Travel Day 5 (IA, MN, ND) - Day 670 (Yr 2, Day 325)

Fargo, ND

We drove nearly 500 miles today, from Mitchellville, IA to Fargo, which was our goal.  Still about 200 miles left to go to Bismarck, which we may do on Sunday so we can enjoy the Sabbath.  Very interestingly, the Chabad in Fargo does not have weekly services (I guess the community is way too small), so they offer a Friday night, once a month service and dinner.  The timing worked out so perfectly that we could participate.  Not sure yet if we'll leave tomorrow or Sunday (probably the latter).

The drive was ok.  There was some construction, some rough roads, and as we got into the westernmost part of MN, a lot of wind to fight.  Still, grateful to have made it safe & sound.  We are staying at a local Fairgrounds campground.  Not a place I'd stay long term, but ok for overnight or 2 nights.  VERY VERY WINDY but I've been warned by several people back in Asheville about how windy ND is.

A comment about rest areas - which we tend to stop at almost every one of them.  I am very impressed by almost all the rest areas on the Eisenhower Interstate system.  Except for the ones we've seen in NJ where there are food courts, most of them just have a building for restrooms (which are extremely nice, modern and clean), some history of the area, have very well maintained grounds, playgrounds (not all), pet exercise areas, picnic benches and pavillions.  I really loved the ones in Iowa as they were themed based on the area.  For example, the first one we visited was right after we crossed the Mississippi River, so there was a nautical theme throughout the rest area, depicting life as it was back then.  Iowa is also a state that strongly advocates education, so another rest area was designed and had artwork from local schools.  BTW, we also learned that although Eisenhower signed the interstate bill, it was Senator Al Gore, Sr. who created and sponsored the bill!

Anyway, getting ready to prepare for Shabbat.  We will go to services and the dinner tonight and most likely just hang and relax tomorrow.  I'm glad there's a community dinner because I forgot to take the fish out of the freezer, plus, after about 10 hours on the road, I really don't feel like cooking.