron, MI: made it through fine! Gas is $2.19/gallon. Unbelievable. Had to go in to the gas station and ask the attendant, such was my unbelief. Let's see how far I get tonight. 17.56 miles/gallon.

10:08pm. Watervliet, MI - 107 miles to Chicago. My right knee burns! It burns us!
When the Doves Cry - Prince
When the Doves Cry - Prince
When the Doves Cry - Prince
When the Doves Cry - Prince

11:20pm. Somewhere in Indiana. Gas, $2.33/gallon. 17.82mpg. Oh wait, it's actually 10:20pm! Nice. That's why I'm moving to AK. It's always earlier to the west. You can get more done.
I never knew my right knee could hurt in such strange and wonderful ways. I hope I'm not causing irreversible damage. A high price to pay, driving to AK cruise control-less.
With God On Our Side - Bob Dylan

12:54pm. Some rest area in Illinois. Safely tucked in between about 30 semis, I'm going to bed.
Sunday Morning - The Velvet Underground

8:11am, Wednesday. 7hrs of sleep should be enough to get me to Iowa. It got down to 37 this past night. Good thing I brought my winter sleeping bag along - and put it in the locked U-Haul. I think I've got a cold.
Rocky Mountain High - John Denver

Monday, September 18th

Monday 18th, start at 7:15 pm. Put gas in, $2.75/gal. So far the truck has given me 20.8 miles/gallon. Let's hope this improves. It won't. Thought of the Gas-Stop: I hope I didn't load up the truck too much. Where, oh where did all my stuff come from.
Coldplay - Don't Panic


8:53pm. Iruquois Service Area.
Gangsters & Pimps


10:15pm. Some Service Area.
Call to Ctuldhu - Metallica


11:15pm. Junius Ponds Service Area
Spectral Mornings - Steve Hackett


12:22pm. Ontario Service Area. 18.53 miles/gallon, @2.84 $/gallon.
Thought Of The Gas Stop: My numb right foot misses cruise control.
Everything Changes - Staind.

2:30am. Hamilton, Ontario. Woke Reuben up. Felt bad about that. Then he helped me parallel park my truck + trailer. That tooks us about 30 minutes. Wouldn't have done it without him. Hard thing, parallel parking a trailer+pickup.

10:15am. Hamilton, Ontario. Had a very brief (but good) night's sleep at Reuben and Heidi's. Did notice a "How To Eat Healthily For Pregnant Women" library book on their sofa. I wonder about that. Today's immediate goal is to find a Home Depot on the way to Sarnia, so I can figure out how to break open the Extra-Tough padlock I put on my trailer door. The lock's key is on the dinner table back in NY.

Saturday, September 16th

My plan was to leave today. I guess that ain't happening. I can't believe how long it takes one to pack. When I moved here from Sioux Center I only needed a minivan for all my belongings. Upgrade to a U-Haul in one year? No good.


3am: still the whole trailer to fill, and I'm 2 days late.




Some random flower from my garden. The nearby birdbath never received any visitors, I'm afraid.




I should have spent more time sitting outside. I'll miss that house.




And just in case you're curious, yes, I did preserve the 60% front/40% back ratio when loading the U-Haul. I kept a list of everything that went in there, plus respective weights.
Now why is it taking me so long to pack...






One last picture of the house before I get on the road...




and this took me 4 days.

5561 miles is a long way.

Although I've been in Alaska for almost 4 weeks now, let's pretend I am leaving tonight.

Let's pretend.


Warning: about 200 pictures coming your way.