Post #20 part 3: The Great American Eclipse 08/21/17 + the Mother Daughter Road Trip

Day 5 - Wednesday, August 23rd
So lucky us to end up at a hotel that caters to local construction workers, breakfast started being served at 5 am. So it was another early morning for Mom and I, we were off to Saskatchewan by way of Montana {Plentywood, Montana, mileage: 5862, time: 06:47 MDT}.

{Leaving US, mileage: 5878.6, time: 07:03 MDT & Entering Canada, mileage: 5878.8, time: 08:25 CDT. Time at Port of Entry: ~22 mins} At the border we were asked a bunch of questions, including how we were planning on paying for things while we were in Canada. One thing that came up while we were crossing the border was our last time in Canada. Mom and I were in Canada back in 2014, we went to Sault Ste Marie and then crossed through the southern tip of Ontario to get back to NY from Michigan. Earlier that same year I went to Canada on my own, kind of.
Funny story: Mom drove up to the border with me, but didn't have a passport or a pass card yet, so I left her on the side of the road in New York while I continued into Canada. I was only going to to. Well, the border officer that let me into Canada thought it was hilarious, the one on the way back to the US did not. That was my first time being stopped at the border.
Back to our crossing into Saskatchewan, I told him that I wanted to see another Canadian province and being on this Eclipse Trip was the best opportunity. He had us park while he ran a background check on both Mom and I. Well come to find out, in my file lists all of my crossings into Canada since you've needed a passport, including the funny story. No joke, in my file are the words: "Left mom on side of road." It's official, I am on a list, and double checked when I make my random trips to Canada.
Turning right on to Rt 18 in Saskatchewan marked the point when Mom and I started heading back to Maryland. We still had a lot to do before getting back to Maryland, but we would no longer be traveling west.
Route 18 in Saskatchewan is a gravel road, in case anyone was wondering, or at least a large portion of it is (44 km). Also, there are no rest stops, and very few towns with convenient stores - never pass up a bathroom. Saskatchewan was flat and empty along Rt 18, which I was exception, and was completely at peace with. I have been to Saskatchewan! We crossed into Manitoba from Saskatchewan, keeping an eye on the time, and figuring out how quickly we would be getting to Grand Forks, ND. Soon after crossing into Manitoba we used our map (we turned off our phones to ensure no international charges) to find the most direct path back to the United States.

We crossed back into the US in Westhope, ND {mileage: 6001, time: 10:52 CDT}. Again we were questioned by Border Patrol officers, and this time they searched our car. We chatted more about our road trip, and ended up heading to Rugby, North Dakota for our next stop - the geographic center of North America. {mileage: 6192, time: 14:15 CDT}












From there it was just across North Dakota on Rt. 2, arriving at Hotel #3: Best Western Harvest Inn in Grand Forks, North Dakota {mileage: 6339, time: 16:28 CDT}. Mom did a load of laundry when we got to the hotel, and then we had dinner with Erica! Erica and I have known each other since 2010 and the Boulder REU. She's at grad school in Grand Forks, and I would have been a fool to come all the way across the country and not see her.

Day 6 - Thursday, August 24th
We left this hotel before breakfast, which is kind of sad because they had a pancake maker. Ah well, from Grand Forks we headed south east for our next stop: the stairs in Stillwater, Minnesota. (Update as of 10/19/17: I stayed at a Holiday Inn Express in Breezewood, PA and was able to experience a pancake maker.) We entered Minnesota at milage: 6418 and time: 06:25 CDT.

Wisconsin: so close, yet so far.

I took a video of us walking up and down the steps, turns out it wasn't as long of a staircase as we were expecting, but the top gave a nice view of town, the St. Croix River, and Wisconsin. Unfortunately, the drawbridge that connected Stillwater to Wisconsin was closed to all traffic so mom and I had to make a driving detour across another bridge, a little south of town, to hit Wisconsin.

From there we headed to downtown-ish Minneapolis to walk out over the Mississippi. Looking around at the city scape I decided I could totally live in Minneapolis, and some day I hope to.

Minneapolis skyline

Always seeking Locks.

Next stop: MALL OF AMERICA! A place I have only ever seen in pop culture: Mighty Ducks D2 and Jingle All The Way being the two most vivid memories. In making it to the Mall of America, I even made it to Hawaii. Mom and I walked around a bit, and rode a roller coaster, the entire ride I kept telling her to put her hands up, she wouldn't do it.

I parked in Hawaii!

Finishing up the sights I planned for us in Minnesota, we were off to Iowa, and the future birthplace of Capt. James T. Kirk, Riverside, Iowa. It was a really random thing for me to select as our stop in Iowa, but in all honesty I just wanted to say I had been to Iowa. {mileage: 7014, time: 19:43 CDT}

Crossing from Iowa into Illinois meant crossing the Mississippi river for the 4th and final time of our Mother Daughter road trip; it also meant that we were back in familiar territory. Our last night before returning to Maryland was spent at Hotel #4: Best Western Oglesby Inn, Illinois. {milage: 7160 ish, time: 22:04 CDT ish}

Day 7 - Friday, August 25th
After breakfast at the Hotel mom and I were on the road again, crossing back to the Eastern time zone, and along roads that we had traversed before. Illinois, Indiana, and Ohio blurred together.

We stopped in Pittsburg, Pennsylvania to see Rachel before continuing on back to Maryland. Rachel asked if we minded walking a ways to dinner, after being cooped up in the car for 10 ish hours, that sounded like a great idea. Dinner was at Burgatory (yum), and mom and I opted for Bison Burgers because we didn't get any bison while we were out west. {milage: 7693 ish, time: 18:15 EDT ish}
After dinner we left Rachel's and drove our last 3 and a half hours back to my apartment in Laurel, MD. It was good to be home, but the trip really was amazing. {milage: 7972 ish, time: 02:00 EDT ish}

Day 8 - Saturday, August 26th
We returned the car at 08:57 EDT with 7978 miles on it. We put (4924) miles on that little Nissan Versa, not to mention all the bug carcasses that were decorating the grill when we returned it.

Rental car's front grill before washing...

 So that's it, the chronicles of the Mother-Daughter Solar Eclipse Road Trip. Until our next wild and crazy trip.

States I have been to (AFTER):

Only 4 more states to visit: Hawaii, Oregon, Idaho, and Vermont (being from New York, this last one upsets me).

Key: Green - spent more than a week there/lived there, Blue - spent a week/visited many times, Orange - visited once or twice/seen some sites, Red - been in/whirl wind visit