The Journey to North Dakota

Richardton, North Dakota (ACN)

During the summer, long before we knew Stephanie would have cancer we had planned a trip to visit Stephanie's family in North Dakota at Christmas. Yes, we knew it would be cold, but not much different from Russia at that time of year. So, on Monday December 22, 2008 at 7:40am we set off for Richardton, ND from Dacula, GA. Oh by the way, when I say we, I mean Stephanie, Andy and Nikki our 86lb. German Shepherd. Nikki occupies the entire back seat of the car, so all of the stuff that went with us had to fit in the trunk.

The real question on our minds was how would Nikki adjust to being in the car for 4 days straight (2 days up to ND and 2 days back) for twelve hours each day. Then the question arose as to how she would react in the hotel overnight with all of the accompanying noises from the hallways and adjoining rooms? She is a German Shepherd after all and she loves to alert us to all of the world's dangers. Too bad we don't have a spiritual German Shepherd. Oh yeah, we do, we have the Holy Spirit to alert us to the world's spiritual dangers, but I digress...

We traveled through Atlanta, Chattanooga and Nashville and northwards to Kentucky and Illinois. From Illinois we went westward to St. Louis and then finally stopping for the evening in Kansas City, KS. There was very little traffic along the way except in St. Louis. From the time we neared St. Louis until we were out of traffic was about an hour and not because we were stuck and not moving. It is just that there was about 50 miles of nearly bumper to bumper traffic in St. Louis around 5:00pm.

There were some beautiful sites to see along the way. Probably some of the most beautiful were in the mountains as we neared Chattanooga. The temperatures were so low that the water that naturally flows over the rocks through which the road has been cut was frozen. From the tops of the rocks to the grass below there was white ice, frozen in long icicles.

The trip was rather uneventful until we were about 20 minutes east of Kansas City, KS. Evening had already come and the snow had begun to fall. It was enough snow to make you slow down slightly, but not enough to create white out conditions. I thought it lasted for about 20 minutes, but Stephanie said it only lasted for about 5 minutes. Hey, I am from Georgia and I get excited about snow. She is from North Dakota and is more realistic. Well pooh on her.

We ate and then checked into the hotel, a Best Western. The rooms were clean but the best part was that they allowed us to keep Nikki in the room. So how did Nikki do in the room all night? Answer: she loved it. Her dad was there so she was happy. The same goes for the car. Wherever her dad is that is where she wants to be, no matter what else may be happening.

When we awakened that morning we learned that there was snow on the way to Kansas City, for later that day and schools were closing. We decided to get out of Dodge early and left again about 7:40am. Let it be said (with tongue in cheek) that we are definitely early risers. Hah! Hah!

By the way, the temperature was 13F in Dacula when we set out and it never got above 23F during the entire trip to Kansas City. Overnight the temperature rose in Kansas City to 29F. The streets were somewhat icy and difficult to navigate and I thought that if it were this bad now, boy was the day going to be really long for this Georgia boy, trying to drive all the way to ND from Kansas City.

While I was putting some things in the car, Stephanie and Nikki were in the room and Stephanie asked Nikki if she wanted to "go for a ride?" Stephanie thought that maybe Nikki was sick of "riding" after spending 12 hours in the backseat of the car the previous day. Nikki got very excited and starting whining and making all kinds of dog noises (short of barking) to let Stephanie know that she was ready to get in the car and "go for a ride" again. However, at this point Stephanie is now panicking trying to get Nikki to be quiet to keep from disturbing the neighbors.

When I returned to the room to all of this activity Nikki acted like she hadn't seen me in four days instead of four minutes and let me know she was "ready to go for a ride." So off we went northward on I-29 from Kansas City, KS to Fargo, ND. And yes, the people of Fargo really do speak like the female sheriff from the movie Fargo.

On the entire trip, I drove all the way until we reached Bismark, ND. It was around 9:30pm and I was sleepy. Stephanie began driving at that point and I slept for about an hour while she took us from Bismark to Richardton.

I almost forgot to mention that the snow started falling shortly after we enteted North Dakota's southeastern corner. Night had already fallen also. If you have never driven at 80mph on an interstate highway at night in relatively heavy snow with 18 wheelers kicking up snow to the point of nearly white out conditions then you haven't lived.

Because there is always such a great amount of wind in North Dakota, snow drifts everywhere and does so fairly quickly. Eventaully you have these snow fingers sticking out into the road from the side of the road.

Editorial comment: Stephanie has just corrected me after falling out of her chair and rolling on the floor with laughter. They are not called snow fingers, but finger drifts. I am not sure why she thought that was so funny, but there you are.


They may be 1-3 ft in length and maybe 6-12 inches wide. They occur one after the other. The trucks riding in the right lane hit these finger drifts and it causes the snow to go flying and the wind blows the loose snow in the air until you get a white out effect. Then you have to slow down and wait for things to settle down and then repeat the process all over again.

Now, I know that you are the smart type and like Stephanie will suggest going around the truck. Yeah well, just wait until you are in the left lane and about midway up the length of this 18 wheeler attempting to pass when the white out effect occurs. Uh huh, you didn't think of that. Hey, I am just saying...

So eventually I DID pass the stupid truck, only to find more trucks in front of the first one. This was going to be the day I died, or least the night anyway. We kept going and the traffic lightened, but the snow continued. When we arrived in Fargo and took the exit ramp off of I-29 and onto I-94 we only had 263 miles left in our 1700 mile journey.

As we passed a mall in Fargo on I-94, the the temperature was 4 degrees, but there had been such a large amount of traffic that the road was wet and slippery. There were 4-5 cars off the road already, on both sides of the highway and I was determined not to be one of them, so I let off on the accelerator and plodded through the area at about 35 mph.

As I mentioned earlier the day started in Kansas City with 29F. There was snow on the ground all the way from Kansas City to Richardton, ND. As we traveled from Kansas City, we passed through Kansas, Missouri, Iowa, South Dakota to finally arrive in North Dakota. The temperatures that day steadily dropped from 29F to -8F as we pulled into the Stephanie's parent's driveway.

During the drive from Fargo to Bismark as I kept watching the temperature fall I had this irrational fear of being stranded in -5F temperatures. I remarked to Stephanie that it felt like we were on the far side of the moon. Don't say anything, I said I was having irrational thoughts.

The second day ended with us arriving in Richardton, ND safe and sound to the hugs of Howard and Darlene, Stephanie's parents. Naturally, Nikki had to bark a few times and growl for a while to let Darlen and Howard know that she was the new queen of the house. We talked for a while and went to bed.

Today we awakened to a foot orso of snow on the ground and frigid temperatures, but we are on the inside where it is a cmfortable 72F. God has brought us safely to North Dakota where we will celebrate the birth of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ. We praise Jesus for having brought us safely home and we ask for your prayers for a safe journey back to Georgia next Monday and Tuesday (Dec. 29th and 30th.).

May the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob bless you this Christmas as you celebrate His birht with your families.

Your fellow Sojourner,

Andy Nelms