Time to stop dinking around northern Minnesota, and get our asses back to Central Wisconsin. Passed through Carlton on the border.  Hit the gas. Rivers.  Rivers everywhere.  Maybe this is the St Croix.  IDK.  At this point, if we don’t start hammerin’ down now, we won’t be home till super late. Crossed into Wisconsin.  I didn’t realize all...

Upon entering Cloquet, Glenn contacted a coworker who was actually from this town, and inquired on where was the best place to eat.  This dude recommended Gordy’s Hi Hat, a local burger/hot dog place.  We drove passed and there were something like 14,000 people in line, so we drove over to the nearby FLW gas station to kill some time. Well, that killed like 7...

One thing I know Glenn really really really likes is the architect Franklin Wright.  He always gets quiet with what some misconstrue as rage every time I book a visit for his favorite architectural historical spots.  He rarely even speaks to me about this other than to mutter what I assume to be comment of utter respect for the genius. This trip was special because...

We made it!  Well sorta.  We made it to a swampy boggy area considered to be the start of the Mississippi River.  First we had to drive around Bemindji, and get to the Bear Den Forest Road. It was a dirt/gravel road in the middle of nowhere Minnesota. I recall it going on for about 3 miles before we got to a cul de sac. Off to the left was the path to the river. We...

Well holy crap.  I never would’ve guessed someone actually famous lived up here in the northwoods of Wisconsin or Minnesota.  I kinda figured it was mostly just people in my family and slackjawed yokels up here.  Turns out a little known girl named Frances Gumm used to do vaudeville or circus or cabaret or whatever it was called back when dinosaurs roamed the...

After driving up the river roads all the way from south of Minneapolis, we cruised into the small town of Grand Rapids MN. Upon entering the town, we crossed the dwindling Mississippi River again… … and then got to downtown really fast. We parked at a nearby gas station to get some deodorant and dinner, and checked the oil again.  Sure enough, all the...

So we’re cruising through the metropolis of “Palisade” Minnesota, and we stumble upon a protest currently underway. We tend to have this kind of luck on all our roadtrips.  We were there in Crawford, Texas, when the Cindy Sheehan protests were underway.  Somehow, we don’t have a picture of that craziness.  IT was wild.  We ended up getting on...

We weren’t even going to stop in Aitkin, except Glenn found an “Unclaimed Freight” store and thought he might have a source for a crate of double-headed dildos.  He forced me to stop immediately, and turn into the lot.  Sadly, the store didn’t have any bulk quantity items at a discounted rate for him. He decided to drive for a while to make...

Our first day drive ended in a rest area in central Minnesota.  We’re getting old now, and it’s easier just to rest for a few hours than drive forever.  We parked the van around 1 or 2 am, and got some rest. The rest area has its usual ubiquitous Paul Bunyan paraphernalia. When we returned to the van, there was a small spot of some clear oily liquid. We...

After a few days of tinkering with the van and trying to diagnose the excessive oil consumption issue, we got on the road in the evening. Glenn warned me that we might get BLM’ed once we get to the Cities, but I blithely disregarded that nonsense. Cruised to the junction of the St Croix and Mississippi river, so that we could follow Highway 12 all the way up...