Northern Tier 2007

Wolf Point, MT to Culbertson, MT

Date: 1 July Sunday (Day 28)

Starting Point: Wolf Point, MT
Ending Point: Culbertson, MT
Via: Chelsea, Poplar, Brockton
Mileage: 57.2   
Time: 5:32
Mph: 10.3
Terrain: moderate hills
Temperature High: 91
Temperature Low: 54
Cooks: Linda and JF (a local casino supplied pizza because the only restaurant in town had closed at 2pm)
Food: pizza, mozzarella sticks, corn dogs
Weather: partly cloudy, some rain, some wind
Lodging: Culbertson City Park
Cumulative Mileage: 1,422
Miles to Go: ≈2,878

    Today was Linda’s and my turn to cook today. It seems like I’ve had the “worst” luck in actually producing a cooked meal. Today there were no stores open to buy food—it was Sunday, after all. The lifeguards at the pool suggested the Truck Stop Restaurant at the edge of town. After getting cleaned up, I ventured over there to explore. That particular source of food had closed at 2pm. Across the street there was a casino/bar. I thought I’d take a chance and see what was possible there. The only possibility, since the cashier wasn’t sure she’d have a cook, was to order take-out pizza. This is what we did.
    The route prior to arrival was lovely when it was going over another section of an old Indian Highway. Four of us were riding together and we were all ecstatic to arrive at the road away from Route 2. The Tribal Police pulled us over at one point to advise us that they had received four complaints about us already because we were not riding in the break-down lane (where bikes belong in the minds of many people unfortunately).  We weren’t about to argue with him or point out that the break-down lane is always full of broken glass, trash, dead animals, tire blowouts, used diapers, etc. He was nice enough about it but he was very clear that we were not to go over the white line and the rumble strip that delineated the road from the break-down lane.

   

Culbertson, MT to Williston, ND

Date: 2 July Monday (Day 29)

Starting Point: Culbertson, MT
Ending Point: Williston, ND
Via: Lanark, Bainville
Mileage: 45.5   
Time: 5:10
Mph: 8.8
Terrain: hilly
Temperature High: 92
Temperature Low: 70
Cooks: Dave (Linda and JF helped)
Food: Roast chicken, potato salad, fruit salad, macaroni salad
Weather: bright sun, humid, some headwind
Lodging: Marquis Hotel
Cumulative Mileage: 1,467.5
Miles to Go: ≈2,832

    We got a somewhat late start despite the threat of yet another broiling day. Breakfast was rather skimpy; due to the lack of foodstuffs to buy, we had only sugary cereal and one measly can of fruit. Four of us stopped in town to get some protein.
    The prospect of getting to North Dakota intrigued us a bit; foolishly thinking that the terrain might change and the scenery would look different. The only thing that changed once we crossed the state line was that there were more hills.
    On the way to the state line, though, we stopped in Bainville for a short break. I wanted to get something cold and caffeinated at the same time. My choice then was ice cream with hot fudge/espresso sauce. The server seemed a little perplexed by the idea, but I pressed on. While I was sitting there next to Gregg, who was reading a newspaper, I could hear a woman talking to Kevin as they approached our table. She was outlining for him all the benefits to believing in the Bible, such as, living forever on earth. At that moment Kevin totally ignored her proselytizing and said, “Here’s John Fischer who is raising money for the American Lung Association of Maine by crossing the United States on a bicycle for the third time!”  He then wanted to know if I had a card to give HER (since she had just been trying to foist off one of her preachy, here-comes-the-end-of-the-world brochures.) I pulled one out of my wallet. She stared at it for a minute as she was a little confused about what to do. She then said, “I don’t think I’ll be taking one of THOSE.” This was with discernible derision in her voice. I then let her know that I wouldn’t be taking one of her brochures either. It was more than a little off-putting; here we were trying to cool off from the hellish heat outside and we were being preached to about hellish heat elsewhere.
    Arriving in Williston was a welcome event although it was still boiling outside. As I approached the campsite, Dave warned me that the mosquitoes were bad; actually worse than bad. I had had it for today: I was exhausted, hungry and thirsty and not in the mood to put up a tent (aka an oven in this heat) while wrestling with mosquitoes. So I decided to go to a hotel and catch up on blogging and newspaper entries. By dinner, we were hoping to convince Tim to take the suggestion of others and alter our route to Minot—thereby shortening it by 30 miles and flattening it out a considerable amount. I won’t know the result until the morning.

