SVX Touring Blog

I had an interesting day yesterday. Had to attend a table-top seminar/conference/show in Crookston. Crookston is darn near at the Canadian border in way-northwest Minnesota, so it was a long, but interesting day trip from the Twin Cities- about 345 miles- one way. I had a nice mix of two-lane and freeway (I-94/I-29) to negotiate. Most of it was posted 70, but Nort' Dakotah posts a 75 limit. (It's easier to cross over the border for part of the northerly trek.) Obviously for SVX's these are only suggested 'starting points' for rate of progress- especially in some these ever-so-sparse areas. Nice day weather-wise- just a few scattered flurries near Fergus Falls. I was prepared, though; I've had my Pirelli 'Winter Ice Asimetrico's' mounted for about two weeks now since the strut replacement.

I managed to 'average' over 75 MPH for the trip, so you guys can appreciate the portions where the SVX cruised so sweet at about 85-95. Even some of that desolate straight-as-an-arrow two-lane settled in at a comfortable 80. God, this car is smooth and quiet at speed! I love this car! (The new struts help, though, too.)

The last time I did one of these shows I got a speeding ticket- first one in about 20 years- unmarked MN state trooper. 'Officially' he had me at 86 in a 70 zone (I-94). He asked me how fast I was going- I wouldn't answer. With the new (at the time) NT450's (summer rubber), you know I was going way more than that on that trip. That trip was lots of fun- (ha-ha) with about 6-9 inches of snow on the return leg. At least I got a 'last laugh' with one opportunity to pass a trooper on the way back in the snow. I was waiting for him to attempt to stop me and preach to me about who's better equipped to go 'how fast' in the stuff....... (as long as I was doing less than 70)

Didn't see much of the constabulary until I got near Crookston where they've got a bunch of people out looking for a gal abducted by (they suspect) a Level 3 sex offender creep that spent the last 23 years in prison. (I wish them luck in their search). Luckily for me the police were a little preoccupied when I passed the other way at 75+ on the two-lane.

Passed through Climax(, MN), which isn't too far from Fertile. Embarrass is a little further north- nearer to Canada. These small town names always bring up the old jokes about the Fertile woman who came to Climax........

Also with the entirely flat topography of that region I was reminded of the old joke-

Where do they breed the fastest dogs in the world?...............

North Dakota!!

"How's that", you ask??......

................... It's because the trees are so far apart!!! <LOL>

Even as great a car as we drive,..... my butt's sore after 10 hours or so of driving in one day!!

Have a great one, Friends!!

-Mark

[NikFu S.]

hey thats awesome.

so whats a blog?

[Bobb]

Hi Nikfu, As in "WEBLOG". Take care, BOBB

[Ron Mummert]

I had occasion last week to do about 500 mph through Minnasnowda on the way back to Bawlamer from Sacramento. Regretably, this was in a DC9 at 35,000 feet. The weather was clear & as I gazed at the VERY FLAT ground from that altitude, for HOURS & HOURS!!!! all I saw was squares, an occasional rectangle, & an occasional lake. I couldn't figure if these were little farms doled out equitably by some mad midwestern commie, or whether I fell asleep & was dreaming about the tiles on my bathroom floor. Since there was snow on the ground, all the "tiles" were white. And from that height, I also couldn't tell how big these tiles were. As the plane gradually decended on approach to the Twin Cities airport, not only did the tiles get bigger(duh), but I could see they were separated by roads! Are all them farms, alien crop squares, or whatever they are ALL bordered by straight roads?
Oy! Wobegon is me.
When I got home I did a Yahoo map search of small towns in the region I'd cruised above, and YES! There're roads called "road 670", "road 680" etc., etc., etc., etc.
Could Mark or any other 10K Laker person 'splain just what kind of geographicaI entity was gazing at?

Ron (Be square or be there).

[Ron Mummert]

I had occasion last week to do about 500 mph through Minnasnowda on the way back to Bawlamer from Sacramento. Regretably, this was in a DC9 at 35,000 feet. The weather was clear & as I gazed at the VERY FLAT ground from that altitude, for HOURS & HOURS!!!! all I saw was squares, an occasional rectangle, & an occasional lake. I couldn't figure if these were little farms doled out equitably by some mad midwestern commie, or whether I fell asleep & was dreaming about the tiles on my bathroom floor. Since there was snow on the ground, all the "tiles" were white. And from that height, I also couldn't tell how big these tiles were. As the plane gradually decended on approach to the Twin Cities airport, not only did the tiles get bigger(duh), but I could see they were separated by roads! Are all them farms, alien crop squares, or whatever they are ALL bordered by straight roads?
Oy! Wobegon is me.
When I got home I did a Yahoo map search of small towns in the region I'd cruised above, and YES! There're roads called "road 670", "road 680" etc., etc., etc., etc.
Could Mark or any other 10K Laker person 'splain just what kind of geographicaI entity I was gazing at?

