Day 12: Fargo, ND

Day 12: 469 miles and camped in Fargo, ND

I'm camped this evening in Linwood City Park, Fargo, ND on the banks of the Red River of the North. For you baseball fans, it didn't take me long to find out that Roger Maris is from Fargo. The ball diamonds in this park are named after him, and I'm camped on Roger Maris Lane. The kid that checked me in said that he went to the same high school as Maris, and that the school turned his gym locker into a shrine.

Well, the day started out rather dubious. After a hearty breakfast and sad farewells and hugs, I climbed into the truck, turned the ignition, and THE BATTERY WAS DEAD!!! Now I had been dreading this for some time. The truck is a 2002 with 176,000 miles, and the batteries (yes, there are 2 of them) are original. They finally gave up the ghost. Fortunately, Dave Wright, who uses solar panels and batteries to generate part of the electricity for his house, found it easy to grab a battery and jump start the truck. He gave me instructions to a service center 12 miles away and I waved goodbye for a second time. Got to the service station about 9:00, but the earliest they could get me in was 12:30 PM. So what do you do when you are in real need? Head to the nearest Walmart Super Center! I was back on the road by 10:00 with 2 brand new batteries. The day was saved.

I took Rt. 10 west out of Amherst and hit Interstate 94. I stayed on I94 the rest of the day through Michigan and across Minnesota. Got into Fargo, ND about 7:30 PM. The Red River of the North separates the 2 states.

Not much else to say, except some general observations, for what they are worth.

1) Everyone should drive across the US at some point in their life, preferably when they are younger, to appreciate how much farm land there is and to help them appreciate where their food comes from. The general public takes food and grocery stores way too much for granted.

2) Driving across acres and acres of farm land is NOT boring. I love listening to the local radio stations and get the crop price reports, find out where to buy my combine parts, and get the scoop on the local County Fair. Also, they usually have some pretty good country music.

3) You know those blue Emerald Ash Borer traps we see all over St. Lawrence County? Well, they are all over out here too. In fact, there is one hanging just a few campsites down from me. Apparently this invasive specie is more than just a local concern at home.

4) I was buzzed by a crop sprayer airplane today. As I come up over a small rise on I94 doing 70, a crop sprayer came right over my windshield as he pulled up from a field on my right. He probably wasn't more than 100 feet over my head. He sure gave me a rush.

OK, that's all for today. Tomorrow, on to somewhere in Montana.

See ya....