A few days ago I returned from an 8-day trip that finished off US 52 & US 59, as well as all the usaus in Nebraska. Uncharacteristically poor planning on my part kept me from adding completing that system in Minnesota as well, and my tendency to allocate all waking hours to driving (rather than holding some in reserve for emergencies) kept South Dakota's US highways at 98%. Further lack of foresight also kept me out of Saskatchewan, a province I haven't visited in 14 years.
But mostly the plan went well. First day took me to Columbus, Nebraska, via K-9 (clinched) and several short Kansas highways. One posted detour looked annoyingly long (using state highways) so I DIYed around the bridge replacement on some questionable gravel roads, something I should have learned not to do
back in 2018, and something that may have played into a future misadventure. The second day also went according to plans, and I ended it in a one-room schoolhouse that now acts as an Airbnb and museum.
The third day was when things started to go south. About an hour after getting lunch in Pierre, SD, I noticed a horrible scraping noise coming from under the car. The aluminum splash shield had come loose at one corner, and the strong wind I was heading into was pulling it down to the pavement. 4 hours and a $250 towing bill later, I was back on the road, sans this part that two people who (a) didn't have the part and (b) didn't have to drive a car without one assured me wasn't important. The delay meant that I'd either have to skip some of my planned route for that day, or arrive at my Airbnb after 11pm. Since that would be asking a lot of the host, I chose to punt on US 385 & 16, and go straight to US 85, since there's a chance I might be in a position to clinch that later this summer. The next day, I managed to get to Devil's Tower shortly after sunrise, but before the gates were manned, so I got a free up-close look at that impressive feature. Rest of the day was uneventful, and my car didn't seem to be suffering. Fortunately the next day was Monday, and there was a Honda dealer in Bismarck, so I planned to take care of the car in the morning.
Accordingly, I got up at 4:00 and rushed through a nasty storm to get to Bismarck right after the dealer opened. But when I called the service department, they told me they didn't have the part I needed, and agreed with the others that it wasn't important enough to make me wait for one. So I continued on, and made use of the extra time to clinch a few more state routes between there and Williston. The rest of the day was fine and I spent the night poised to enter Canada for breakfast in the morning.
That didn't happen. Some border crossings, including the one on US 85, aren't open 24 hours. When I reached that one, the sign said I was over 90 minutes too early. Oddly, when I entered my info into the ArriveCAN app, it accepted my proposed 7:15 arrival without argument. With nothing particularly interesting to see there, and knowing that I still had 11 hours of driving left, I reluctantly turned around. My intended point of re-entry to the States was at Portal on US 52, which doesn't close, but by the time I got there, it didn't seem worth it to try doing the planned route through Saskatchewan in reverse. So again I turned around at the border so that I could at least claim the last few miles of US 52 I needed, which I managed to accomplish mid-afternoon.
By then I was aware of the flooding. Much of the Red River Valley was still dealing with the annual spring flood, which turned out to be especially nasty and long-lasting this year. Had I initially considered that some of my route might be under water in May, I probably would have chosen to move my trip to a later date, but that thought never crossed my mind when I made my plans back in March. Fortunately, most of the bridges that were closed when the trip began had opened by the time I arrived, so I was able to clinch the business routes in Grand Forks, complete US 59 at the border (well after its opening), and get back across the river in Manitoba. Unfortunately, one road that was still barricaded was US 75, which dead-ends just shy of the border. I attempted to find another path to the end, but county roads were flooded as well. There are some houses at the end, so I'm not sure how those people get in or out, or if they all had to evacuate. So plans to clinch that route later this year will have to be put on hold unless I find a way to get back to northern Minnesota this summer.
After a restful night at an Airbnb run by a hotel manager, I embarked on the long journey home, one marked by lots of fog, rain, construction, and traffic (there was no way to avoid driving past Chicago during the afternoon rush). Still, I pulled into my garage at 11:58pm.
Overall mileage: 3776 new, out of a little over 7500 miles driven
New clinches: 71, bringing my total over 8000 (2 from usaus, 12 usausb, and 3 usaib)
In addition, my ranking in both Dakotas rose to 3rd place (from 5th and 7th). This was my first trip to North Dakota in nearly 10 years, and the first time I deliberately attempted any highway clinching there, so my total clinches in the state rose from 15 to 43. It's been even longer since I was in Manitoba, but due to the flooding, I stuck to paved roads, and failed to clinch anything in the 60 miles I drove there.
