October 2023

October had just three chapters: two roadtrips separated by some time at home. 

Chapter One, the first roadtrip, was really a continuation of September’s roadtrip to Minnesota. We woke up on the 1st in Knife River, hitched up, and hit the road. Headed south a bit down to Duluth then turned west on US 2 and various other state highways through the scenic heart of the Minnesota countryside to Fargo, North Dakota. Waved at its famous wood chipper, the Fargo movie prop sitting outside the visitor center, as we rolled by on I-94 then stopped to set up for the night in a small city park an hour later in Valley City. Somewhere between Duluth and North Dakota the weather changed from chilly, wet, and foggy to sunny and borderline too hot.

Continued west on I-94 the next morning, stopped outside Bismarck to find the oldest North Dakota geocache, then went to a Walmart in the city to meet a lady selling wood rounds Sherry wanted for macramè projects (Facebook Marketplace!). From Bismarck, went south on state highway 6 a ways then west again on state 21 to Mott, a tiny dot on the map in the middle of wide-open nowhere, population 640, but close enough to Sherry’s next North Dakota objective, the Enchanted Highway. Last summer on our trip out there we drove the EH, so-named for the giant folk art metal sculptures spaced along its 30-mile length between Gladstone and Regent, but its magic enchantment wore off and Sherry needed another fix. The Regent city campground was occupied by highway construction workers, according to the EH artist/town promoter/gift shop owner/campground manager on the phone, so Mott was the Spot (their words on a sign, not mine). Turned out we picked the right spot. 

Despite its small size, we couldn’t locate the city park with a few RV sites for travelers like us, but a nice lady in the city hall, more like a city office, graciously showed us the way in her car. The sites were in another town, West Mott, a stone’s throw across a small river from downtown Mott, and the sites used to have houses on them prior to being destroyed, along with most of the town, in a flood decades ago. We parked on a nice concrete house slab to keep from getting stuck in the mud from the forecast heavy rains. After setting up house, Sherry went off in the truck for a few hours to restore her EH magic while I spent a few minutes walking around West Mott and Mott.

The next morning we walked from the suburb to the city for breakfast at the Pheasant Cafe. As expected, there was a small group of retired old guys in there for their daily/weekly/monthly coffee and breakfast meeting. The only other customers, the cafe staff in the kitchen didn’t see us come in so we sat there for while; eventually one of the old guys, possibly urged on by his buddies to get the scoop on the strangers, asked us if we wanted coffee then came over and sat down with us. I think he got it backwards, he didn’t ask us too many questions and before long we pretty much knew his life story. After our so-so ordinary breakfast we ended up chatting with the friendly guys at their table…they had questions about us, we had questions about them and the town, Sherry showed them photos on her phone, they showed us photos on their phones…and the next thing we know we’re invited to one guy’s home to see his woodcraft and paintings. We walked a few blocks to 92-year-old retired music teacher Urben’s house and were treated to a tour of his basement showroom he’d set up for an earlier open house event, he also played the piano and sang a couple short tunes for us then insisted we take a jar of homemade bread & butter pickles. What a treat. Walking back to the suburb, Ted the Postman/town booster/publisher, came by in his truck to give us a bag of apples, homemade apple juice, and chokecherry jam, thanked us for visiting his hometown, and asked if it was OK to write up a little article about us for their newsletter. He even snapped a photo of us. We’re celebrities! Mott was the indeed the spot.

Continued west from Mott on state highways and US 12 through a lot of rain to Miles City, Montana and stopped for the night in a quiet Walmart parking lot. On the 4th we took I-94, cut down to I-90, and stopped in Garryowen, MT at an RV park situated quite literally where Custer’s 7th cavalry fatally met a whole bunch of Native Americans. Spent the afternoon checking out Little Big Horn National Monument, an interesting historic, thought provoking, and worthwhile stop on any roadtrip in this neck of the country. 

On the 5th…I-90 to Billings then a state road up to US 12 west, and stopped for a two night break in White Sulphur Springs. Continued on US 12 through Helena to I-90 again on the 7th and freewayed it out of Montana and across northern Idaho to Post Falls. Spent another free night in a Cabela’s parking lot. Intending to get halfway across Washington on the 8th, we ended up doing an extra long day for us and made it all the way home to Long Beach before it got dark. We were a little concerned about Dixie’s health and didn’t want to chance driving in the rain due to arrive the next day. 

Chapter Two — Home from the 9th to the 27th…two and a half weeks to catch our breath and get things in order before we start the migration south for the winter. Sherry did one last visitor center volunteer shift; she went on walks with her friend Donna and clamming one evening with her and her husband, but came home clam-less; we watched some cranberry harvesting in local bogs and spent a little money at a craft fair; spent a day hanging out with Sid & Martha; spent several days crossing off things on the to-do list and moving our stuff into the trailer. There’s a lot of work to do before you lock up your house for several months!

Chapter Three — Early on the 27th we hitched up and our little caravan was on the road by 7:30 a.m. Heading down the Oregon coast on highway 101, we had an appointment a couple hours away at an RV service place in Tillamook. After an informative and honest chat with the repair guy there, we continued down the road without getting the air conditioner serviced as planned. Money saved. Stopped for two nights at South Beach State Park just south of Newport, OR. On our day “off” Sherry did what she usually does and I did I what I usually do.

Moved on down the coast on the 29th to Hiouchi, California just across the Oregon border near Crescent City and set up for three nights in an RV park next to Jedediah Smith State Park, a redwoods park we hadn’t visited before. On our first day of exploring we hiked several relatively short trails to see different redwood groves. Some of the trailheads were on the exceptionally scenic Howland Hills Road, a four mile gravel road winding its way through big trees. On the second day Sherry left before dawn to catch the low tide at the coast so she could walk out to Battery Point Lighthouse, then do a bit of geocaching in Crescent City while I had Dixie duty. In the afternoon she took over Dixie duty while I did the Boy Scout Tree Trail, a 5.6 mile out-and-back trail through some of the best redwoods I’ve seen yet. 

We can’t seem to get enough of the redwoods…maybe we should spend some more time among the big trees…