   

Williston, ND to Stanley, ND

Date: 3 July Tuesday (Day 30)

Starting Point: Williston, ND
Ending Point: Stanley, ND
Via: Ray, Ross
Mileage: 76.2   
Time: 6:39
Mph: 11.4
Terrain: gentle hills
Temperature High: 85
Temperature Low: 62
Cooks: Tim and Gregg
Food: Potato and Hot Dog Stew, Salad
Weather: bright sun, some tailwind
Lodging: Stanley Town Park
Cumulative Mileage: 1,543.7
Miles to Go: ≈2,756

    Leaving Williston was a welcome escape because the mosquitoes were absolutely voracious. Fortunately I had chosen to stay in a hotel last night, thereby missing those blasted bugs and a special bonus of a thunderstorm with 50 mph winds. Two peoples’ tent poles were bent and several tents got flooded. Dave said his tent became infested with ants. Two days before in Poplar there was a lost dog poster hung in the restaurant where we stopped to have a snack. My suspicion was that the little dog had been carried off by the area’s blood-thirsty mosquitoes which were related to the ones in this town.
    Thanks to Dean and Laurie (who are also crossing the country) who spoke with some people coming west. These other riders suggested staying on Route 2 and going to Stanley instead of New Town. There were twenty miles of paved road that was closed to all traffic except bicycles. It was like having our own really wide bike path. In addition to that treat there was a tail wind to help us along.
    I rode with Dave who was forced to ride slower—he is pulling Anne’s trailer until she comes back. Dave had been a lawyer at one point and today was his day to tell lawyer jokes while we rode together. It definitely helped the time pass and helped to distract from some otherwise bothersome hills.
    Near Ray we did have to get off the closed road because we finally caught up with the paving machines. It looked fairly clear that Dave and I could have ended up as part of the pavement had we tried to go around those giant machines. Plus we did have a conversation with a local sheriff with a handlebar moustache who also thought we should come back to the main route.
    We arrived in Stanley very early in the afternoon; earlier than what I’m accustomed to. There was plenty of time, then, to seek out a swimming pool. The main pool in town unfortunately was closed due to the fact that the lifeguards had discovered a dead mouse in it in the morning. The young women there suggested I try the indoor pool at the Aquatic Center connected to the hospital. What I didn’t realize until I arrived there was that the pool is a therapeutic one and the temperature is maintained at 91º! Since it was a hot day already, it made no sense to be submerged in hot water to help get closer to hyperthermia.
    Near the campsite there was the bar that three years ago had karaoke the evening we were there. This time, on the eve of July 4th, they promised to have live music later in the evening. At the restaurant there was a 40th reunion of Stanley High School going on. I had conversations with several people who were trying to place me from high school. I was tempted to pretend, but I did reveal my true occupation of cross-country cycling and fund-raising for the American Lung Association of Maine. One woman was particularly pleased that I was doing such a thing, but she wasn’t so pleased that she wanted to pledge. I had a conversation with a Dale Pappa who was an older cowboy type; he had the boots, the hat, the shirt, the bole tie and the rough look of a cowboy to boot. I asked him if he did rodeo; he said he used to. I asked him if he did bronco-busting; he said he had. He added, though, that bull-riding wasn’t for him. He said, “In bull-riding, you get your turn, then the bull gets his.” He went on further to say that bull-riding was about survival and not about coming out of it uninjured.
    Later that evening several of us went back to the bar to listen to the live music. We ran into a local who offered to take us to the Tastee Freeze (a soft-serve ice cream place). It turned out he was the former mayor of the town and he had been the youngest one in its history. We had a long chat about local politics and the town. He was tickled pink to meet people traveling through and he said as much.

