Month: May 2016

Westward Ho: Day 9

Posted on by Annie

South Dakota seems like a normal-sized state until you decide to drive across it. In one day. And with either headwinds or crosswinds tormenting you the entire time. I mostly set the cruise control to 55 mph and watched the scenery go by. And amazing scenery it was. No picture I took really gets across how BIG the sky is here, how far you can see, and how wide open everything is. I’m not saying drive across the state, but at least visit it sometime, it’s got some beautiful landscapes. And it has the Missouri River. One reason I wanted to…

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Westward Ho: Day 8

Posted on by Annie

Started the day on the western edge of central Wisconsin, where I have family to visit, including three great nieces, and ended the day on the eastern edge of South Dakota, at a place called Pelican Lake. Before I got too far into the drive, I met up with a spacetweep friend on his home turf (last time we met up was in the Amsterdam airport a few months ago). He had excellent taste in local eateries. If you’re ever in the area, check it out, the bacon cheeseburger was perfect. Thanks, Danny! All across the width of Minnesota were…

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Westward Ho: Day 7 (MI to WI)

Posted on by Annie

Quick update because (1) lots of driving with not a lot of photos and (2) I am being kept busy by three great-nieces here in rural Wisconsin! Driving down from the Keweenaw Peninsula was pretty smooth sailing: very little traffic and mostly sunny weather. Six hours or so of me and SiriusXM saved my sanity more than a few times. Going 55 is less stressful and better gas mileage but it can make for longer drives. The drive was so worth it though! Breeze and I had our first overnight guest, my great-niece, Eden, who is 8 years and the…

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Westward Ho: Days 5 and 6

Posted on by Annie

Day 5 was basically me singing “Back in the USA…” about a thousand times because it meant I was back on my US data plan and I cannot express how happy this made me. Free google mapping!!! Except for that construction going through some town about 10 minutes before the campsite, where Map Lady and I got confused and I ended up seeing a very, ah, unused set of roads to get to my destination. Before that, though, all smooth sailing. I decided to challenge myself to slow down and savor the journey, so I went 55 mph or less…

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Westward Ho: Day 4

Posted on by Annie

There were three things I knew going into this #VagabondLife gig: (1) I was doing it solo. (2) Some days would probably suck, for various reasons. (3) I was going to make a mistake sooner or later that would rock my world, and not in a good way. What I didn’t count on was all three of those things happening all at once, which made for a very bad Saturday. So bad, to be honest, that after I got my trailer parked for the night, I unlocked it and then sat inside and cried. A lot. I felt like the world’s biggest screw-up…

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