The Drive West & Red Lodge Rendezvous
Let the Fun Begin!

I had a feeling things wouldn’t go as well as I would have liked on getaway day sometime back in March when it was revealed that I’d have to accompany the girls to a basketball tournament down in Libertyville, IL the weekend prior to departure.  Add in the fact that Matt had a soccer game the night before departure and I was up against it to get everything together and out of town without forgetting anything.

Little did I know how difficult it was really going to be?

At least I'd already packed most of my gear in the trusty Santa Fe the night before after driving back from Matt's soccer game up in Green Bay so all I really needed to do was get home in one piece, throw some stuff in the cooler and take a shower before saying good bye to everyone. 

I began the day by sleeping late which would not have happened if I had I reset the clock radio time to AM instead of PM the day before following a brief power outage.  I managed to make it to work exactly on time but lost 45 minutes that could have been better spent making sure I had everything I needed.

Once at work I had every intention of getting some things done but this, too, came crashing to a halt just after 8 AM when Mr. Braun told me I had a flat tire on the trusty Santa Fe.  I didn’t believe him at first but he convinced me to go outside and check it out.  Sure enough---flat as a pancake.

I gave Yumi a call and she sprung into action getting things coordinated for a quick fix and new tires from our friends at Satori’s Auto.  Brody kicked some ass and was able to get me on the road at 12:50 PM

Finally, with a bit of trepidation I was headed west in a cloudy, cool day.

I soon found myself bored with the drive and decided to make a movie before even two hours had elapsed.

Things were going exceedingly well as I entered the hated state of Minnesota when the bottom fell out.  First, my late departure meant that I’d be hitting the twin cities at rush hour.  Then before I’d even gotten into the downtown area it began to rain.  Then it hailed, and traffic ground to a halt

Once the hail and rain let up I still had most of the metropolitan area to get through, and did so at about 10 mph.

I hate Minnesota.

By 6:15 I was through the cesspool known as the Twin Cities and pushed the Santa Fe a little bit further west on I-94 to Elk River where I filled the tank with $2.38 a gallon gas.

My first real reference point to check my progress would be St. Cloud, which I knew was always 6 hours from home.  Despite the slow going through “that place”, I hit the city limits at 6:57 PM---a mere 8 minutes behind schedule. After a quick mental calculation and I figured to be at the Jamestown Super 8 by 10:45 PM.  I wasn’t fond of driving through North Dakota in the dark, possibly dodging deer and other critters on the road, but after the start of the day I was just glad to be on the road at all.

Deciding it was time to eat I pulled out one of my Yumi Specials, a delicious roast beef sandwich, and some apple juice from the cooler. I’m still amazed that my wife has yet to prepare a meal that I would not classify as “tasty”.  Even her 10-hour-old sandwiches are good.

It was 9:30 and just about dark as I crossed the Red River at Fargo, ND.  Now all I had to do was make it to the motel without hitting a deer, and get across the rest of t he state and I’d be in Montana.

Throwing caution to the wind, I took full advantage, and then some, of North Dakota’s 75 mph speed limit and found myself in Jamestown at 10:36.

The night clerk at the Super 8, not one of the sharpest or best looking gals in Jamestown, managed to get me checked in after almost not swiping my credit card.

Western Minnesota's weather was far more hospitibal than the Twin Cities'

I took a quick shower and amused myself sending a few e-mails from my ipod while waiting for Ward and Reed to arrive.  We’d be

en in contact throughout the drive, comparing progress and figured they’d arrive around midnight---which they did.

I hadn’t seen Reed since the 2007 Wind River trip so I was curious to see how he looked physically.  Canadian Dude had told me he’d packed on an extra few pounds, as did I, so I was somewhat relieved to see Reed had as well.  Excellent.  I wouldn’t be the only out of shape hiker on the trip.  Ward, as usual, looked fit and trim.  I’d secretly hoped he had gained about 70 pounds over the last year in hopes of being able to keep up with that freak of nature on the hike.

After very little discussion we all fell asleep until 6:30 the next morning. Since I told Brad I’d be at the Billings airport by 1:30 I needed to get out as quickly as I could and was on the road by 7:15.

It was a beautiful day and I was feeling great as I sped through Bismarck, Dickinson and into Montana at 10:45 MST.  At 1:12 I hit the junction of I-90 and I-94 and knew it would be a close call whether or not I’d make it to the airport by 1:30.

I made it.

I phoned Brad, he appeared from the building and we stowed his gear in the truck before heading back inside to wait for the Kid’s flight which was scheduled to arrive about a half hour later.

In the meantime, Reed and Ward were close behind and had told me they needed to stop at the airport so that they could get Ward added as a driver to Reed’s rental car---a fuel efficient Nissan Versa.  After all the planning we’d all meet at the Billings airport instead of down in Red Lodge.

The Kid arrived on schedule and I was immediately impressed.  I knew he was a rocket scientist but had no idea a 24 year old could be that mature.  His hairline was even showing signs of receding.

Approaching the North Dakota Badlands meant I was starting to get close

We quickly grabbed Tye’s bag and crammed it into the truck. It was now 2:10.  Next stop:  Red Lodge!

I was further impressed with the kid when he correctly identified Dierks Bentley’s “Free and Easy” when I put it on the stereo to tweak Brad just a little bit.

It took a little over an hour to get to the Chateau Rouge but we almost didn’t have the condo that I’d reserved months before and confirmed 2 weeks prior.  According to the desk clerk, the reservation had been cancelled but since it was still in her book we were good.

We had plans to meet hikerjer at Foster and Logan’s for dinner at 6 PM, which gave us ample time to relax, organize some gear and do a little shopping in Red Lodge.  After fuel canisters, fishing licenses, maps and souvenirs were purchased we ambled over to the restaurant and awaited the legendary Jerry.

Everyone’s meal was satisfactory and the banter witty but we didn’t spend a lot of time there as we all had gear to get together for tomorrow.

After the gear was attended to we all watched a little TV and talked about the upcoming trip before retiring for the evening, though Tye and I stayed up to watch “Fight Club” until nearly midnight.  I knew I couldn’t sleep the night before hitting the trail so didn’t even bother trying until almost 1 AM.