“Weekend Roady” Blog & Minnesota’s Northwest Angle
Odometer (Legend Coupe): 532,525
Odometer (Legend Sedan): 146,224
Odometer (NSX): 99,460
Odometer (ILX): 112,556
For about nine hours each weekday, I’m surrounded on 3 sides by turqouise fabric cubicle walls at an office. Sometimes I forget what the weather is doing outside, or even if it’s daylight out yet. Cubicle #1G010 can be a dreary place to reside for 33% of my waking life, but I found a way to make the view a little more appealing. For about the last 7 or 8 years, I’ve had a huge 5-foot-wide US map hanging up on my wall. Every once in awhile during the workday, I’ll spin around in my office chair to look at it, and I’ll zone out while contemplating the many uncharted destinations that are begging for a visit.
Where to next?
I was getting lunch with my coworker Brandon the other day in the cafeteria and learned that he’d recently moved to Arizona from Minnesota. I remembered seeing something about Minnesota on the map at my desk. “You know anything about that piece of the Minnesota,” I started, “That isn’t connected to the mainland? Don’t you have to drive through Canada to get there?” Brandon’s geography teachers must not have fulfilled their obligations because he didn’t know what I was talking about. The area I was focusing on was this (circled):
I went back to my desk after eating my chicken & broccoli, determined to find out the deal. What I discovered was that this piece of Minnesota – referred to as the “Northwest Angle” – is inhabited by 152 hearty individuals and is indeed only accessible by one of two paths:
- Driving through Manitoba, Canada and passing through the “un-manned” border checkpoint. There’s a telephone located there that you have to use to call and make your declarations.
- Crossing Lake of the Woods. During summer, by boat, and during winter: by ICE ROAD. That’s right, my readers, when the time is right, you can drive your car across 20 miles of frozen solid ice to get to this remote area of Minnesota.
Check out this article from just a couple of weeks ago where a semi truck broke through a crack in the ice.
Sounds like an adventure waiting to happen! I don’t know when I’ll next make it to Minnesota – I’ve yet to set foot in that state at all – and I don’t know if it’ll be during the depths of winter when I do, but you can bet this is going on my bucket list. During the course of my online research I stumbled across an insightful write-up by Philip Sites called “The Weekend Roady.”
I was immediately drawn in because his posts are entertaining and educational. This guy gets out almost every weekend to explore the open road. Sounds like my kind of fun! Here’s Philip’s post about the Northwest Angle.
(photo credit Philip)
This weekend, I have company in town from LA. My friend Brad has been visiting for a couple of days. Yesterday morning, we stopped by the monthly Scottsdale “Cars & Coffee” meet-up.
Later, we dropped off the NSX for an oil change. It’s sitting at around 99,500 miles.
This rare Honda S2000 “CR” was also looking pretty nice.
Brunch this morning at “The Good Egg” on Central Avenue. Here, I’m demonstrating proper parking in an end space.
Kelvin showed up in his immaculate 1993 NSX.
This time of year is the best in Phoenix!
Hope everyone is enjoying the weekend!
drivetofive 
February 8, 2015 at 1:23 pm
You must have intended when you wrote about Minnesota to draw me out! Having lived there the first 29 years of my life, I’d have to say it is heavenly to live there. Four real seasons and so much to do with over 10,000 lakes within the borders. Trust me, should my wife & I get back there, I’ll be putting a bid in for a future NALM event. Probably in the Brainerd area where there is a race track, dragway and so many other things to do including a spirited drive up to the headwaters of the Mississippi River. So Monday morning when you are bored, turn your chair around and find out where Brainerd is. Someday hopefully soon you will be driving the 532,000 coupe there.
February 8, 2015 at 2:52 pm
You KNOW I was thinking of you when I wrote this little Minnesota feature! Sounds like you have some great ideas for a potential NALM in that area. Let’s make it happen. I’m going to Google “Brainerd” soon.
February 8, 2015 at 7:35 pm
yay! Sedan odometer update for my birthday!
February 9, 2015 at 7:56 am
JUST for you! Happy b-day!
February 8, 2015 at 10:19 pm
Whoa, that would be an epic adventure. Almost would have to go during winter, just to have that experience of driving on a lake. PS my office view sucks too – I get to look out 12-foot tall glass windows onto a huge waterfall fountain and lush green grass. 😜
February 9, 2015 at 7:58 am
*grumble grumble* I’m jealous of your office view! Send a pic!
February 9, 2015 at 11:37 am
Sounds like ice road trucker territory up there! Not so severe here in NJ although today’s weather is comprised of some freezing rain just to spice it up. I guess someday Ill need a second home in Phoenix for this time of year :).. Probably have to be a little shack though
February 9, 2015 at 11:39 am
Haha, tell you what, I’ll go ahead and build a little guest shack in my backyard that you can rent when you come to visit. Garage space is also available for a nominal charge 🙂
February 9, 2015 at 12:46 pm
That sounds like an offer I can’t refuse!
February 9, 2015 at 11:44 am
Cute cubicle! Just remember that if you go to Minnesota, many GPS devices will plot a course through Chicago. 🙂
February 9, 2015 at 12:47 pm
That’s for sure! Looks like I’ll have to make allocate a few minutes of my trip to seeing what your neck of the woods looks like!
February 9, 2015 at 1:34 pm
Tyson – thanks for the support and glad you liked my little report on the Northwest Angle. I’m all about hitting up those little geographic curios (my most recent tick-off that list was the Kentucky Bend – or Bubbleland as they call it).
I’d like to get back up to the Angle and actually get that very northernmost point (it is somewhere out in the water). If you try driving on the ice, I’d be curious to see if you can make it over to Penasse (which is technically a little more north than Angle Inlet) and some other islands (I think you can actually drive around Brush Island, and there is supposedly a post office on Oak Island – not the TV Oak Island, of course).
February 9, 2015 at 2:46 pm
Hey Philip, thanks for the comment & follow! Our crusades are somewhat similar it seems. My page centers around car-talk, mostly, but along the way I share my weekend travel adventures. I’ve managed to squeeze some pretty cool roadtrips into just a two-day weekend. I have a lot of fun destinations planned out for this year, as I’m sure you do too. I’m going to take a look at Kentucky Bend – that might end up on my list. Keep up the great work.
February 12, 2015 at 9:55 am
In the deep winter – stay farrrr away!! Nice piece if info I have to admit.