Stanley, ND to Minot, ND

Date: 4 July Wednesday (Day 31) and 5 July Thursday (Day 32)

Starting Point: Stanley, ND
Ending Point: Minot, ND
Via: Palermo, Blaisdell, Tagus, Berthold, Burlington
Mileage: 52.8   
Time: 4:20
Mph: 12.2
Terrain: moderate hills
Temperature High: 85
Temperature Low: 61
Cooks: local restaurant
Food: delectable North Dakota specialties
Weather: bright sun, some tailwind
Lodging: Roughrider Campground
Cumulative Mileage: 1,596.5
Miles to Go: ≈2,703

    Our long-awaited rest day at last! We’ve had 12 days (about 700 miles) straight of riding with no break; it’s high time we get a chance to do nothing.
    Today’s ride went by quickly even though I had chosen to take the back roads to Berthold. These roads turned out to be somewhat hillier than the main route everyone else took. There were plenty of good birds to look at since I went by at least a dozen ponds. In the two hours I spent on that road, I was passed by only 3 or 4 cars.
    We’ll be going out to eat this evening as the celebration of crossing yet another state. I don’t think we’ll celebrate when we cross New Hampshire; the celebrations are justified only for large states.
    The only problem with being on the road today is that we miss any Fourth of July parades. This was a little disappointing to me, but the timing couldn’t work out to have us be somewhere else.

Minot, ND to Rugby, ND

Date: 6 July Friday (Day 33)

Starting Point: Minot, ND
Ending Point: Rugby, ND
Via: Surrey, Granville, Riga, Denbigh, Towner, Berwick, Tunbridge
Mileage: 71.5   
Time: 6:07
Mph: 11.6
Terrain: mostly flat with a few miniscule hills
Temperature High: 85
Temperature Low: 68
Cooks: Clive and Bruce
Food: BBQ Chicken, Pork and Sausages, Potato Salad, Salad
Weather: bright sun, tailwind
Lodging: Oakwood Inn and Campground
Cumulative Mileage: 1,668
Miles to Go: ≈2,632

    One of the last activities in which Bruce and I got enmeshed was going to the movies to see the new Bruce Willis movie. Normally a rest day should be relaxing, stress-free, anxiety-free and slow-moving. Before we went to that film, we were well on the way to achieving those goals. Unfortunately the film was intense and frightening; it was all one would expect from a Bruce Willis movie. From the standpoint of a movie critic, it was a fine film. From the standpoint of a cyclist needing rest, it was a dismal failure. I can’t remember now when this particular video clip showed on-screen; it was either in the twenty minutes of obnoxious commercials, or the 10 minutes of endless previews, or it could have been during the film itself. There was a scene at the seashore looking at what looked like a beach. It reminded me of Reid State Park, one of my favorite places. Instantly I was struck with nostalgia and a homesickness that was overpowering. After the movie I was speechless for a while (a rarity) due to the strong emotions of wanting to be home and not be on the road. Part of the feeling was wanting to see ocean. We’re so far from an ocean right now that it feels impossible to fathom seeing it again. For the time being I have to content myself with imagining the ocean as I look at the vast and seemingly infinite fields of grain waving in the wind.
    When we got to the mall to see the movie, a very helpful police officer offered to let us store our bikes in an equipment room so we wouldn’t have to worry about them during the film. This was immensely helpful and surprising. Bruce observed that many people go out of their way to help others out here. I could only concur. As we’re biking here in North Dakota, it seems like the only people who beep at us are those who are not from the state!
    Today we left Minot and our rest day. It will be five more days before we get another in Moorhead, MN. After that twelve day stint without a rest, five days seem like paradise.
    In Towner, a town along the way today, I had a long chat with a guy who works for the USDA. He had plenty to say about the decline of agriculture, schools, population and jobs out here in these small towns. In sum, the outlook is grim. As agribusiness takes over and foreign competition wins out over domestic farmers, only the largest, most efficient farms can survive. It makes me wonder what will be out here in ten years. What will the farm economic landscape look like if it is all multinational agribusinesses?

