Day 5 of our westward trek

Our goal today is Weyburn SK.  We will drive across MN and part way across North Dakato before turning north, It is about 270 miles from Duluth to Grand Forks on the other side on MN.  We started at 7:30 am.  The road is wide, flat, and straight.  Lots of marshes for awhile and then farm fields.  A Porsche would be good.

Elizabeth has noticed that there are lots of Manitoba licence plates on the road. At one point we were told, maybe by a waitress, that a lot of the traffic on our route is people from Manitoba taking their kids to school in Ontario.  Maybe some of the Manitoba plates are the parents coming home.

Our plan (I am writing while Elizabeth is driving at 65 mph – the posted speed) is to continue along Highway 2 into North Dakota. At Minot we will turn north and head for Saskatchewan.  The traffic is light this morning as befits a holiday Monday. We do wonder what the border crossing will be like.

Things noticed in Minnesota which may have pictures later: we crossed the Mississippi River at Bemijdi MN which is the home of Bemidji Beaver Hockey (Bemidji State U) who has some interest in Theodore; we also saw a large statue of Paul Bunyan and Babe; Hannah Ave, NW; Play It Again Sports is an international chain.

Went through Grand Forks ND at noonish. Stopped for gas.  Grand Forks in the home of the University of North Dakota Fighting Sioux, one of the dominant US college hockey teams. It is also the site of one of Canada’s great world junior hockey triumphs when Canadians fans made Grand Forks part of Canada and the Canadian Jr team the home team.

We notice that after Duluth we have lost many of the national chain hotels (EconoLodge, Country Inn, etc). In fact we left holiday land and entered farm country. Even when we crossed the interstate there were only two no-name hotels.  We did not see any national coffee chains (Starbucks, etc) for our entire drive in the US. But we did not go into the couple of cities.

The clouds have rolled in and the wind has come up. It could be a tough afternoon for driving.  [added later] It rained and the wind blew for a while as Elizabeth drove.

Before this trip I had heard that there was no recession in ND. It was booming.  Well, during the six hours we spent in ND we added more out of state licence plates than during the entire rest of the trip.  Minot seems to be a supply centre for the oil and gas industry – it was booming.

There was a very abrupt change in the climate in a very short distance. We seemed to from farmland to ranchland in a few kms. The land around Minot is similar to Kamloops.

A very cool signs was the high school grad class signs for Kenmare High School.  The year signs are done with white stones on the hill sides. Some were very impressive and many appear to have been renewed over the years. We saw most years back to 1963.

We also noticed Hannah ND on the map.  It was too far to get it. But close enough to Canada that we could invade.

One of the important places we went to was Rugby ND. Elizabeth and I now have objective evidence below that we are at the center and the world does revolve around us.

While driving across the northern US I am struck by 2 things: 1) the ruralness of it all; and 2) the large number of universities.

While pondering this it occurs that Obama is the first urban US President: his core sensibility is big city – Chicago. He plays basketball not baseball, football or golf. He probably does play golf but it is not part of who he is.   I think that one could argue that all previous presidents were rural or suburban. Does this matter? While driving around Massachusetts I realized that Boston extends half way across the state. However while we would claim that these people lived in an urban (as opposed to a rural) environment, the people probably think of themselves as small town folks. They would not think of themselves as urban.  I expect that the people at the Republican national convention also think of themselves as small town people even though they live and work in large cities like Washington DC, New York, Atlanta, Dallas, Denver etc. Living in the suburbs and beyond allows people to continue to think of themselves as small town people who have more in common with folks in northern Michigan and Wisconsin than with city people.   Please notice that I have provided an emotional link between big business people and rural religious conservatives.  Nevertheless it is hard to imagine the two parts of the Republican Party sitting down and having a beer.

While driving around New England over the years and driving across northern Michigan, Wisconsin and Minnesota on this trip, I have been struck by the large number of universities in small out of the way places.  It is hard to imagine that there is sufficient number of local people to provide the enrolment.  Either they should be closing down or they are bringing people in from elsewhere. Perhaps this is a second source of small town sensibility. Lots of city kids move to the country to go to university and make the transition from children to adults. Perhaps they carry the small town with them the rest of their lives.  I would like to argue that Canadian universities have tended to be in large urban centres.  But that may not be true and it is getting less true as universities are opening in small cities across Canada.

John Ralston Saul argued in one of his books that Canadians should make sure that their children do their undergraduate degrees in Canada and not go to the US until graduate school. He was concerned about the cultural imprinting that goes on during the college years.

My overall theme here is that a large number of Americans think of themselves as small town people. This minds set would make one uncomfortable with the big city sensibilities of Obama.  When various Republicans state that ‘Obama is not a real American’ I think they are saying that he is not a small town guy.  For them small town is the real America.  While the United States is clearly not a small town place anymore, the myth lives on.

 

Saw this motorcycle and thought the colour was perfect for Charles' retirement...next way to drive across the country?

The largest (we think) statues of Paul Bunyan and Babe. Note the height of the person.

The oldest (maybe) beetle around.

Bemidji State University...a possibility for Theodore.  How could you not want to be a beaver?

Found James' new home.

Charles being the center of North America, in Rugby. Evidence that the Charles and Elizabeth are at the centre of it all and the world does revolve around us.

Another trouble picture...if you tilt your head to the right, you can see an owl in the rock.  This is also in Rugby.

Coal mining near Estevan SK.