The Neverending Road

I woke up around and found Ashley downstairs reading a book and using her knee machine. Don't think I said this last time, but she recently had surgery on her knee so she was pretty incapacitated. The machine basically helped increase her range of motion and since she was a nurse she was getting to use it for a pretty discounted price. I told her that we were going out to breakfast and she didn't have a choice. She took me to the finest breakfast establishment that Bozeman had to offer and it was busy even on a Friday morning. We had a very nice meal and discussed all aspects of life; past, present, and future. Afterwards, I gave her a ride home and told her how much I appreciated her and Andrew's hospitality. It was then off to...

I hadn't really picked a destination for that day. All I knew is that it was 16 hours to Eau Claire, WI, which was basically my next stop. It all depended on whether I wanted to split the drive evenly or take out most of it today. Since I was solo, I actually called in for some assistance on the matter. I called Carly to help me out, and 45 minutes later I had a hotel booked in Fargo, ND; a mere 11 hours from Bozeman. So it was going to be one of those days.

Even though it was just a day full of driving across gigantic states, there were a couple monumental events. #1 - Old Blue reached 80,000 miles and still running strong #2 - Knocked North Dakota off the list, so now the only 2 states that remain are Michigan and Hawaii. Michigan will come in a couple days, and Hawaii will eventually be there. Not a bad way to tackle all 50 states. Besides these two milestones, the drive was pretty simple. I was moving at ~85 mph the whole way since the speed limit was 75. Old Blue was not loving that, and made me pay for it by spitting out ~27 mpg. At this point, I was worried more about less time on the road than trying to save money.

I actually grabbed dinner in Bismark, ND and I probably should have stayed there. The reason being was that a local bar that I passed had a sign out front "Don't Miss Philly Friday." I really have no idea what that meant, and I never will, but I was intrigued and wish I could have made an authentic appearance especially since I was wearing my Phillies shirt (I would have been a big deal.) Oh well, maybe next time I'm in Bismark, ND, I'll stop in. The only other major event that happened was I watched a beautiful sunset in my side/rear view mirrors. I am not going to lie, I really like driving into a sunset better than driving away from it.

I made it to the Rodeway Inn around 9:30 PM (after leaving Bozeman at 11:30 AM) and all I wanted to do was just crash. I definitely felt a little out of it from such a long drive, but I knew this was coming. Covering 800 miles of the country in one day is still a feat that I am proud of. Tomorrow was going to be a shorter drive, hopefully full of ULTRA activities. ULTRA (eh) day 34/39: COMPLETE

JM