Great northern route 2
 

Driving this route to Washington on my way to the WNM. I have written a blurb about the first day. Will try and put up pics when I get better Internet.

I left at 6 this morning and got 14 miles away to remember I forgot my laptop with the camera in it. So an hour behind but I drove 122 to 2, took some back roads and drove rt5 north along the Connecticut river up to st Johnsbury VT. From there I picked up 2 west over to lake Champlain and basically up through the middle of it until i hit the Canadian boarder. Figured I would get the other side of Montreal and call it a night.
Unfortunately traffic was worse than expected and it took me longer than I planned. I pretty much hate driving through cities and this was the worse with signs in a language foreign to me. Needless to say I made it but had to deviate a bit. I am now on route 148 in Lachute, Quebec at a hotel that works for 70 dollars cash. The lady spoke good English so that was a plus. It will be a bit of a ride but hope to make it to Sault St Marie tomorrow.

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Best of Luck on your trip

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Sounds like a fun trip so far.
Where you headed?

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Is it safe to assume that you're driving from MA to Washington state? I'm not sure what WNM is but I'm very familiar with highway 2 due to my several trips from Alaska to Michigan. I dislike city driving and my time on highway 2 across the top of the country was a welcome reprieve.

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Have a fun and safe trip Frank Wish I was driving with you. Bill

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Sounds like a real fun trip. Happy motoring!

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WNM=Early Ford V-8 Western National Meet. Salem, OR.

Ken

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Good luck Frank!! You know if I wasn't already scheduled for a long trip in September, I would more than likely have joined you for some crazy, but good, traveling like we had in 2013 :D. Stay safe and look for some Sloppy Joe Restaurants along the way :D.

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Awright Frank! You da man! Please let us tag along when you get a chance to post reports.

Pretty sure this isn't your route, but it gives us an idea of what you're up to.

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And you are driving a ?

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Seems like an adventurous trip. What happened next?

______________
professional writers.com

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Frank drives a 49 Convertible.

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Have a great trip, looking forward to lots of pictures.

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Seems a great trip.
I've driven all the U.P. and Wisconsin on hwy 2. It's fun.
Have a great time Frank!

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Frank, see you in Salem at the meet. Tom

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God speed Frank Miller. Good luck. I know that trip will be a blast, I'm jealous. Keep us posted on your progress west and back east.

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Sounds exciting, can't beat the scenery. May all be safe!

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Are you travelling by yourself? Any problem getting into Canada? Did the car have any charm with the border authority? That's three questions... Bill

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Frank, I envy your trip. Maybe some day I will retire and I can try such adventures.

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Hi from Oregon; We're forecast to have Hot, dry Sunshine for the WNM in Salem. Swap meet is two days Mon/Tue... I'll be selling. Made the Northern route one year Oct 20th time and hit the first snow of that year. Still it was fun thru Fargo ect. Great Northern Railroad route. Newc

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Hi from Salem - weather forecast in mid 80s and lots of roadside wildfires causing delays.

If your navigator pointed you into Q-City from Massa-toosits you'll probably get here from the south over the Mexican border in time for the next eclipse. Yes, California just left the union and annexed Mexico to avoid walls which are now planned for the Oregon-Mexico border. Take some photos ... no more posting without them!

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When I lived in Mi. I took US2 from St. Ignace to Glacier NP in Mt. Didn't take a car, rode my Harley. Great trip. From freezing in the UP, being attacked by mosquitoes at a campsite in ND. to finally out running a thunderstorm in MT. it was never boring.

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Not sure whether to keep this thread going or start a new one. I'll update you here now. I'm in Manistique, MI and 1183 miles into the trip with 26 hours driving time as measured by my GPS. I got about 40 miles west of Pembroke and the trans Canadian Highway was shut down due to a traffic fatality. The shortest possible detour around was 100 miles. I drove back about 10 miles and found a campground called Driftwood on the Ottawa River. I set up camp and me a few people. Took a little hike on one of the trails. My neighbor fed me a steak and half a potato. We talked about different things for 2 or 3 hours before calling it a night.
I got up a little before 6, took a shower, broke camp and packed up the car. Spoke to my neighbor for a bit and was off by 7:30. I stopped to have breakfast at a local restaurant in North Bay or close to it. Talked car and politics with the old guys -they hate Trump go figure- and when I went to start my car realized I left my headlights on. Luckily that Optima had enough juice and the old girl started right up. It took about 50 mile to fully charge the battery. I have an electronic voltage regulator built by Bob Jeffers just before he died. As the battery charges the charging rate ramps down and when it gets to just above charge I know it's full.
I had no problem at the boarder but they asked a few more questions than I would have liked. I was south on 75 before picking up 2. This road is as fast as any interstate. I'm looking forward to driving the rest of it. Oil and water are full with no overheating. The temps have been on the cool side but none the less the temp is running solid between 1/2 and 3/4. The oil is full and looks clean and no water has been used. These old Fords can break but you need to drive them to find out. They can last too with some proper maintenance. You just got to believe it's possible.

