Today was all about making good time across the heartland's heartland of the American heartland. Following 28 and US2 out of the UP, our route would take us across northern Wisconsin, all the way across Minnesota, and halfway across North Dakota.
Earlier I mentioned that our new RV tires along with the newly lifted Jeep were not playing nice. That was an understatement - on the way up to Ontonagon (check with your friendly local yooper for the correct pronunciation), each tiny input to the RV steering resulted in the following response from the Jeep.
A few times the big truck and the Jeep achieved a resonant frequency (I know) and caused some clenching of cheeks. Since the towbar/hitch adapter have a bit of side to side play, the new arrangement of a Jeep with worn 37" tires, a lift, and nothing more than a driveway tape-measure alignment was using the entirety of that range of motion. Weird that this thing wouldn't be perfectly smooth on the road.
A couple of beverages helped unleash the inner MacGuyver (or MacGruber) that resides in all of us, but especially me.
Enter the low-budget temporary solution - a deck of playing cards. Yeah, I know it's a huge bandaid for the real issue, but we're in the middle of nowhere and it worked. We now have a euchre deck worth of shims that tightened up the hitch in the receiver, and gone is the death wobble. Score 1 for simplicity.
Now that we were on the road, we recapped the first couple of days because this drive is BORING. I felt like this quote from Jordan needed to be included, just to help young gingers out there realize that it's ok and there's nothing you can do. Last night after the rain subsided, Jordan and I headed out to play on the rocks & go to the playground. When I mentioned that the skeeters were killing me, she offered this explanation, "Well, you're the specialest boy ever with your orange hair and orange beard and they like that." I'm sure she meant well.
Let me sum up the rest of the drive. Duluth - Kim fired up some instant internet research and we learned something about a freshwater aquarium, iron ore, a twin port city, and wheat. Oh, and a big hill.
North Dakota - leads the US in per capita beer consumption at over 43 gallons per 21+ year old, actually has something called Bonanzaville USA, contains Fargo, and allows bicycles on a highway whose speed limit is 75mph. Seems wise.
As we pulled into the gas station, we discovered that North Dakota is also a leader in preserving the 80s. I defy you to find something in this picture (taken this afternoon) that would imply it is anything other than 1986.
And I'd be willing to bet that our RV with Jeep attached is faster than that IROC, which originally came equipped with a 155hp 305 V8. That's right, 155hp out of a V8. At least it had a lot of stickers and inspired a cult following from dudes like this.
About 11hrs into the drive, including a quick stop at the least helpful retail outlet in North Dakota to find some local beers (the plan for this trip is to drink beer brewed in the state we are in - North Dakota has slim pickins, but I managed to score some Iron Horse Pale Ale from Fargo Brewing Company), we finally rolled into our campground.
Since we need to get to the National Park campground early tomorrow (first come first serve), we chose a KOA in Bismarck, about 2hrs away. It is serving its purpose as a roadside stop, and of course Jordan found what she needed.
We grabbed a pull through site, so no unhooking of the Jeep is necessary. I celebrated with a novelty beer, and it was a huge mistake. The best thing I can say about this beer is that they were accurate in their description. It was hot (yeah, I know - habaneros), and not at all refreshing.
Tomorrow brings Theodore Roosevelt National Park. We did a little preview tonight, and we're hoping to see some Bison, prairie dogs, and bighorn sheep. I'll settle for some views like this.
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