Why I truly miss my 75-mile commute
I used to commute from Grand Forks, North Dakota to Hallock, Minnesota. One interstate, two state highways, three turns. 75 miles.
Then, for a time, I commuted from Grand Forks, North Dakota to Fargo. Interstate all the way. 75 mph speed limit, give or take. 75 miles.
There were many things to dislike about the journeys — unpredictable weather, straight flat roads, MPR fund drives. Plus, of course, there were the high gas bills ($540 in April) and 2+ hours roundtrip just sitting.
I’d rather not go back to commuting that distance. With great joy I walked 1 minute to a coffee shop for my first meeting of the day yesterday. Later, I road my bike 10 minutes to my office. I love it.
But I miss many things about the commute as well.
I miss hearing hours of quality in-depth reporting from MPR and NPR.
I miss turning off the radio and just being, thinking quietly by myself for minutes on end.
I miss seeing the horizon in the distant North Dakota sky. I miss the sun rises and sun sets.
I miss passing farmers working in their fields.
I miss watching the crops grow day by day, and then in the fall seeing the lights of the sugar beet trucks out in the fields harvesting all night long.
And, though they were sometimes annoying, I even miss passing the semi-trucks coming down from Canada reminding me that goods don’t magically arrive on the store shelves.
I particularly miss the semi we passed on I-29 almost every Sunday afternoon with its multi-layer cargo of hogs with their snouts pointed outwards presumably headed to market.
I don’t want to go back to the long commute. I’ll suppose I’ll learn to manage OK with my current 2 miler. But, those other 73 miles, they were quite the ride.
image by Julia Starr
Outdoor Baseball and Target Field
Change is hard, especially if it is from a dependable convenience to uncertainty. Such is the case in Minnesota this season, as the Twins transition from the covered climate-controlled Metrodome to the outdoor Target Field. After personally taking-in a weekend of cold rainy baseball — and the first rainout in thirty years — I’m still very happy with the switch.
Yes, families from out of town can’t plan trips to Minneapolis with total certainty a game won’t be rained out — but that’s how nearly every other baseball city functions, and they get by.
Yes, some games will just be darn cold. Some will be snowed out. But there are some big heat lamp things near the concessions for folks who are especially chilly, and, well, wear some layers and enjoy creation.
Yes, it would have been handy to have a stadium with a retractable roof, but those things are expensive and Minnesotans are cost-conscious folk.
After taking in two games at Target Field last weekend, I have to admit I was blown away with the quality. The seats are comfy, roomy, cup-holder-equipped, and face home plate. The local limestone highlights all over are gorgeous, without being too much. The food, though expensive (of course) is tasty and they do feature some local beers and restaurants. And I love the huge Minnie and Paul retro logo in right — the character shake hands after every Twins home run. In sum: I’m a big fan of Target Field. Well done all. Go Twins!
images by Fifteenthirty and Dana Leigh
A few thousand miles down
image by aernst
Road Trip Report
All is well in the midwest. Over five days we’ve traveled 2372 miles, driven through eight states, picked up and dropped off a friend (still on amicable terms), seen “old” friends in three states, and, best of all, Megan and I are still speaking to each other.
I’m still decompressing Scotland, and am basically on vacation, so I’m taking a wee break from any intense blog reflections. I’ll still post things, though, just maybe things a bit lighter more funner. Like…
Highs and lows, aka pows and wows, aka glorias and kyries, aka mountains and valleys, aka fillet mignon and off-brand SPAM, aka Macs and PCs. You get the picture.
Road trip…Spiffy stuff:
- Megan and I figured out we can save $3.54 at Dairy Queen by sharing a large peanut butter cup blizzard (they don’t even charge you for the extra cup)
- saw, firsthand, that Iowa City really is a cool city. Sadly, it’s quite messed up with flood damage, but the pedestrianized downtown rivals even Asheville. (Of course, we walked it in 75 degree July.)
- Campground neighbors who are really kind, sharing their can opener, giving us watermelon, and fire starter, only silently laughing at our many gaffes.
- Local brews at the Herkimer in Minneapolis
- Old friends whipping up a real tasty and healthy veggie meal
- four generations together at Megan’s farm
- fancy mpg gauge-real time average is really handy
Not so cool:
- Not having time to stop at Iowa 80, the biggest truck stop in the world (apologies, Heather)
- first bird poop on the new car
- not having time to run
- internet withdrawal, not helped by leaving my charger in Iowa City
- getting headaches from the sun due to lack of prescription sunglasses or new contacts or similar–hope to fix with those fancy grandparent-sunglasses-over-regular-glasses-sunglasses
- fast food gets old fast
Road Trip
image by aernst
Two days from now, we’ll be hitting the road for Montreat, NC, the first stop on our 2.5 week road trip adventure. Major stops along the way include, Harrisonburg, VA; Iowa City, IA; Minneapolis-St. Paul; Fairdale, ND; Aspen, CO; Overland Park, KA.
It should be fun times all around. We’re picking up a dear friend in VA, hanging out with college and seminary friends in Iowa, doing the family thing in ND, seeing my brother at the Aspen Music
Festival, and wedding-it-up in KA.
Of course, that won’t be all our stops. Courtesy of the hilarious website Roadside America,
we’ll try to take in fascinating cultural phenomenons such as the
Giant Buffalo Bill Statue, or the World’s Largest Rocking Chair in Indiana, or the Kansas Barbed Wire Museum.
If I find the time, I’ll also plan a few stops along the way at restaurants from RoadFood.com, a site that chronicles good local food along America’s highways–I’m always up for some good BBQ.
Our specific route is undetermined, but here’s a google map image to get you thinking in the right direction. According to google, we’re right at 5,000 miles. Considering flying the six segments would have cost thousands, we’ll just have to suck up the $4+ gas prices. Even so, it’s much less than Scotland and our car gets solid mileage.
I’ll be blogging along the way–from campfires, hotel rooms, and free wireless at Krystal–and will definitely be making the most of Sirius Radio. Now, though, for those last minute provisions…
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