Greetings and salutations from my little office in Connecticut. As promised, here is a detailed account of the interesting and funny things that happened on my recent road trip to Minnesota, Wisconsin, North Dakota, South Dakota, Manitoba, and Saskatchewan. For all of you long time readers of Jordon's Deep Thoughts, or at least since last September (See previous post), you know that I have a little list of things I want to do in my life before I die. Among the many things are to go to all 50 U.S. states and all 13 Canadian provinces, swim in all 4 of the world's oceans, and stand at the extreme points of U.S. My most recent road trip was jam packed with many geographic conquests and other things that most people would never waste $600 and a precious weekend so they can check things off of their list. But screw them...so let's dive right into it.
Last September, my cousin and I spent 28 of a possible 48 weekend hours in a car driving to the easternmost point in the U.S. in Lubec, ME. So the goal of this trip: the northernmost point in the continental U.S., Angle Inlet, MN. A little research and a plane ticket and the next thing I know I am landing at the Minneapolis Airport with about 2,000 miles of driving in 3 days ahead of me. Needless to say, my cousin and I are super excited. And no, we didn't drive on 35-W. I'm an engineer, I knew that bridge was going to collapse. Idiots.
First up, the Twins-Angles game. The Metrodome is a dump...it looked like watching a Nintendo baseball game with the astroturf. High comedy. First thing I noticed is that people in Minnesota really do have a strong accent like in the movie Fargo. My cousin and I tried speak like them the rest of our trip. Also, probably the funniest observation is with the train system in Minneapolis. Most trains/subways have either a ticket taker on the train or a turnstile where you swipe a card. Not in Minneapolis. It's all on the honor system there. You buy a ticket, get on the train, and never have to prove to anyone or anything that you did indeed buy a ticket. And no, we never bought another ticket the rest of our trip. Idiots.
Saturday was quite the day. After a quick stop at a Wisconsin supermarket to stock up on food and drinks we were on our way to Winnipeg, Manitoba. Along the way we stopped at the geographic center of North America in beautiful Rugby, ND. There is a big obelisk marking the spot and that's it. There is nothing else there. We didn't roll into Winnipeg until 11pm and I went right to bed.
Sunday arrived and we had one goal, getting to the northernmost point in the U.S. Destination: Angle Inlet, MN. The Angle (as it's called locally) can only be accessed from Canada. So from Minnesota you actually have to drive into Canada and then back into Minnesota. But that's not even the funniest part -- you have to clear customs at an unmanned border
station. That's right, there is only a videophone where you call customs and tell them your information. I hope Al Queda isn't reading this.So to get to the point you actually have to take a boat because it's located on an island. A guy in the parking lot for the videophone told us to travel down the road to the Angle Outpost Resort and ask for David or Jessica Fandrich who would rent us a boat. So we get in our super sweet Pontiac G5 and travel down the unpaved road. We find David and he is more than happy to take us on his boat, free of charge. We find the point and stone marker (see picture above) but it's on private property and people are home so we don't get out but close enough. Great success!
We leave The Angle and cruise over to Lake Itasca, which is the headwaters of the Mississippi River. It was surprisingly nice. We also cruise past the Longitudinal Center of Canada and the north-south Continental Divide. Who knew that this area of the country was home to so many geographic monuments? Last stop on the trip was the Mall of America. I was at the Mall of America a couple years ago when my flight to Hawaii was delayed and I had to overnight in Minneapolis. The roller coasters were just as much fun this time. That's right folks, there is an amusement park inside the mall. They even have an aquarium now!
So all in all, another awesome trip that has allowed me to check a few things off my list. Next up...I have no idea. I'll just keep exploring and, of course, keep you posted.
Two roads diverged in a wood, and I--
I took the one less traveled by,
And that has made all the difference.
I took the one less traveled by,
And that has made all the difference.
