Day 122, May 27, A Long Drive

Years ago, a friend of mine planned a surprise trip for his wife, her first to Hawaii. He was so excited to spring it on her. I said nothing to him at the time, but I did ponder how half the fun of experiencing an adventure is in the planning and anticipation of it. I spent the better part of three months last fall drawing up plans for this trip across America. The logistics required great forethought, including times out for our kids’ graduations, closures of temples for cleaning, and the opening of parks and concessionaires. 

One such hurdle involved the upcoming graduation of Aaron’s grandson in eastern Oregon next weekend and the opening of the two parks in the far north. To fit the puzzle pieces together required a long drive today, one of over 620 miles which we accomplished in one long day. 

Just yesterday, someone asked how many miles we typically have to drive in a day. That’s an interesting question as it doesn’t feel like I spend hour upon hour in the car just getting from point A to B. We stayed, played, and camped for 3 weeks in The Everglades, 10 days in Boston, another 10 days in Acadia, and we usually spend at least 2 nights in most destinations. Usually. 

Todays drive took us from Indiana Dunes National Park through the crush of Chicago during a rainy deluge with near zero visibility amd through several road construction sites teeming with heavy stop-and-go traffic. Once we cleared Chicago and The Lake Michigan area, the rain ceased and the clouds broke and it turned into a brilliantly sunshiny drive. We drove from the southeast corner of Wisconsin to her northwest tip as we passed through Madison and Eau Claire and into Duluth Minnesota positioned on the western tip of the great Lake Superior.  Minnesota, the Land of 10,000 Lakes.  From Duluth it was a straight shot to the tiny town of Orr on Pelican Lake in extreme northern Minnesota on our way to Voyageurs National Park.

Lake Superior, past which we briefly drove, was a dozen shades of blue, calm, gorgeous, and plied by as many different kinds and sizes of boats as the imagination can conceive. We will be back to explore you next month, Lake Superior.

The countryside changed many times in those 620 miles. From the massive industrial powerhouse of Chicago through the rolling verdant green farmlands of southern Wisconsin and on to the pines and forests of northern Minnesota, we passed through a plethora of scenery. I think our favorite backdrop may have been the sprawling dairy farms of central Wisconsin:  well kept diaries amid rolling hills with thousands of acres of lush green fields on which cattle and horses aplenty graze, this area is quintessential bucolic America. 

The joy is in the journey every bit as much as in the  destination. I love long car rides, and it has been the joy of a lifetime to experience so many states, so much of my America from its highways and byways. Ah, just another day in paradise.