So there I was ….

It was a wet and rainy day somewhere in South Dakota … (and why I was there is still a question unanswered) … and I was stuck inside the bus. In a national forest boondocking spot. I couldn’t do anything outdoors and I was completely bored sitting inside with a laptop.

So I decided that I needed to do something. Anything. I decided to get a gallon of gas to run the generator since solar was not really cutting it with the everpresent clouds. But! Just driving to gas station wasn’t going to alleviate my boredom, so …

I decided to drive to a Loves fuel station that was 30 miles away instead of one that was significantly closer. It seemed to me that driving endless miles around the outskirts of Rapid City South Dakota was a great way to kill time and keep me less bored.

And hey! Maybe I’ll get the propane tank topped off as well! That should burn up an extra few minutes, thought I.

Now here’s the thing. All of that really happened. I even took the trash and wandered around looking for the perfect dumpster to throw it in, such was my boredom level.

And why am I sitting here telling you this story?

Because now I’m in North Dakota, sitting out a second day of heavy rain while sitting in the exact same chair in the bus, using the same laptop, and wondering how in the %@$# I’m going to un-bore myself.

But here there’s a bigger problem. We’re here for the beet harvest, which means that there are no cities nearby. Just little farm towns dotting the map, all looking suspiciously the same. Running out for such a simple task as propane isn’t going to cut it.

Mostly because the tank is still pretty full from the last excursion.

So how do I combat this ever deepening boredom that is eating at my soul? Go look at forever fields of various farm lands? Wander down to the one and only small grocery store? (I did that yesterday and frankly found it unfulfilling). Drink heavily?

No, dear readers, the solution to my problem is not at hand. Instead here I sit by the slowly rotating electric heater, in shorts and a tee shirt because I’m in denial that I’m stuck in cold and miserable Grafton North Dakota. Wishing I was anywhere else … even one state down where it’s probably still miserable, but at least they have a Love’s Truck Stop.

So, do you have a suggestion? Help a brother out! Because I know where the bar is and it’s officially after noon.