Highway 2 Part 2: The Flu, The Snow, The Mountains, The Promised Land
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North Dakota - Huddling together with friends for warmth is cool |
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in less than a 1/10th of a mile... |
(Harvey says he's going to write his own blog called "Harvey's Take: What actually happened on those adventures instead of Lo's hyperbole and deliberate misdirection". Catchy).
Alas, our brave adventurers needed to continue on their journey the next day to catch Harvey's flight out of Seattle on the 19th. We drove across a good chunk of North Dakota, but at one point, Harvey had to take a phone call with JPL in the middle of farmlands where we magically had phone service (...what?). I walked around a bit and noticed some trash/cans along the highway, so I decided to be a good hippie and pick up some trash while Harvey was on the phone.
Caution, the following is horrifying:
North Dakota Badlands |
In less than 1/10th of a mile, maybe a 3 minute walk, I found over 2 bags of beer cans tossed casually to the side of Highway 2. And no, it wasn't like someone decided to drop 20 cans in one go - these were all different brands and they were recent. Drinking and driving KILLS people, and it doesn't matter if you don't value your own life enough, it kills innocent people driving home who aren't drinking. The trash Harvey and I picked up along this small stretch of Highway 2 is indicative of a much more serious problem of drunk driving on country highways and this attitude of throwing trash on others property as being acceptable. We saw cans with this kind of frequency throughout the rest of our trip :(
Trying to restore the formerly jovial mood, we made it to the North Dakotan Badlands near Theodore Roosevelt National Forest that evening. Unlike the South Dakota version, these badlands were less moon-like and more sedimentary layers and colors (ooooh pretty!). We stayed in a campground largely dedicated to horse owners with lots of stables and things you'd need to take care of a horse while sleeping in a tent yourself. Fortunately, we were the only ones (shoulder season!). In fact, we had been the only ones for about a month according to the campground host. I mean, it was chilly, but it was a super pleasant night... we couldn't understand why no one was there crazy people who hate the cold or something ;)
GAH SNOW. |
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This photo brought a sick man a lot of joy |
People live here?!?! |
Quintessential Glacier Photo |
Featuring your favorite outdoorsy/homeless/flu-stricken couple |
Harvey, a modern man, checks email while Lo cooks lunch |
The Beautiful Pacific Northwest |
The North Cascades - the overexposed photo doesn't do it justice at all |
From there, we deviated north on Highway 20 for a bit to get as far North and remote as possible. We tucked in and out of postage stamp towns nestled between huge stretches of farmland (and TP signs). As it grew dark and started to rain, we contemplated hotel/no hotel... and decided to be brave and camp near Mazama. Shockingly, it wasn't bad at all... we stayed dry the whole night and it wasn't North Dakota cold, so all was cool (bro!).
He makes these faces, not me |
And here's the photo of us kissing that none of you actually wanted :) |
Another thing to keep in mind when planning a romantic 2 week roadtrip cross country with your boyfriend - you're really only going to have each other as company during the trip. There were entire days that Harvey and I would talk to (1) each other and (2) a gas station clerk and that would be it. We had some tense times, but in a lot of ways, this trip really strengthened us. We worked together, we divided labor, sometimes Harvey was a little more down and out for the count, but we were happy and we had an amazing time. It was definitely an extremely memorable trip, and I sincerely hope we'll have many more in the future.
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