Monday, May 20: On the road again, solo this time (but only for the first part of the trip). Left my mountain (which still had some snow on it) a bit after noon and made it to Laurel, Montana for the night (somewhere I’d never stayed before in all the times I’ve been on this route both on my own and with Mr. K). I took only one slight detour, driving around a bit to see if I could find a better view of the mountains I’d seen from the gas station, which ended up with me skirting the boundaries of the Bozeman Yellowstone International Airport (see below). Oh, and I also made an unnecessary for bodily or car needs stop to admire the sunset.

 
Tuesday, May 21: A very long day of driving (all the way to St. Cloud, Minnesota), punctuated by a brief visit to Theodore Roosevelt National Park (this area had been closed when Mr. K and I last came by so I was happy to see that had changed).

 
Wednesday, May 22: All the driving the day before was worth it because it meant I got to my favorite cheese shop in Wisconsin before it closed for the day (unlike on the last trip). Continued on from there to the Chicagoland suburbs, which is where I needed to be for my craft conference.

 
Thursday, May 23: I’d built an extra day into my schedule just in case of travel troubles, so I slept in a bit and then meandered before it was time to check in to the conference hotel. Had dinner at Culver’s, which is a favorite. I do feel the need for cheese quite often.

 
Friday, May 24: Chose my I Heart Being Weird socks for the first day of conference activities.

 
Saturday, May 25: Took classes during the day, then went out with a friend to a Chinese restaurant for dinner. After that, I popped into the introverts room at the conference, which was new this year. Lower light levels, quiet, and had activities like this jigsaw puzzle.

 
Sunday, May 26: Was fascinated by the color-changing stripe on a friend’s car when we took it to dinner.

 

*****
On this date in 2023: No journal entry
2022: A Week in Photos: 2022, Part 17
2009 to 2021: No entries
2008: Way Out West
2007: Three Makes a Pair
2004 to 2006: No entries
2003: Trip Report
2002: Body Hair