A journey to fill my soul

12,400 miles- 106 days

I’ve had the opportunity to drive various roads in Montana and have always thought that this is my kind of place. Montana has an informal name of ‘Big Sky Country’. How can I not disagree.

The sky seems to go on forever. I love traveling through this state. If I had a dream to return in another life it would be as a rancher with 1,000 acres and a large herd of cows. The sound of cows lowing is so calming to me.

I Need To Escape!

I ended the last post saying that I had a two night stay in West Glacier Campground that I never saw night two of. I’ve always been an early to bed, early to rise type of guy. Not at this campground, in fact, just forget about getting a full night sleep. During this trip I’ve been woken by wind and rain. Once, while in a remote camp in the Yukon I was even woken by howling, not sure if it was wolves or coyotes, doesn’t matter, it was a peaceful, soulful sound. At this camp I listened to the night owls, not owls, people, having a few over a campfire. That’s ok, just not me. But then the barking dogs and people yelling to shut up started. And we’re not done, there was a double set of rails as I entered the camp, didn’t think too much of it until the horns started blaring. Oh, not one train, seems nighttime is the best time for trains to pass the area so throughout the night I was woken about every 30-minutes. Hmmm…..This isn’t working. When the train at 4:00 am let me know that he was going to pass on by I decided it was time for me to hit the road. So, after the two previous days of long road time I was out for the real deal, the drive back home.

This drive was always part of the plan. Highway-2 passes through Glacier National Park so I thought it would be the perfect way to make my way home. 1,300 miles of pretty much straight road, easy drive, I’m just not so sure it was smart after the 600+ miles of mountain driving from the previous two days.

Easy Peasy-Drive Till You Can’t

What could go wrong, right? Just drive till you’re done, find a spot to park, a wayside, a hotel parking lot, a truck fueling stop, just park with the big boys or slide into a hotel parking lot and all will be good. Well, let me tell you about Montana and North Dakota, it doesn’t work that way, at least not on Highway-2. I’m guessing not many trucks take this route, they hit the interstate to the south where there are plenty of stopping opportunities. You will struggle to find a turn off to rest let alone a hotel as I’m thinking. I got to Rugby, North Dakota shortly after 9:00 pm, just after the darkness set in. It was cloudy so no moon to light the way. It was dark! I was happy to find this fuel stop with a back lot with two big rigs already set for the night. I’ve parked next to these rigs, they like to idle so the noise can be a bit much, even for ear plugs so I went to the far corner and called it.

This Is A Special Weather Announcement!

I really thought this drive would be a breeze and nothing to talk about. Sorry, not on this road trip.

Not long ago a hail storm passed through my hometown and caused some pretty severe damage to my roof. The shingles were beat beyond recognition. When I contacted the insurance company I had no issues but he said I should really take pictures when the event occurred for reference to the claim. This comment has stayed with me, in the event of a catastrophic event, take picture, take notes of what you’re seeing.

Let Me Create A Scenerio

Let me try and explain what happened when this storm went through by putting you in the drivers seat. I want you to climb into a steel garbage can, put the cover on and while someone is beating on the can with a baseball bat, two very large guys are shaking it violently.

Think about my little home, it has this large smoked plastic roof over the bath to let light in along with a small one over the bunk, or bed. The roof is secure but it’s rather thin. I’ve got two large solar panels up top along with the A/C unit.

This event started with real heavy rain, when the sirens started sounding in the town nearby I thought I really needed to wake up and see what’s going on. That’s when the hail came, but that’s not all. I swear there were 10 giants, five on each side, rocking the rig side to side. I swear I thought the truck was going to go over. I was on the floor outside my bath door, the sound was indescribable. I have ear plugs on the bed side, I jumped up and put those in as quickly as possible all while the truck was jumping side to side. I came down and wedged myself between the bath and furnace wall with my arms over my head. HOLY CRAP!!! This was serious s….

Ok, storm is past, I peered out the windows to see if I was still in North Dakota….All good, try to sleep and we’ll check into damage in the morning. Oh no, not in this story.

It’s 1:30 and my phone goes off (it was on silent for the first round), this is a special weather announcement. Heavy rain and thunderstorms for the next hour. Oh yeah baby, we’re not in Kansas anymore Dorthy, you’ve been relocated. I laid in the bunk listening to the heavy rain, thunder and watching the sky light up like a Christmas tree.

It’s now 2:30, the power in the area went out sometime around 2:00. It was dark, I mean, I can’t see out the window dark. I look at the weather channel and it says we’re in a window for about an hour until the next storm front comes through. NO NO! I’m moving on. I am dead tired but running on adrenaline. I dress, put on a headlight and go out. I’m praying the truck is drivable, I could only imagine the windows being blown out from the hail. All good but I’m standing in 4” of water. Exit, stage left. Like really, go left out the parking lot and head east. My map program says the roads are flooded in front of me, drive carefully. It was so dark, there was so much water on the road that there was no way I was going anywhere fast. The fields on the roadside look like lakes. The road is alive, I’ve never seen so many frogs jumping on the roadway. While I’m driving I keep hearing this thumping with each frog hit as they jumped in front of me. I drove for about 2-hours and found a lot to park in and slept for about 20 minutes. When I woke and started driving it was still pitch dark, but I could only laugh, I pulled through, thanks Lord, and I’m moving east. Only 9 1/2 hours to my final stop.

I’m Back Where I Started

In my first post I was at our family place in northern Wisconsin. I’m back, right where I started. Thanks to an early start, thanks weather, I pulled in about 2:00. Hmmm, it’s Friday, I’ve had a very long week, hit your favorite bar for some libation and a good fish dinner.

Choose Your Road Wisely, Travel Randomly

I’ve had this thought in my mind for a long time, choose a destination, a road, and travel randomly so that you may take in everything that may be on the path to that final destination. It’s not always a straight line, it’s a pathway to adventure.

How Was Your Trip

How can I answer that question? It wasn’t a trip, it was an adventure, a journey to find peace. I feel at peace, I feel like I’ve conquered something I thought impossible. It takes planning, a special vehicle capable of the abuse it’s seen on this adventure. I’ve spent 3-nights outside my cabin, I’ve made just about all my meals onboard. I’ve skipped the common camp spots and stopped randomly, alone at peace with myself. The roads I’ve driven, the National Parks I’ve visited, the port towns and mountain towns all have deep memories. The people I’ve met, all leave a memory with me. I have no real regrets. I suppose there could be ‘I wish I would have’, but that’s behind me, no regrets. I’ve documented and photographed everything I felt was important to me, these will allow my mind to step back and relish those events.

Now What?

I’ve got a lot of cleaning and a little repair to do. I’ve got a dream for the next adventure. I need to find a simple job to kill time and help fund the next one. What’s next? East, water, desolation. Canada is calling me again only I’m going east, out to be surrounded by ocean. There’s something about the ocean that I find so inviting. I need to see Nova Scotia, but keep going. There’s an island out there that has so much history, so much beauty that I need to see and feel. The island of Newfoundland and St. John’s are beckoning. It will be a fall trip in order to take in the fall colors as I move through southern Canada in route. The time is still open, possibly fall of 2026, possibly fall of 2027, still to be determined and dependent on a possible travel mate on this one.

Thank you for your time

If you’re still with me here, thank you. Thank you for your time and patience as I made my adventure come real. If and when we may meet, I’ll raise a tall one as a toast to our friendship. Until we meet again….Peace.