Gearing up for holiday travel

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Press Photo by Ashley Martin Sean Coleman of Philo, Calif., right, hands Rimrock Trailways bus driver Lee Hendry his bus ticket Friday afternoon in Dickinson. Coleman was headed to Fargo.

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People from all over the country piled out of a bus Friday and hurried inside the Paragon Bowl to get warm and grab a bite to eat before loading back up and continuing on their journey.

Lee Armsby of Las Vegas, Nev., and Sean Coleman of Philo, Calif., who passed through Dickinson on the bus Friday, are each on their way to visit family members. The men, who began their trips as strangers, now consider each other “travel buddies.”

Armsby, who is on his way to Knoxville, Tenn., said he finds the experience of a travel buddy liberating while being confined to a bus seat for days on end.

“You’re never going to see them again and you can tell them whatever you want,” Armsby said. “It’s kind of cool.”

Coleman, who was on his way to Fargo, agreed a travel buddy is fun.

“Being able to talk freely and have good conversation is very nice,” Coleman said. “It passes the time quickly.”

Lee Hendry, who was driving the Rimrock Trailways bus the men were on, said the amount of passengers on buses increases dramatically over the holidays.

“There’s probably 50 percent more,” he said.

Those who prefer to drive their own vehicle to visit family over the holidays should find weather conditions in Dickinson and surrounding areas favorable, said Andrew Ulrich, an AccuWeather meteorologist in State College, Penn.

He said a storm system moving into the Pacific Northwest may influence area weather conditions.

“As it moves into the Pacific Northwest, a little bit of that energy is going to move into our neck of the woods and it’s going to give us a few inches of snow, probably Monday night,” Ulrich said. “It’s not going to be a major storm system. A lot of it is going to be moisture-starved.”

However, south and east of the state there is the potential for a large storm system, Ulrich said.

“I think the main storm track is going to be well south of North Dakota,” Ulrich said.

Tuesday and Wednesday may also have periods of light snow, he added.

“It doesn’t look like it’s going to be a major storm at all, but just some flurries,” Ulrich said. “I think it’s going to be cold enough that there won’t be any sleet or freezing rain.”

A high temperature of 22 is expected for Thursday, which will be mostly cloudy with a chance for a bit of snow or flurries, according to the AccuWeather Web site. Christmas day is reportedly expected to have a high of 32.

Some flurries are expected Dec. 26 and 27, Ulrich said.

“Temperatures could fall into the low teens by Monday,” Ulrich said.

Another option for holiday travelers in the area is flying.

The Dickinson Theodore Roosevelt Regional Airport has seen large numbers of passengers this month, said Matthew Remynse, airport manager. Dickinson will have about 1,000 passengers in December, he said.

“From now until the end of the month with Christmas, New Year’s, finals and school getting done at the college, we’re going to see about 500 passengers come through in approximately a week,” Remynse said. “We’re very close to last year.”

Last December, 950 passengers came through the airport, Remynse said.

He said the fourth quarter of every year is always the busiest at the airport.

“Through the first three quarters, we averaged 700 passengers a month,” Remynse said. “We’re doing very well out here. It’s good to see that people are flying locally.”

Tags: news, local, holiday, travel