Buffalo, ND
Friday, September 6, 2024
On the road again! Our travels are taking us west this month — one of our favorite places in the world to be. This fall, we plan to travel through Montana, Washington, and Oregon, and the Canadian Rockies.
We left Wisconsin Friday afternoon around Noon, and set off west toward Minnesota. Several interstates in Minneapolis were closed for construction, so GPS routed us through St. Cloud and the central part of the state. Our drive was an easy one without too much Friday night traffic to slow us down.
Andi and I took turns driving every 100 miles or so, which helped make the drive less draining. While we drove, the kids took turns sitting in the front seat with one of us. This “windshield time” is such a gift — being able to have a conversation with them without any distractions.
We drove for about six hours this afternoon until we reached Red Trail Vineyard in Buffalo, North Dakota. This RV park is part of the Harvest Host program which is a network of breweries, vineyards, farms, and other businesses that welcome RVers to stop and stay with them. In exchange, visitors are expected (but not required) to support the business.
The owners of Red Trail Vineyard were so sweet and accommodating. Friday nights are typically steak night, the owner told us when Andi called to reserve a camping spot for the night, and dinner is served at 6pm. “I’m not sure we’ll have any steak left by the time you get here,” the owner told us. “But, come inside to check after you get settled in.”
The first thing I have to do when we arrive to our destination is sweep the floor and reorganize our tiny living space. While I did that, Andi and Aden went to the main house to check with Rodney about the steak dinner. Unfortunately, there wasn’t any steak left for the night, but Andi said it was a pretty cool vibe in the old farmhouse nonetheless. The owners of Red Trail Vineyard prepare dinner on Friday nights for their guests and serve the meal on their front porch. This is a pretty rural area of North Dakota, so it felt like there might be other community members dining at Red Trail Vineyard this evening.
The property itself was gorgeous with a small vineyard and lawn area around the small RV park. First and foremost, it’s a working farm and vineyard. It seems like the RV Park was an after-thought, and a good one at that. There were about 15 other campers parked in the small lot.
Andi, Tory, Aden, and I spent some time throwing horseshoes before making dinner at our campsite. The food options in our refrigerator were a little scrappy, but we pulled together a pretty decent meal of grilled brats, fresh garden green beans, hashbrowns, and watermelon.
The sunset was absolutely gorgeous tonight. After we ate, the four of us walked around the property together. A beautiful, rural location, and the weather was perfect.
Andi tasked Tory and Aden with keeping a log for our travels. Tory is responsible for keeping a record of each place we camp on this trip, and Andi is showing her how to use Google Sheets to tabulate the information.
Aden is responsible for keeping a log of fuel costs — price per gallon and total cost each time we fill up the RV. Then, he will find the mean price per gallon.
Tonight’s campsite cost $30 at Red Trail Vineyard, and included electric and water.
We rounded out the evening by watching a few episodes of Heartland together on Netflix. We are so glad to be back to traveling! The kids were in such great spirits tonight. Here’s to making lots of memories together the next few weeks.
