Travelling ~ Grand Rapids, MN to Minot, SD

June 4, 2013

I woke to overcast skies and left early stopping first for coffee, muffin and blogging at Brewed Awakenings, a great coffee house which sells quiches along with tempting baked goods and ice-cream, books and music. I bought two Putamayo CDs which I later regretted: one was American Blues and there were only few good tracks and several so-so ones. The same with Paris, the other CD, only this time there were only two I liked. One I didn't like was Carla Bruni. The liner described her many accomplishments and noted that she was also an "exquisite" vocalist, but she was remarkably unremarkable, sort of half speaking, half singing in a low register. Still, I should have realized that contemporary Parisian chansons are not like the Edith Piaf chansons. I decided not to stop and spend money at the two other places I usually stop in Grand Rapids: an Army-Navy store and a used bookstore.

The skies cleared as I drove west and I took a couple of detours, one to the north and the other to the south. The north one was just a random road north, then a random road west and then another random road south to US2 again, probably 60 to 70 miles. Minnesota maps are well-marked and accurate in contrast to some other state maps. All routes and road surfaces are precisely as presented. My reward for this detour was a pair of nesting trumpeter swans in a small lake near the road. I got good views of these impressive birds and easily noted the field marks that distinguish them from tundra swans. Their head and necks were stained reddish-brown (from the iron up here?)

Back on US2, I noted a sign for Rydell NWR, only three miles off the road, surrounded by square miles of agriculture with mostly flat-land cultivated fields. There are now 454 refuges in the US; I love visiting them. After all, they belong to me...to you...to us. They are quiet, well-maintained, no zu-zu, interpretative places for kids and more and more have an emphasis on native flora. There are dozens of pamphlets about conversancy and easement considerations for the local people, information on exotic and invasive species and what to do about them, birding lists for the particular refuge and trail guides. Often there are auto routes, and I find that car birding (while not exactly green) is good as the birds are more accepting of cars than people moving about. Car as a blind, I guess. I did walk a one-mile trail around Church Lake through hardwoods, marshes and open fields, seeing about 25 species. As my life list grows, it becomes harder to see a bird I haven't seen before, but I now concentrate on learning field marks and songs better. Probably the most ubiquitous bird all across the country wherever there is a bit of riparian habitat is the common yellowthroat. I can usually find one but hear them far more often. They are also worth a google.

When I got to Grand Forks, ND and was in search of a Starbucks, it had begun to rain. The Starbucks was easy to find but I drove into the parking lot and there was no outlet and no place to park. It was very small space and took a bit of maneuvering to turn around, drive several blocks to get in the back way and through the drive-thru. Bit I persevered as I had the jones for some good coffee.

By the time I was heading to Devils Lake (where I intended to stop for the night), it was pouring with dark (but not tornado-ey) skies. And it rained all the way to Minot, 3-1/2 hours west. The highway is divided though and the driving is easy. I did not go to Kelly's Slough NWR (4 miles north of the highway and where I first went with Maria and where I always make at least a token visit in remembrance) because of the weather. The Holiday Inn Express in Devils Lake was filled! With businessmen, the clerk said. On a Monday night, even with "nothing special going on." This, I think, is indicative of the new look in North Dakota, which becomes more apparent the farther west one is. Oil rules...

I don't really like Minot as a stopping place. It's confusing with most amenities (motels and restaurants) crammed willy-nilly around a typical American mall. There are gigantic potholes in the busy parking lot. It was still dark and raining. The motel was expensive and $10 more than the quote when I had called ahead. I don't normally do that (make a reservation) but I didn't want to sleep in my car as once happened when trying to find a motel here. And, for the third night in a row, the plug in the bathtub did not work. Like no one takes baths anymore, I presume. (I fixed the one in Grand Rapids the night before, even when 5 small pieces of the stopper fell apart as I was fussing with it, including a tiny spring.) But, no matter what I tried in Minot,  it wouldn't hold water. Such troubles we Americans have....

I ate at a nearby Olive Garden and saved most of the pasta for lunch the next day.