13 Aug 2022 - Arrived at Valley View RV Park in Minot ND + Stats

 13 Aug

We pulled chocks in E Grand Forks MN this morning at 1010 hrs and headed westbound on US Highway 2.  We no more than got onto Hwy 2 and we crossed into North Dakota.

After that, it was a whole lot of FLAT!  I swear you can see for 100 miles! 

We passed Grand Forks Air Force Base that we visited a couple days ago and then a whole lot more FLAT! 

 

We saw many agricultural fields including wheat, and potatoes in bloom.

Fields of beautiful sunflowers, all looking toward the east for the morning sunshine.  We wondered how they harvested them and whether these are processed into oil, or made into salty snacks or maybe bird food.

Pitstop about 2 hours into our journey.  A relic from the past here.  Our grandkids would probably not know what this is or why it was so important back in the days before cell phones.

During our trip planning I had added a waypoint in our GPS for Rugby ND.  Right along the highway is a 21 ft high cairn that is 6 ft wide at the base.  In 1931 the U.S. Geological Survey determined this specific location in Rugby ND is the exact geographic center of North America!   Local folks with help from the Boy Scouts and Lions Club erected this monument (cairn) in 1932 on the north side of Highway 2.  It is a fieldstone structure built with native stone.  Then in July 1971 they moved it from the north side of Highway 2 to it's present location on the south side of the road because they 4-laned Highway 2.

At 1430 hrs we rolled into Valley View RV Park in Minot ND after traveling 213 miles today with two pit stops.  

The Valley View RV Park is connected physically with an RV dealership here, which is convenient.  It would be convenient for those buying an RV here as they would have the opportunity to stay in it here right next to the dealership if they have any problems or questions.  It would also be convenient for travelers who would camp here should they have any technical issues they need help with.  For us it was just a good location as we wanted to check out Minot Air Force Base and the surrounding area.

Not much grass for Liberty and negligible shade.

The shower / latrine / laundry building.  Doreen will likely use the laundry.

New coaches at the dealership next door in the background

Another view of the new coaches next door.

We will get into a lot more detail about the history of Minot and Minot Air Force Base in the next couple days.  In addition to that, while we are here, we plan to see the Scandinavian Heritage Park, the Dakota Territory Air Museum, the Bray's Saddlery and maybe a stop for a pint at Ebeneezer's Eatery & Irish Pub!

Trip Stats:

This is campground #25 of 37

# States Traveled Through So Far This Trip: 15 (IA, IL, IN, MI, OH, KY, TN, AR, OK, KS, MO, IA, WI, MN, ND)

# States left to visit on this trip:  5 (MT, ID, WY, NE, IA)

Baseball Parks Visited So Far This Trip:  3 (Tulsa Drillers MiLB, Oklahoma City Dodgers MiLB, Kansas City Royals MLB)

Lighthouses visited:  2 (Hefner Lake in OK City and Raspberry Island WI)

Lighthouses climbed:  0

Point to point travel miles:  4170 miles

  - Avg point to point travel miles between campgrounds:  160 miles

Vicinity miles:  2454 miles 

  - Avg vicinity miles:  102 miles

Total miles driven:  6624 miles

Total point to point driving time:  91 hrs 14 minutes

Total diesel fuel purchased: 555.659 gals

Total diesel fuel cost:  $2911.06

Average diesel fuel cost/gal:  $5.238

Max diesel fuel cost:  $5.489 (Tipton IN)

Min diesel fuel cost:  $4.799 (Grand Forks ND)

Avg MPG:  11.51 miles/gal

# Nights at end of this stay:  131 (Includes Griffs)

Lodging cost:  $4770.14 (includes Griffs)

 - Avg lodging cost/night:  $36.41/night