After getting a fitful night’s rest, I managed to get myself out of the bed and to work by 0630. Today I’d only work a half day in hopes that we could be on the road by noon. I didn’t know how long it would take to get out to Glacier, but Ifigured about 23 hours---22 if you took away the hour due to the time zone change.

I basically spent the entire morning trying to think of the things I’d inevitably forget. Coworkers were enlisted in this task but couldn’t come up with anything I hadn’t already thought of. This was a good sign. Finally 1030 arrived and I was out of there.

Yumi had her own details to attend to, but managed to get to my place with the ever-important 20 lb. bag of ice-- by 1115. By this time I had already packed the truck and had the cartop carrier loaded and cinched. All that was left was for me to take a quick shower and to kiss my two sons Todd and Matt good-bye.

We left the driveway at exactly 1207---seven minutes behind schedule. Damn. What was once a sunny day was rapidly turning overcast. Near Shawano it did start to sprinkle a little, but nothing too bad. By the time we got to Abbotsford, WI (182 miles out) for gas, the skies were clearing.

At 1633 we crossed the St. Croix River into the enemy state of Minnesota. A smile crossed my face when I fondly recalled the Viking’s last second collapse against the Arizona Cardinals last year putting the Packers into the playoffs.

At 1700 hours I saluted the Metrodome with my middle finger and cursed Minnesota once again shortly after when I saw signs for road construction. Serious road construction. Serious to the point that traffic was stopped. Great. We eventually cleared the stop and go traffic and flew to St. Cloud 402 miles out where we stopped for gas and a nutritious McDonald’s dinner from 1822-1850. I later thanked God I didn’t contract some food borne disease there.

The next few hours were uneventful as we pushed our way west on I-94. By 2102 we arrived in Fargo, ND just 2 minutes behind schedule. Yumi would say that I drove like a maniac to make my scheduled arrival time of 2100 hours but this would not be true. Well maybe it would be, but since I didn’t get pulled over I couldn’t have been going that fast! Just a few minutes later we decided to stop at West Fargo for gas at 585 miles out.

Yumi then took control of the truck while I tried to get some sleep for the long overnight portion of the trip. Almost immediately she began to drive like a maniac herself. Compounding my fear was the sound of rain splattering against the windshield except it wasn’t rain---it was the sound of millions upon millions of bugs meeting their doom at the expense of our visibility. “Bug rain” is how she later put it in our journal and our windshield was covered with their splattered guts.

At 2346 we arrived in Bismarck, ND 780 miles out, where we filled the tank and switched seats again. Once upon a time Yumi was a nocturnal creature, but not any longer. I managed to get us into Montana by 0110 and to a rest stop a few minutes later where we would stretch out but not rest. This was the same rest stop where we ate our breakfast last year on our drive out to Yellowstone.

We pulled into a Exxon at Glendive, MT (978 miles out) just before 0200 and switched again. Here we got off I-94 and took state highway 200S north to Circle and 13 north to Wolf Point. I managed to sleep quite well on this stretch and felt fully refreshed when Yumi sped into Wolf Point---with “sped” being the operative word. Yumi, on the other had was spent and needed sleep. It’s hard work driving through one of the most rural stretches of highway in the nation while dodging big buck mule deer and the occasional doe and her fawns. We were also near an Indian Reservation on a Friday night. Extra care was needed to avoid drunken drivers I’m sure. I’m kind of glad I was sleeping.

As she pulled into a small hotel parking lot we were greeted by a young deputy who asked if we were OK. We told him we were switching drivers. He then asked Yumi how fast she was going. She told him the truth: 37 or 38 to which he replied that she was correct and that if she would have been driving 40 it would have been a $160 ticket. It would appear that the speed limit was 25 and she had missed the sign. We were both more aware of our speed as we traveled along US 2.

Highway 2, though boring as hell, did prove to be a nice speedway, the nice young deputies warning notwithstanding. Straight, level and smooth, I set the cruise control at about 84 and watched the miles melt away. Pulling into the metropolis of Glasgow at 0428 (1142 miles out) I decided I needed to get out and stretch a bit and pulled into another Exxon station to fill up.

Arriving in Dodson, MT (1303 miles out) at 0558, Yumi arose from her slumber and took command of the truck. After an hour she pulled off at Havre for more gas. We knocked around the gas station souvenir shop for a few minutes then went back to the truck. At 0712 with a full tank of gas, she started off again---towards Wisconsin, and at 0715 we were back in Havre.

Heading in the right direction once again, we arrived safely in Shelby, MT (1414 miles out) at 0841 and decided to stop at the golden arches for an Egg McMuffin. Let me just say this about the Shelby McDonald’s: I’ve eaten at better. Enough said.

At 0930 we came to Cut Bank and saw the mountains for the first time. We were getting close now. 35 minutes later we were in Browning and I was starting to get giddy with the thought that in about an hour I’d be in the park.

Finally at 1048 we arrived in St. Mary (1506 miles out), filled up the gas tank, drained the cooler and bought more ice. Five minutes later we entered the park and our annual pass was purchased for $25---the best investment I’ve made in quite some time.

A quick calculation revealed that the truck got 26 mpg on the way out. Not bad considering the way we pushed westward at over 80 mph most of the way.