Hello from Bismark, North Dakota!

         Well, we've been in Bismark for about an hour and a half now and are settling into our room for the night. We are both kind of wishing we had maybe spent a bit for a room that we could be confidant that we won't catch diseases in, but hey, it's all part of the adventure right? :) We are just both hoping to get a decent enough sleep and to be back on the road early(ish) tomorrow morning. 

         Today started out bright and early with us getting up at 6 am. My mom woke up and made us tea and hot chocolate to go along with our breakfasts and then we packed up the last of our things. By 6:55 we were saying the dreaded "good"-byes to my family. We were on the road at our planned time of 7 am. Yay us! We headed out right away and were at the border by 8:15. (That was also about the time my tears finally let up a bit... :P) There was a short line-up and the border guard seemed a little unsure about whether or not he should let us through with our truck and trailer packed full, but by 8:30 we were saying a quick prayer of thanks and were back on the road! We stopped in Shelby, MT at 9 for gas and got right back on our way. At around noon I was thinking about how nice it was going to feel to wash my hair tonight when I thought back to the early morning hours and realized we had forgotten both of our toiletry cases! Oops! A quick text to mom, and they will be on their way to Hamilton tomorrow. Thanks mom! :) 

        We were about 10 miles out of Glasgow, MT at around 1:30 when Matt realized that the gas gauge was dipping dangerously low... and then the little orange indicator line disappeared altogether! That caused a moment of stress, but thankfully a gas station came into sight not to shortly after and we filled the tank right up again and promised to fill up much more often! :) We stopped once more for gas a little later in the afternoon and then kept on going, right through the state of Montana and into North Dakota. I was saying to Matt how, during this journey, we are going to be going through all these states I just never thought I'd be in... and never really had a desire to visit... :P But hey, it's not too bad. I drove for a bit, from Glendive, MT until our final destination for tonight to give my hubby a much needed brake. Towing a trailer isn't actually as scary as I thought so I'll probably start out driving tomorrow morning.

         Matt stocked the truck with movies and books and my Nintendo DS as well as his

I-Pod full of crazy philosophical talks, so we haven't been bored at all while we drive. 

         We got in to Bismark at about 8:30 Central Time and found ourselves a K-Mart to buy some much needed toiletries! We then checked into our hotel and then found a Pizza Hut to fill our very hungry stomachs! 

          So far the trip has gone very well, better than both of us had hoped, and we are praying for much more of the same tomorrow. Thank you so much to all of you who are praying and journeying along with us. We love and appreciate you all!

Some fun stats from the day before I sign off:

# of miles traveled: ~780

$ spent on gas: $142.05 (US)

# of hours on the road: 12.5

# of hours of DVD watching: way too many! :)

        Well, Matt's saying I should get to bed so we can head out on time tomorrow so off I go! :) 

Much Love, 

Matt & Jacquie