The Long Sprint Home - Day Three

That, friends, is the Gateway Arch in St. Louis, Mo., which means we have crossed the Mississippi and returned to the East. Today we made the relatively short drive from Lincoln, Neb., to Metropolis, Ill., getting us within 700 miles of home.

Not a lot to report from the Thursday drive, though we did hit some pretty funky storms across Missouri and Illinois. This morning we will head across town to the Superman Museum before completing the final leg of this wacky experiment.

Thanks to everyone who has been following along and we'll be home soon!

O Canada, we stand on guard for thee.

The Drive For 5-0 is officially a multinational blog this evening, as tonight I am sleeping in Vancouver, British Columbia, conveniently located in our docile neighbor to the north - Canada. Special thanks to the Canadian member of the International Brotherhood of UNC Sports Information Personnel, David Tinson, for tonight's accommodations (even though he's off in Whistler like a big shot).

But I'm getting ahead of myself. This morning I walked down to the Lake Coeur D'Alene to take some pictures and enjoy the weather. The view along the shore is, well, see for yourself...

After lunch, I hit the road once again, this time headed for Washington, state No. 49. Not much to report from the Evergreen State (I'm saving Seattle for Monday), though there was a great scenic overlook of the Columbia River off I-90 near Vintage. I could definitely picture someone trying to float a covered wagon down that baby.

So another long day of driving is in the books. Tomorrow I'll sink my teeth into Vancouver before heading back to the United States for Seattle on Monday, with the completion of my task on Tuesday in Oregon.

Oh, one last note about today. Crossing the border into Canada is an intimidating process. I have nothing illicit in my car, a perfectly legitimate reason for being here and a passport and I still got nervous when I pulled up to the customs agent. He asked a bunch of rapid fire questions (Where are you going? Why? Who are you going to see? What is his name? How do you know him?) that I had answers to, but it still is an intense experience. I can't imagine what it must be like trying to do something illegal as you cross.

Ok, that's all for now.

Why don't you purify yourself in the waters of Lake Minnetonka?

Good question Prince. And so it was on to the Land of 10,000 Lakes, Minnesota, State No. 44 on this journey. I should mention that I spent a good bit of time in Madison this afternoon, mostly walking State Street and taking pictures of the Capitol. I also had to make a stop at Camp Randall (again with the football) before heading west.

I put my driving shoes on today and made great time from Madison to Minneapolis without really speeding to speak of (I rarely if ever speed much on the highway). Wisconsin is the first state since Tennessee to have any real scenic land to drive across, and the rolling plains dotted with dairy farms were very cool. One interesting landmark on the way was a place called Wisconsin Dells, which can best be described as Myrtle Beach on steroids. It was the ultimate in touristy kitsch, as evidenced by the vast number of amusement parks and other such silliness. Case in point, this Trojan Horse at the entrance to the Mt. Olympus park.

Upon arriving in Minneapolis, I parked near the Mississippi River at a place called Saint Anthony Falls. This is almost the extreme north end of the river and once featured the only waterfall on the Upper Mississippi. The falls have since been covered by a concrete apron and dams installed. Here's the view from just down river on the St. Anthony Falls Heritage Trail.

I finished the walk around the trail, had a quick dinner of fish and chips at Tuggs before heading to my home base for the night at Casey's friend Anne's house. Special thanks to Anne for the fine (and free) accommodations.

Tomorrow we start to get serious. Mall of America, lunch, then on to North Dakota.

Oh, and I know it's been the weekend and all, but don't you love me? No comments? I'm not blogging for my health here.