   

Rugby, ND to Minnewauken, ND

Date: 7 July Saturday (Day 34)

Starting Point: Rugby, ND
Ending Point: Minnewauken, ND
Via: Knox, Leeds, Niles
Mileage: 51.1   
Time: 4:54
Mph: 10.4 (12mph for first 35 miles, then 8 mph with headwind for last 16)
Terrain: moderate hills
Temperature High: 95
Temperature Low: 67
Cooks: Linda and JF
Food: Pasta à la carbonara, salad, fruit salad, Cole slaw
Weather: sunny, tailwind for first 35 miles, headwind for last 16 miles
Lodging: Minnewauken City Park
Cumulative Mileage: 1,719.1
Miles to Go: ≈2,581

    The most notable aspect of the first part of the day was that there was a tailwind; this raises the spirits a great deal. I did ride most the day alone; I never caught any riders and none caught me. As is often the case with such winds, it changed abruptly into a headwind when I took a right on Route 281 to head south. There is one positive facet to headwinds: it’s difficult to feel the heat and humidity that bakes a rider when there is no wind at all. Such was the case all the way into town. It was exhausting to fight the wind on this day. It didn’t help that I was riding alone and saw virtually no one. When I finally arrived in Minnewauken, I thought I had arrived in a ghost town. There were no cars and no people on the main street. It look pretty much like every business was closed. As I rolled down Main Street the heat was oven-like (95º). One car finally appeared and stopped at what looked like a supermarket. I ducked inside in the hopes of escaping the heat and finding air-conditioning. The market turned out to be a sort of gathering place for the locals. There an old-time kitchen table in one corner of the market with chairs and people just gravitated to that spot. I had conversations with a retired oil man, a retired drill sergeant and a local who seemed to be possibly a mechanic. The two older gents spoke of the decline of the farms in the area. This has been a common theme throughout all of North Dakota.
    I did finally venture out to the campground. It was Linda’s and my turn to cook so I biked back into town to get ready to shop for dinner. I went to a bar that was also open and virtually empty. Some of the riders were there drinking Coke and Sprite, so I joined in. The atmosphere seemed clear of smoke; a couple of regular customers had just left so I was optimistic that I would be able to stay and breathe. A few minutes into my second Sprite, I noticed a smoke odor. It was baffling to me because no customers were smoking (Smoking is allowed in bars in North Dakota). Upon further investigation it became clear that it was the bartender herself who was smoking. So I had to leave.
    When I went back to the supermarket, the cashier was busy using a marker to draw up a sign with a tornado on it. Naturally I became alarmed and asked about the sign. She alerted us to the fact that the Weather Service had said that there was the possibility of “severe weather.” In North Dakota this means tornado. She further instructed us that if we heard the siren in the nighttime (a siren that would sound continuously for probably ten minutes or more) we were to vacate the campground, come into the center of town and seek shelter in the basement of the bank building. This was not welcome news because I immediately imagined all of our bicycles swirling away to Kansas (the wrong direction). She tried to reassure me that it was only possible not probable. One customer in the store suggested, though, that since the humidity was 99% it was certainly the right conditions for one. I asked when the last tornado happened in the area, hoping that it might have been ten years ago or so. There was one just three weeks ago. So, all shook up, I returned to the campground and prepared a fine dinner with Linda as prep chef and I as the head chef. Another positive happenstance was that the cashier at the store offered to deliver our groceries for us to the campsite. She did so shortly after we left the store.    After dinner, Dave and I sat around playing cribbage during and after map meeting. The wind began to kick up a great deal during the game, so much so that all cards had to be weighed down with water bottles and other heavy objects. I thought that the tornado would arrive momentarily. It didn’t. All that happened was that it cooled down to a more human temperature.
    After dinner and clean-up I settled in to go to bed. When I lay down to begin relaxing, I noticed that the buzzing ATV was still going through our campsite and near our tents. It seemed sensible to ask the driver to go around the area where the tents were. I got out of the tent and he was nowhere to be found, though I could still hear him. In a moment I found that he was buzzing around a field closer to Devils Lake. He then came through an unmown field towards our tents and passed behind Linda’s tent by about ten feet. I stopped him and asked if he could go around our tenting area because we were trying to sleep. Rather than responding to that request, he simply cautioned me that it was his son’s 10th birthday and he was going to be setting off fireworks. As he drove off, one of the young boys in the back of the ATV (there were about five of them) stuck his tongue out at me and made a “mm-mm” sound. This didn’t bode well for the rest of the evening.