Ron (Be square or be there).

[Bobb]

Hi Ron, It was a good story, but not that good. Take Care, BOBB

My brother lived in Fargo back in the early '70's for a short while. He said he never saw as many Cadillac's as he did then.

In the Red River Valley ND/MN there are only about 4 crops grown: sugar beets, soybeans, sunflowers and wheat- all ca$$h crops. (How much is your federal government crop subsidy when you've got a coupla-thousan-acres??) A 'small' farm in that area is 'only' about 1000 acres. Most of the big farmers plant their crop, tend to it, harvest it and then spend a few months in Texas or Florida.

If you stand up on a bucket you can see the other end of the state (practically), too. ...and some people think that Kansas is flat.....

-Mark

[Ron Mummert]

II hatehate whenwhen thatthat happenshappens.

So....I still don't know what them squares are.

Ronron.

Hey Ronron-

I thought I 'splained it to you..... Them 'square's' is farms. Yes, some of them have to drive a mile or two to get to their closest neighbor.

The Red River is what flows NORTH through Fargo/Moorhead and Grand Forks. Some of the 'blackest' soil you've ever seen. It's part of a HUGE old lakebed from millions of years ago.

-Mark

[seasvx]

Originally posted by Ron Mummert
I had occasion last week to do about 500 mph...

...500 miles per hour? I thought you were gonna say it was in the SVX! Would have been a new land world speed record!

[Ron Mummert]

[QUOTE]Originally posted by mark10t
[B]Hey Ronron-

I thought I 'splained it to you..... Them 'square's' is farms. Yes, some of them have to drive a mile or two to get to their closest neighbor.



Butbut... how'd they get divvied up in such an orderly fashion?
A roadsmap of the region must look like a fishnet.

Ron (We call it maze).

<<Butbut... how'd they get divvied up in such an orderly fashion?
A roadsmap of the region must look like a fishnet. >>

Yup. Most of the roads seem like they were laid out with a very long chalk line. You could be driving an RV and lock the steering wheel in place, put the cruise on, and go make yourself a sandwich before you'd drive off the road.

Sometimes at night if you're trying to pass someone it can be a little confusing because you don't know if the oncoming headlights are a couple hundred yards or a couple miles down the road...... Mash that pedal!

I like some hills and some curves, too. There's some good ones in Wisconsin I get to go on regularly.

-Mark

[Ron Mummert]

[QUOTE]Originally posted by mark10t
[B]<<Butbut... how'd they get divvied up in such an orderly fashion?
A roadsmap of the region must look like a fishnet. >>

Yup. Most of the roads seem like they were laid out with a very long chalk line. You could be driving an RV and lock the steering wheel in place, put the cruise on, and go make yourself a sandwich before you'd drive off the road.


But is each square a separate farm? Or does a farmer go to a bar in town & impress the chicks with, "Yup, I'm 200 square boy" "How 'bout you"? (uh...I didn't see any towns either).

Ron (holding on to my acres).

[G-Rex]

Each "square" to which you refer is, in fact, a square mile. This is also known as a "section" of land, consisting of 640 acres. Farmland is usually divided into fractions of sections, i.e., "the NW 1/4 of the N 1/2 of section 23W, 48N, according to the government survey thereof". The parcel described in the preceeding description would consist of 80 acres. (640 divided by 2 divided by 4.) The reason it looks so uniform from the air is because it was designed that way by the U. S. Government. That's why they call the system the "Government Survey System". The same system was used to survey land originally owned by the U. S. Government and assigned to the first private owner via a patent, back over a hundred years ago or more.
By the way Ron, if you were truly traveling at 500 miles per hour, you weren't traveling over Minnesota for "hours and hours"... And, I might add, you overlooked several thousand lakes, which are not laid out on any government survey system.

[Ron Mummert]

By the way Ron, if you were truly traveling at 500 miles per hour, you weren't traveling over Minnesota for "hours and hours"... And, I might add, you overlooked several thousand lakes, which are not laid out on any government survey system. [/B][/QUOTE]



Thanks for, uh.....squaring me away, Mr G. The "hours" comment is merely hyperbole on my part, & some of the squares could have belonged to the Dakotas, as I didn't see the big black line between the states that exists on the Rand McNally version. I guess the snow covered it up. As for the lakes - I'll bet they're square too!

Ron.