2026 Bear Hunt Day 1 - Driving and Driving Some More

The hotel was ... 3 stars at best.  I can't blame the hotel for all the other denizens slamming their door, but I can blame the hotel that every single one of them felt like it shook the whole building.  I had to resort to turning up the AC fan and wearing ear plugs, even then it seemed like my neighbors were coming through the walls.
Not surprisingly, I woke up with a headache.

But a couple cups of barely adequate hotel pod coffee put me in a good start.  I wasn't in a hurry so I stuck around long enough for hotel waffles.  There were ... ok ... maybe hotel waffles should be reserved for motorcycle trips.

I was on the road right around daybreak.  Traffic was minimal at first.  It picked up around Madison, Wisconsin (predictably), then slowly drained away through the day.  By the time I was in northern Minnesota, there were so few cars it was almost eerie, but in an oddly tranquil way.  It started to rain around Wisconsin Dells and rained for several hours until I got somewhere just south of Superior, Wisconsin.  Most drivers were taking it easy, so it wasn't a bad drive even with the rain.

I continued listening to Lies My Teacher Told Me.  It didn't get better and didn't get worse.  I learned a little, disagreed a little and drifted off a little.  While it probably helped make the drive more enjoyable, I'm ready for it to be done.  My biggest take-aways from it are 1) History is complex and 2) History is better explained as the unintended consequences of millions of poorly-made decisions (and I still say Loewen should STFU and write a better textbook...).

I watched the miles count down through the day, stopping for some new and ever more questionable snacks.  With my recent oral surgery, I still feel the need to be a bit careful about what and how I eat.  At one point somewhere Squaw Lake, I looked at the beautiful scenery, the near complete lack of any other cars and just thought, "This is absolutely incredible."  And I meant it.

I kept driving, stopping in the town of Baudette to get gas before stopping for the night.  In the morning, I'll be crossing the border on my final leg to the land of black bears (and wolves and pike and smalleys and, and and).