    It occurred to me that fireworks aren’t allowed in city parks, so I thought it would be a good idea to get the police involved. As there was no groundskeeper or city staff at the park to enforce its rules it made sense to me to go looking for a policeman. I walked down a side street and found a guy sitting in his car. I asked him if there was a police presence in town and he said that there wasn’t, but that he could call the sheriff’s office for me on his cell phone. He did so and I spoke with the sheriff relating that various things that had gone on so far and that the ATV driver was going to be setting off fireworks.
    From that moment of reporting him, I began feeling threatened. It was a possibility that the guy would retaliate because he had been reported. So sleep was not something in my near future. I heard him and his gang over in the RV area whooping it up and drinking. It was probably around dark (10pm) when the guy drove his ATV to within three feet of Linda’s tent and within two feet of Janet’s bicycle. Her bike was parked at the fence next to the baseball field. The kids and the by-now well drunk guy got out and they began lighting various kinds of fireworks. They were doing this around the location of the pitcher’s mound which was north of Linda’s and Janet’s tent by about forty feet. There was a very strong wind blowing from the north, so any sparks and ashes blew right over their tents. They then set off a rocket which exploded relatively high in the air and the sparks of which also blew over their tents. It was at that moment that the sheriff arrived. I was out of my tent observing all this and keeping watch to make sure the drunken guy didn’t damage tents, bicycles or people. The officer went to the field to have a chat with the people. They stopped their fireworks and the officer drove away. I watched him drive out the long driveway to the campground. The second he was out on the road, the people set off another rocket which exploded high in the air. I watched the cop turn his car around as fast as one might see in a car chase scene in a movie. He came back and parked in the exact spot he had been in, but he arrived much faster than the first time. He got out of the car and yelled at the kids to clean up the mess on the baseball field and he proceeded to unload the rest of the fireworks the drunken guy had in the ATV. As he walked over to his car, I went up to him and explained that I was the one who called. The drunken guy came over and wanted to know about his fireworks. The cop explained that he was confiscating them and that he could retrieve them on Monday. Further the cop wanted to see his ID and check for any outstanding warrants. As he did so, the drunken guy approached me to shake my hand and explain that it was his son’s birthday and that it was special because it was 07/07/07. I allowed that that was special. I then suggested that it might have been safer to have lit the fireworks down by the water well away from the tent area. He reassured me that he had more certificates and licenses than anyone there. In other words, he had safety under control. This was farther from the truth than I am from Maine.
    I explained to the officer that the drunken guy had been buzzing our campsite and the cop asked if that was true. The drunken guy, of course, denied anything and just said he would be parking the ATV for the night. There was never any issue brought up about the fireworks effects on the tents that were downwind.
    The ATV went away, the kids went away, the drunken guy went away and all was quiet. Until two of the kids decided that it was just fine to play on the swings near my tent (about ten feet away) at 11pm and have loud talking and laughing. I got out and told them that people were trying to sleep. They went away and ten minutes later the drunken guy yells from his RV area, “This is $$#@!!!!##$?!” My son and his friend are here crying and you tenters are just @#@#$!” Then came over to each of our tents and yelled into them, “I hope you’re happy now you #@#@#@#! Don’t cross me again or I will hurt you! The sheriff isn’t here now. I’m the law!”
    All through this ordeal everyone was awake except Tim who I finally awakened to have him handle things. I was feeling overwhelmed and incredibly threatened by having this drunken guy in our campsite. Dave (who has a black belt in a martial art) let me know later that he was awake until 3am in a guard mode to make sure things were not going to escalate any further. A few minutes after this tirade there was one more outburst similar to the last one.
    Every person in our group that I spoke with said they felt extremely vulnerable; I certainly felt that. It was fortunate that the drunk didn’t have a weapon. Linda attributed this behavior to “pig-headed ignorance, pure and simple.” Janet’s tent was slightly damaged by the sparks from the fireworks, but she declined to push for anything.
    One of the most outrageous things about the whole event was that this guy had his son with him the entire time and, thus, his son got to observe this behavior. It was outrageous that he buzzed our tents in the first place and was totally oblivious to the fact that there were any other people of whom to be considerate. The next morning I experienced relief only once I knew we were far enough away that he couldn’t have known where we were and pursued us with a vehicle.

