Day 24: Moose Jaw, AB, to Moorhead, MN

585 miles
8:10 AM - 7:30 PM local time (6:30 by the time we got up)

Thank you, Lord, list:
Our own beds to look forward to tomorrow
Good beds we have slept in in the meantime
Another beautiful day while the place we left behind gets plastered
No border complications

On this our next-to-the-last day we took Rt. 39 that angled from Moose Jaw to North Portal, ND.  The scenery has been pretty much this shot taken outside Moose Jaw all day:

We spent our last Canadian currency for gas before we crossed the border. Steve says it was probably the longest immigration interview he has ever had, and believe me, he has had a LOT of immigration interviews. We figure the cause was probably the thickness of his passport and the potential for terrorists to use Canada as an entry point to the US.

It has been very windy all day. Hard driving for Steve. Very noisy with the windows open for circulation. We found a park in Bowbells, ND, to eat our picnic lunch. Nice houses, but most businesses were closed. Nothing for miles in any direction.

Mom spotted a beautiful bighorn sheep poised on the crest of a hill, silhouetted against the sky, but there were no bear locks on the trash bins in the rest stops, which made me homesick for the north. I teased Mom that when she put the visor down, I couldn't see any mountains. Of course, I couldn't see any mountains with the visor up either.

We've stayed in too many hotel rooms. This evening when I went back to the car for our fridge items, I carried them to room 318. But my key didn't work. Of course. Last night we were on the third floor. Tonight is room 218. But my key card didn't work there either. I finally phoned Steve to ask what room we were in. Good thing we were back in the States where I don't have to pay international fees. We are in room 418. Tomorrow there will only be three bedrooms to choose from, and I think I will be able to find my own.

I already miss the camaraderie of this trip. Up north we were always asking people where they were from. Everyone assumed we were either headed for Alaska or coming from there. The adventure was a shared experience even with strangers. I have wished we had gotten an e-mail for the Larry Smiths headed for Kenya who noticed our Minnesota license plates outside a lunch stop south of Fairbanks. It has been a wonderful trip, a dream come true, not just for Mom who was the inspiration, but for me as well.

Afghan update: Lots of knitting. Not much outside to distract me. :-)