Oops...I'm in Fargo

Cumulative Miles Driven: 1,977

Speeding Tickets: 0

Lesson Learned: When it comes to weather, trust your gut

States visited so far: 8

Quite the day, friends. It didn't end quite the way I expected, but we'll get to that.

My first stop this morning was the Minnehaha Park in Minneapolis. My family, who had visited Minneapolis in the last few years, recommended that I see it and it did not disappoint. The main attraction is an incredibly beautiful waterfall that was thundering after the recent rains the area has had. I think this is the one referenced in Longfellow's "Song of Hiawatha," but I can't swear to that.

From there I hopped back over to St Paul to the Minnesota State Fair. It was easily the biggest fair I have ever been too. Probably 15 city square blocks. I stayed three hours and I'm sure I only saw half of it. Highlights included llamas running an obstacle course (think American Kennel Club, but with Llamas instead of dogs), the blue ribbon pumpkin that weighed 1800 lbs., and the beautiful animals of every sort. The cows were going to be judged later today and the owners were grooming them obsessively. Their coats were shampooed, brushed, and then blow dried. Their tails were trimmed and puffed, and I swear I saw one owner curling her cow's eyelashes. These animals were so beautiful....I honestly felt a bit jealous. They were so beautiful, there was guy down on one knee proposing marriage. I'm serious. And they were sexy too. I think next year they are going to produce a pinup cowlender......I got a million of 'em, folks.

And the food! Of course, state fairs are famous for their tasty food. When I walked in, my nose encountered what I can only describe as the equivalent of an olfactory cacophony of aromas. It was only 10:30, but my stomach was instantly growling. The various booths sold fried olives, cheese curd tacos, Australian battered potatoes, spamburgers, beer battered buckeyes, fried alligator, and, or course, deep fried twinkies, among many other things. I held out until noon, pondering my choices. I finally settled on a corn dog and tater tots. So yum!!

I headed out about 1 pm, having had a pretty full day already, but there was something else I wanted to see. The Walker Art Center in Minneapolis had an exhibit of work by Keith Haring, an artist I love. Some of my Bucks County peeps may have seen the Keith Haring exhibit at the Michener Museum a few years ago. That was great, but this one was so much bigger and better in my opinion. The exhibit included huge murals, videos of him working in the NYC subways in the early '80's, and great commentary on the symbolism contained in his work. He worked in many different mediums, something I had not understood before. My favorite part of the exhibit was a short video he made. It featured his iconic human figures, babies, and the ever present red, barking dog. But they were animated and interacted with each other -- dancing, fighting, and evolving. I wished I could have taped it and shared it with you all. It was short, but I watched it three times.

Oh boy...a full day already, but wait...there's more. It was about 3 pm and I headed back to my campsite, about 25 minutes outside of the city. I had hoped to get in a swim in the lake, but it was not to be. I was aware there was the possibility of storms later today and when I checked the weather.....Yikes! Severe thunderstorms were predicted with 60 mph winds and possible tornadoes. This was not something I wanted to endure in a tent. When I got back to the campground, the sky was already darkening and the wind was picking up. My weather app said there was a 100% chance of rain at 4pm. Ooof! I made what I think was a logical decision; I packed up as fast as I could, stuffed everything into the back of the car, and got the hell out of Dodge. It wasn't in vain. 10 minutes later and it started pouring and gusting and I'm sure I would have been soaked and miserable.

However, it was now 4 pm and I had no idea how long the rain would last. The weather app said it might slack up by 6, but could come back between 8 and 10 pm. I was not about to sit in the car for four hours to wait for it, maybe, to clear up, and then set up my tent again on the wet ground. Hmmmm....what to do?

As I have said before, I have been hoping to visit a lot of states I have never been to before during this trip. But just yesterday, I reviewed my rough itinerary and thought I might not be able to make it to North Dakota during this trip. And honestly, if I didn't make it this trip, I probably would never make it there. Since I wasn't sure what to do, I checked google maps on my phone and saw that Fargo was only a little over three hours from where I was. All packed up and nowhere to go, I hit the gas and headed northwest! It actually was a pleasant drive once the storms cleared and I made it there surprisingly quickly. Amazing what setting my cruise control on 80 mph will do. Honestly, it didn't feel unsafe. The roads are wide and flat and the traffic is light.

So yes, another long and incredibly full day, but I'm honestly having a blast. It feels so great to be able to make these spontaneous decisions and run with them. I'll explore Fargo a bit tomorrow. This will be the most northern point in my trip, so its all "downhill" from here.

Love to all.