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Sounds like you're off to a good start and having fun!! Not much to see or do on the #2 through North Dakota and Montana until you get to the mountains, so you should make good time on that stretch. Good luck.

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You are right, Frank, these old Fords ain't worth a whit if you don't drive them. Stay safe.

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Hi Everyone, I hope Frank doesn't mind me trying to be helpful here.

Frank is a great traveling buddy, we paired up for a few days in Auburn, IN after we had to bug out of Brainerd a couple of years ago. (Where, I might add, he had his car parked in the absolutely perfect spot during the storm! Not a branch even close to it. Not like many of us who were parked in a forest!)

Also when I had to pull out of my WNM trip last year, he jumped in and was JM's wingman in my place.

I hope I'm not speaking out of turn when I say he loves these kinds of non-interstate trips, and likes to wing-it a bit on where he's stopping or what he's gonna pull over to investigate.

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Frank,
Keep it going !!
Trapped in the shop,
Charlie ny

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Jeff VT, no problem.

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Frank, I assume all is going well. You're going to need an oil change on this trip. You put some serious miles on the '49.

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I'm running synthetic. What do you think? Keeping my plan back secret but I may be by your way.

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Frank, if you drop down from the north into Oregon from the north, and if time permits, you can take in the car show in Seaside , Oregon. The show is Saturday the 9th of September and is right on the Oregon coast. They usually get 300-400 cars. Several of us from RG#27 will be going there before we go to Salem .

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Wtf is it with me, Minnesota, Sundays and weather.

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Figuring out pics here. I'm by Lake Michigan in this.

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Frank, the pics of the beautiful women are missing! I guess it is because you don't have your chic magnet, JM, with you!

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Beautiful car!... Have a safe & joyful trip..

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Below I copied the blurb from my facebook page. Checked the water oil and trans level this morning and all is well. Hope to be on the road soon. Will pick up an hour today traveling into Montana.
TJ I will do everything I can to make that show. It is part of my route as I plan to do 2 until the end then get 101 down the coast. Are you guys staying overnight somewhere there? I'll pm you my # you can text to it.

Today found me leaving Grand Rapids MN at around 8:15. There was a major thunderstorm last night but things were pretty dried out this morning in spite of the clouds. The travel weather was sun, clouds and rain. Luckily the rain was not for very long periods.
I ventured off Route 2 a bit to go to Lake Itasca state park and see the head of the Mississippi River. It all starts at this little stream and goes northeast before becoming the behemoth it is as it goes south. I think there's some analogies there but I'll spare you.
I also learned about Mary Gibbs who was the park commissioner or something like that when these loggers tried to dam the lake to more easily float logs down river. She stood down their threats and pulled the lever to the dam, releasing the water to preserve the forests around the lake.
My journey along route 2 continued through Minnesota into North Dakota. I had never been here so it is a new state visited.
North Dakota is pretty flat on the eastern portion and the wind was awful. Driving the car was a chore as I had to keep it steered right to make it go straight as it was being blown left. When the gust stopped you had to readjust. These old car steering systems are not as tight as new ones.
After passing Minot the wind died a little and the plains became rolling hills. I could sense I was gaining elevation due to all the hills I was climbing. I am now approximately 1000 feet higher than I was in Minnesota. Tomorrow should find me close to Glacier National Park in Montana.
I'm going to try and post an album of my driving pics. They're not great and may make the ride look boring but I believe this is what driving across the country looks like. For my friends in the northeast the northern midwest is a completely different place. I hesitate to call it desolate but at time I feel like they built a road just for me and I smile.

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I live in Minot, wish I could have visited with you! Yeah, we have had a couple days of super wind. There is a joke around here--a wind gauge in ND is an anchor chain tied to a tree. No body get excided until the chain is sticking straight out.

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Frank, we're staying in Garibaldi, Oregon on Friday and Saturday and driving up to the show on Saturday. We'll head for Salem on Sunday. I'm not worth a darn at texting, but e-mail me and I'll give you my cell #. Tom

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I love reading your updates. Thanks for keeping us informed.

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You will be fine on the oil. I was just kidding. Also, If you come near me on the way back Alex, my dad Tom and I would be glad to meet up for a short visit. Also if travel through the mid west on the return and need anything let me know. I will send you my cell phone number in a PM. You are probably carrying the V8 Club roster with you and my contact info is in there as well. Safe travels. I'm keeping track on Facebook and Fordbarn. You have more people along on this trip than you realize!