The Storm!

Happy New Year! Tonight, I’m writing the first of a two part blog, preluded by @ghostfish’s latest Hive post, our venture in to the deep Minnesota north in an attempt to realize a writing retreat we’ve talked about since mid 2020. “Once this is all over…”, [the pandemic], “…we need a few days in a cabin to write.” Oddly ironic that two years of forced solitude should somehow be remedied by more solitude, but much like I’ve come to learn with my beloved @caffetto, I enjoy having people around me for the sake of feeling like part of society, as long as they don’t impede my work.

I reserved a cabin in Northern Minnesota a few weeks ago. With an impending trip to Los Angeles and Las Vegas in early January, there was a narrow window at the end of the year, after Christmas, that we could make the journey. This would also serve as an opportunity to stress test the new Tesla Model Y on a real world outing. Our start for the trip was delayed by the installation of my 240V Tesla charger at my house. The electrician running behind by two hours put us behind the 8 ball of a snow storm passing through the entire state. Once the charger was install was complete, @ghostfish and I were on our way.

The first stop was charging at a nearby Target. My Model Y has an extended long range, so an ideal 328 miles. In sub-freezing temperatures, that isn’t likely, especially keeping the car at 68º for the duration of the four hour drive to the cabin. Once on the highway, it was quickly evident this would be a treacherous drive. Snow, sometimes blinding, eventually turned to intermittent sleet. We watched as lifted pickup trucks, typical in the Minnesota suburbs, rebelliously sped past us, only to later end up on ditches along the interstate.

As the sun went down, the drive became even more precarious. The falling snow became a hypnotic distraction and passing tractor trailers and plows caused white-knuckle focus during nearby interactions that seemed to slow time. Stopping in Hinckley, MN, we charged the vehicle, then pushed onward towards Duluth, not knowing the worst of this trip was yet to come. Even writing this, I wince at the series of unfortunate events that robbed us of our coveted creative get away.

Duluth would be the breaking point for this night of the trip. A port town, the entire city lay at the bottom of precarious hills, now covered in slow, slush and ice. As @ghostfish approached each one, we let out audible sighs of disapproval. Needing to somehow reach the downtown area, we attempted what seemed to be the least of the hazardous routes. Immediately, the Tesla’s ABS system began to frantically stutter as the vehicle pitched sideways, perpendicular to the street. I was barely able catch my front wheels on an unplowed road, savings us from certain disaster.

@ghostfish and I sat in suspended silence before I said, “Yeah, we’re done for tonight.”. Northern Minnesota 1, @kommienezuspadt and @ghostfish, 0. We cautiously found our way to a Holiday Inn to supercharge, then began checking Duluth hotels for vacancies. A Comfort Inn was as good as any, and although we threw in the towel for Isabella that night, the silver lining was a jacuzzi open till midnight which gave us plenty of time for creative discussion in lieu of writing, and debates about conspiracies and reflections on two years of COVID.

Part two of this journey comes tomorrow, but I assure you, it is every bit as eventful, if not more. Spoiler; another day results in as much actual writing as the first. Zero! @ghostfish and I were both vigilant about taking photos and documenting this disastrous adventure knowing that one of the few silver linings to all the mishaps would be the ability to write a couple of Hive posts and, fingers crossed, earn enough post rewards to offset the stupid amount of money spent on all the things that were not the intentions of leaving home in the first place.