Canada offered up one last surprise before we reached the border – mile after mile of brilliant yellow fields of blooming canola as far as the eye could see. Supposedly the spectacle can even be observed from outer space. (I got that fun fact from the internet, so it may or may not be accurate!)
Montana apparently decided it didn’t want to be outdone and offered up a surprise of her own – crazy windy conditions. Sustained winds of 25 mph with gusts up to 45 mph buffeted us across the state. When you are driving a vehicle with the aerodynamics of a shoebox this makes for an exciting drive. It also doesn’t help your fuel economy. Our typically poor milage of about 16 mpg dropped to an abysmal 8 mpg!
Windmill blades seeking refuge from the relentless winds on the lee side of a hill. I would NOT want to be driving one of those trucks!
Our arrival back in the states also brought another complication. The Jeep was starting run hot anytime we drove over 70 mph. This hadn’t been an issue we had noticed before – but since leaving Alaska we had rarely had the opportunity to get up to the posted speed limit. Now back in the “land of drive as fast as you want” the problem was very apparent. Throw in an occasional 25 mph head wind and our progress seemed glacial.
We tried to diagnose our temperature problem and tried several remedies, none of which seemed to help. We weighed stopping to have a mechanic look at it and just pushing, slowly, toward home. We decided to push on and hope for the best.
Our course took us back across South Dakota, so we spent the night in Wall. Partly because we wanted to try their infamous open faced roast beef sandwich, but also because it is pretty much the only option in the central part of the state. Unfortunately, we arrived too late for the roast beef – they had just stopped serving a few minutes before we got there. But we did get lucky and catch a glimpse of the elusive Sasquatch! Hard to believe – we had explored the Pacific Northwest and the forests of the Canadian Rockies, even deep into the wilderness of Alaska, but would ultimately find Mr. Squatch hiding in place sight, in Wall, SD.
The Badlands near Wall, South Dakota.
We did take advantage of our evening in Wall to catch the sunset over the Badlands. The orange glow of the setting sun lit up the eroded plateau and made for a spectacular view. It was another magical moment that photographs can’t capture.
Sunset over the Bandlands.
Our trip from the boarder back to home base was over 40 hours of traffic, construction, detours, GPS boondoggles, and the ever-present concern that the Jeep was just going to call it quits and leave us stranded on the roadside. We celebrated our crossing back into Florida with dinner at Chuy’s, our favorite Tex-Mex restaurant. After several days of grab-and-go fast food, it was good to have a real sit-down meal. It tasted like home. Then just a few hours later, after 49 days and over 14,000 miles, we were home.
The Chuy's "Welcome Home Stranger" platter. Delicious!
It felt good to be home, but part of us wished we were still up there with the bears and bison, just wandering.
The painfully long way home...
Below the Line
Whew! Thank you!
Thank you, faithful readers, for joining us on this adventure. We greatly appreciate all those that have encouraged us and supported us on the way. Special thanks to the Rose and Miller families for their financial support – they helped offset the crazy high gas prices during our trip and really helped it become viable. And thank you to everyone that sent notes and emails of encouragement. Thank you to everyone that sent us questions. We’ll be getting back to you soon with answers in one form or another. And we have a few other fun things in the works. So please stay tuned! More to come!
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