Minnewauken, ND to Binford, ND

Date: 8 July Sunday (Day 35)

Starting Point: Minnewauken, ND
Ending Point: Red Willow Lake Recreation Area (Binford)
Via: Lallie, Sheyenne, Pekin
Mileage: 74.3   
Time: 7:19
Mph: 10.1
Terrain: hilly
Temperature High: 69
Temperature Low: 75
Cooks: Restaurant in Resort Area
Food: fine fried delicacies
Weather: partly cloudy
Lodging: Red Willow Lake Recreation Area Campground
Cumulative Mileage: 1,793.4
Miles to Go: ≈2,507

    It took a long while to feel safe again after last night’s fiasco with a drunk. Not until the county line did I feel like I didn’t have to worry about him showing up to run us off the road or worse. Bruce expressed the same apprehension.
    Along the way we saw an impressive pelican and some fields of flax. I had feared that I had lost my last opportunity to see both before leaving North Dakota.
    This was a day without services for nearly the entire distance. In Sheyenne all stores were closed; after all, it was early Sunday morning. Fortunately Bruce found a woman getting into her car behind a Senior Center and started a conversation with her. At first he wanted to get directions to our route and then he asked if he could fill his water bottle. I rolled in behind the Center because I saw his bike there. Laurie Westby was there to get things rolling for a family reunion that was to take place later in the day. She suggested that we might want coffee, which we accepted graciously. There were lots of goodies laid out on the table near the coffee maker; I noticed a pan with what looked like fresh-baked brownies. I suggested that she might want testers to ensure the quality of the brownies before they get served to the reunion attendees. As a gesture of goodwill and sacrifice, I offered our services as testers.
    The only other place that one could loosely call a town was Pekin. By this time I was riding alone and just about out of water (it had been over 50 miles since I was able to fill up). The only thing operating in town was a soda machine outside a bar. Fortunately it didn’t eat my $1.25 and generously gave me a root beer. This root beer gave me enough energy to make it to the resort area.
    The resort area was impressive though primitive. It had been in operation since 1946 and had bands there as far back as Tommy Dorsey. Through the 50’s and 60’s it enjoyed wonderful crowds who attended dances there. There were signs all over the dining hall that had signatures of dozens of big bands, rock bands, country bands and bluegrass bands. The driving force behind this whole operation was Vernis Haines—an 85-year old sprightly woman with a wit and sharpness about her. When I came into the dining room the first time with my computer so I could type, she asked me if I needed to get dressed up. It appeared as though I were hauling around big suitcases.
    When I had finally made acceptable progress on my writing and the place was closing up I said goodnight to her; she was the last person to leave. She wished me farewell and said, “Come back again and if you can’t, well, I’ll see you at The Rapture. Do you think that will happen soon with the way things are going in the world?” I opined that, “No, things are not really any worse than they ever have been, so, no, I don’t think so.” She said goodbye again and “God bless you special.”

