Somthing's Beeping....

We decided to stop in Bismarck for the night rather than driving on to Billings.
We arrived around 7 pm and found a nice room at a Select Inn.
We really noticed the rolling countryside on the drive here, very much like the foothills in Alberta. As we came over each crest we were given a picture of four lane highway gently stretched ahead like a ribbon over a crumpled patchwork blanket displaying the golden colors of harvest. We had always thought of North Dakota as being as flat as Manitoba.
It was also interesting to go 70 mph...legally. Highways are nice, even the rougher ones are nice.
Arlene and I went for a walk in the evening to get the blood going. Of course with the hilly layout once you go down a hill, guess what, you have to come back up! With the humidity and the high level of being in shape a desk job provides, it took seconds for the sweat to show up. Thank goodness the AC works.
As we were settling, tucked in bed, lights out...it happened....BEEEEP! We finally figured out it was the smoke alarm telling us the battery was low. Too tired to care, we drifted off waking occasionally to BEEEP!
Today we are going to try and make it to Yellowstone Park and maybe a little further.
Depends on what distracts us on the way....

Virden

So we made it to Virden and I decided to spend the evening watching the Bombers play.....I'm not happy.

They officially suck. They are a bad football team with no spirit whatsoever.

It's really really hard to stay positive with they way they are playing right now.

Oh well, time to focus on the trip. We can't believe we are actually on the road.

Swim meet tomorrow then we carry on straight south. The goal is to make it all the way to Billings. It will depend on how tired we are from the day.

Maybe I'll just load up on the Red Bull and drive. Just kidding, I'll stick to coffee....

It's getting closer....

One more sleep! Then we hit the road. Tonight we'll do some more packing, checking lists, watching So you think you can dance....etc etc...
I'm a little nervous about leaving stuff unfinished at work and so is Arlene. Oh well, someone will pick up the slack.....or there will be a humongous pile of paper to deal with later.
I'm choosing to believe the former. We both have good people we work with.
Tomorrow we head for the vacation hot spot of Virden! Actually, it's for a swim meet that Jax is entered in. From there it's point the car south and drive.
As you can see, I've got the travel hat ready. Can't wait to start looking for that first hotel/motel...

Two more sleeps....

Two more sleeps til we hit the road. Still feels like there's a lot to do between now and then.
Time to do a little packing tonight, get some food for the one staying behind, get the snacks organized, cameras, batteries, etc etc etc....

Need to figure out how to use the gps unit friends borrowed us. We're getting no shortage of ideas of places to go and see from others that have gone before us. I wish we had a couple of months to explore.

It's going to be a fun time! Work can't go fast enough these days....

Tough...Tough...Tough

Getting through the work day when a trip is looming....that's tough....
Spent a little time going over the route today. Getting all kinds of ideas from others that have travelled the same areas.
If we stop at every city we've marked along the way, it's going to be close. We may have to alter the trip as we go...but that's ok...that's why it's a Blue Bike Trip!!
Tricky part will be to find the time each night to update the blog with notes and pics. Oh well, we'll see how it goes.
We're going to try to back in time to rest from the trip, plus we need to get to a swim meet by the 24th.

Getting Ready...

We're getting ready for a family trip. It's been like a million years since we've gone anywhere.
Heading into the U.S.of A. to see the sights.
It's not so much a destination trip as much as a sight seeing thing. We're planning on covering approximately 6500 kms in 12ish days. According to the google maps a person could cover this in just under 3 days of steady driving. Well we do plan to make a few stops along the way.
We may change our minds as we go....depends on what's shiny and catches our attention.
It'll be me, my wife and our daughter. Leaving 20 yr old son at home. I made the assumption that he wouldn't want to tag along. Turns out he would've liked to have come. Reality is he now has a job and must stay home and work anyway. Don't feel too sorry for him though. In the past couple of years he's traveled more than Arlene and I by a long shot.
Our trip will be a lot of driving, but for us that's part of the fun. Getting on the road and getting out there. Stopping to take pix when the moment is right.
Haven't booked any hotels/motels so things could get interesting. Friends of ours have borrowed us a GPS unit. That should be fun. Nothing like having electronics along as a travel partner.
I'm so pumped I can hardly wait. Hopefully, I can post pix as we go. Still have a week of work to get through with a lot to do.