From Cavalier to Minot? Why not?

I guess today was a classic example of how time can get away from you if you're not on task.

I got a relatively late start (I was up until 1 a.m. writing so I slept in and got up at 8. My room was directly across the hall from the ice machine and they started filling ice buckets for the Continental Breakfast room at 6 a.m. It is amazing how noisy an ice bucket can be! I couldn't take it anymore so I arose. The "breakfast" at the motel was pretty much gone by that time. I managed to gather a cup of very thick coffee and a miniature cinnamon roll (one bite, just right) that was still the same shape when it entered my stomach as it was when I picked it up off the now-empty tray.

When I exited the parking lot The Girls wanted me to turn right but I stubbornly turned left to head west. As I left town The Girls read off each street in order, asking me to turn right. I couldn't figure out what they were doing until I was cruising at highway speed and glanced to my right and saw my shadow. If I was going west my morning shadow should be leading me, not following on the right. 

The middle of Cavalier was under street construction and several detours had somehow turned me around. I was on the south side of town, not west.

Do a U-Turn!

Just outside of town (the west side of town!) I saw a crop duster, a job that I think I must have done in a previous life. I love these guys!

By the time I found "west" I was thinking of refueling. My previous fuel stop sold only 87 octane fuel. I have been buying premium and was reluctant but desperate to fill 'er up. I was now paying the price. My tank usually has a 200-240 mile cruising range (miles travelled plus miles to go before I run out, as indicated on my range meter). But this tankful? I toggled between the Tripometer and range meter and kept coming up with a similar number - 165 miles! 

Although I could have gone farther I opted to refill the tank if for no other reason than to dilute the low octane fuel with real-deal fuel. The next town was Langdon and I found a Cen-Tex station sharing a driveway with an old Clark station. The Cen-Tex was the source of my dilemma, they have only 87 octane ethonal. Clark on the other hand sells 91 octane premium, so that's where I took my business.

One of the things I had hoped to accomplish during this trip was a sense of normalcy. With many opportunities to talk to strangers I have been working on my elevator speech, the thirty second explanation of my trip and the reason for it. I have been able, on numerous occasions, to get the words out before they gather in my throat and become difficult to utter. 

After pumping my gas I went into the station to pay and found a couple of employees and a half dozen locals who had gathered for breakfast (this station featured a dining table to serve meals to those who hung out there!). They asked where I was from and I went into my spiel but something was different. The words started coming out fine but then swelled up. You never know, you just never know. 

All present heard my elevator speech and jumped into the conversation, a couple even going to a map on the wall so I could show them my route and where Boise was. (Hey, I had to look at a map 25 years ago to find Boise!) Each time I get past the words I move forward. This morning was therapeutic, I feel I'm moving ahead.

Highway 5 was my route most of the day. By late morning I reached Dunseith and turned north on highway 281. It was 14 miles to Canada and that was my destination.

In 1932 a small rock cairns was erected by an individual on the 49th parallel to draw attention to the longest unguarded border in the world.

 The man with the plan held a dedication ceremony and drew a crowd of 50,000! Further improvements were made by the CCC and it became the International Peace Garden. In the '50s it became the home of an International Music Camp and an International Sports Camp. In 1982 four large concrete pillars were erected, two on each side of the 49th parallel. 

In 2010 Rotary Clubs International erected a 9/11 monument, consisting of several beams from the Twin Towers debris. If my crappy Wi-Fi connection ever downloads the rest of my pictures.

The grounds contain some large flower gardens that employ a number of gardeners to eep up with them. Maybe they'll come work on my yard when they're done.

Time and irony have altered the experience that is the International Peace Garden. Today there is a fence erected around the monument to keep people out. A sign explains that the cement has deteriorated to the point that pieces are falling out of the structure. Engineers have determined that the damage can not be reversed and the monument will be coming down, probably next year.

That is what time has done. As for the irony?

When you leave the park dedicated to the longest unguarded border in the world you see a "sign" of the times that explains that, regardless of whether you turn left toward Canada or right toward the U.S., you must go through Customs!

When I went through Customs I explained that I had a passport but it was buried in my bag, so they settled for my drivers license. Good to know our border is secure!

The highway was under construction for 14 miles south of the park so it created a delay both coming and going. By the time I made it back to Dunseith I had forgotten my plan. I turned west on highway 5 and forgot all about continuing south on 281. South of this intersection is the town of Rugby where a rock tower marks the geographical center of North America. Given the extent that I have travelled to see various points I think I'm going to backtrack tomorrow to get a picture. (See next blog)

Instead of going to Rugby I hurried to Minot where the North Dakota Air Museum is located (separate from the Air Force Base). I ran into several construction zones and got stuck behind various trucks going to and from those zones, so I finally pulled into the museum at 4:45 p.m. They close at 5! Robbie gave me a no cost sneak peak of the WWII plane hanger so as to entice me to return in the morning for a longer look. They have three hangers full of planes dating to WWI. So that's on the agenda for tomorrow too.

This blog really doesn't read very well. I'm just frustrated with this Wi-Fi and can't concentrate. I even went and sat in the lobby but still I'm unable to upload my pictures before getting disconnected. Better luck (and connection) tomorrow?