On Thursday morning, we headed out for Garit’s in North Dakota around 6:30 in the morning. Matthew had tried to wake me earlier, but I wasn’t having it. I think my body was telling me that I needed to sleep. The drive was absolutely beautiful. Our route took us through Yellowstone National Park without officially entering the park as well as other parks along the way. I was able to get pictures as the sun rose and other scenic views. When we were about halfway to Park River (where Garit lives), Matthew decided that he wanted to drive all the way today instead breaking up the drive into two days. I called the campground and made sure we could come a day early but check-in late. Once that was taken care of, we continued full steam ahead. We made a few stops for gas and to take pictures but otherwise drove straight from Island Park, Idaho to Park City, North Dakota. We arrived just after midnight (ND time) and set up camp as quickly and quietly as we could and then collapsed for the night.
Thankfully, on Friday we had time to recover while Garit was working. We relaxed all day at the campground. It was just what we needed after the long
drive the day before. Garit and his
friend (roommate and co-worker) Tyler met us in the evening for dinner. The first place we went had already shut down
their grill for the night. The next
place wasn’t serving food, so we head to drive to the next town over for
dinner. We ate at a restaurant called Shenanigans,
which stayed open late to serve us. The
food was delicious. We all ordered steak
and potatoes for dinner. Garit raced
over to pay the bill when he saw Matthew walking towards the register. I love seeing the youth all grown up and
being able to do things like this.
On Saturday, we met back up with Garit for the day. After rearranging the truck, we loaded up and
Garit gave us a tour as we headed towards Grand Forks. The one thing I wanted to do was go to
Minnesota (it is one of the few states I have not been to… only 5 more to go
after today). We went to East Grand
Forks, Minnesota. I got my pictures with
the state sign and then we went and had lunch at Sickies Garage. They had amazing hamburgers. I tried the
original Sickies Burger (Bacon, Fried egg, pulled pork, BBQ sauce, American
Cheese, and onion rings). It was delicious to say the least and I had leftovers
for dinner that night. After lunch, Garit
and I went to the Red River of the North which separates North Dakota and Minnesota.
It is the only river that flows north into Canada. It was pretty cool to see
and hear Garit talk all about it. In the
short time he has lived here he has learned a lot about the area. We then headed to go shooting for the
day. Tyler met us there and the guys
spent all afternoon trying out the various guns. It was so much fun spending the day with them
in their element. I practiced shooting a
few of the guns but mainly hung out and took some pictures while talking with
the guys. Afterwards, we headed back to
our campground for an evening of visiting.
We even had a small campfire. It
was the perfect day with Garit and getting to know Tyler.
We had a lazy morning on Sunday, August 1st. Garit came over to the campground to visit
and we just sat around talking all day. At
some point Tyler showed up as well. The guys would go back and forth to their
apartment to do laundry to prepare for the work week. In the evening, we decided to go back to Shenanigans
for dinner. The experience was not as
amazing as the first night… some of the food didn’t come out as expected but
the company was still great. Afterwards,
we went back to the campground and said goodbye to the guys. The weekend passed by way too quickly. It was so fun to see Garit and how well he is
doing out here in North Dakota. While I
miss him back home, I am excited for the life he is making for himself. He is definitely in his element here. Matthew and I hooked up the trailer to the
truck and packed just about everything up so we would be ready to leave in the
morning.
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