   



   

Binford, ND to Hope, ND

Date: 9 July Monday (Day 36)

Starting Point: Red Willow Lake Recreation Area (Binford)
Ending Point: Hope, ND
Via: Cooperstown
Mileage: 55.1   
Time: 5:16
Mph: 10.4
Terrain: moderately flat with one huge hill in Sheyenne River Valley
Temperature High: 78
Temperature Low: 52
Cooks: Tim and Gregg
Food: Macaroni and Cheese, Salad, Vanilla Wafers, Coke
Weather: sunny
Lodging: Hope City Park
Cumulative Mileage: 1,848.5
Miles to Go: ≈2,452

    There were no stores at the Red Willow Lake Resort area where we could do our usual routine of buying dinner/breakfast/lunch. So we rode 9 miles into the town of Binford to eat at the Binford Café. The photo I took is a tad misleading: all the bikes were parked in front of the Sit ‘n’ Bull Tavern, but we ate at the café instead.
    The plan was to stop in Cooperstown to buy lunch materials on our own. There were four of us riding together on very peaceful country roads with mostly mild hills and tolerable temperatures. In Cooperstown we were able to go to a real food store and stock up on things. As Kevin and I were standing on a corner waiting for Gregg, a woman approached us wanting to know all the usual details: where we’re from how far we’re biking, etc. It’s always interesting and very pleasant to let people know about our expedition. I mentioned that I was doing the ride as a fund-raiser and it seemed like her ears perked up. She seemed definitely interested in pledging.
    Otherwise this was a peaceful day with good weather, no horrendous headwinds and sobriety of all people with whom we came in contact.

   

Hope, ND to Moorhead, MN

Date: 10 July Tuesday (Day 37) and 11 July Wednesday (Day 38) – Rest Day

Starting Point: Hope, ND
Ending Point: Moorhead, MN
Via: Colgate, Page, Arthur, Argusville, and Harwood
Mileage: 70.3   
Time: 5:08
Mph: 13.7
Terrain: flat
Temperature High: 68
Temperature Low: 52
Cooks:
Food:
Weather: mostly sunny with occasional drops of rain; some side winds and significant tailwinds
Lodging: Minnesota State University at Moorhead Dorms
Cumulative Mileage: 1,918.8
Miles to Go: ≈2,381

    Last night had massive rain, lightning, thunder and wind all night. None of us really got much sleep, so we were extremely happy to have mostly tailwinds to arrive at our rest day in Moorhead, MN. Everyone was worried about tents getting blown down. Not too far from Hope we heard from people that someone’s RV had been crushed by a tree. This kind of news never gives us warm fuzzy feelings.

    Here are some interim stats on distances:
Washington State:     448.6 miles
Idaho:                         72.1
Montana:                   835.6
Alberta:                       88.8
North Dakota:            472.0
                              1,917.1

Some signs of interest: At a hardware store “We have pine shavings, twine and animal vaccines.” It was a mystery to me how that could be a customer draw, but then again, I’m not a farmer.
Some time ago I saw this in an RV park “Drive Slow or Die Fast” with a Colt .45 on the sign for convincing. This RV Park also flew a Confederate flag and had every available inch around the house filled with old rusting cars.
A few days ago our first Live Bait vending machines appeared.
    We stopped in Page for coffee and a snack since we were about twenty miles out from the start. Bruce needed a fork because we were going to share some hash brown potatoes. I went behind the counter to get one as our server had disappeared. As I passed by a group of people eating burgers for breakfast, one of the men said, “Hell, you shoulda told me you needed one. You coulda used mine…I only licked it twice.” I kept with my original plan to use the one from behind the counter.
    We were all eager to get to Moorhead and I took only one opportunity to take a photo of the threatening sky.

   
   

Moorhead, MN to Tamarac Resort, MN

Date: 12 July Thursday (Day 39)

Starting Point: Moorhead, MN
Ending Point: Tamarac Resort – just east of Tamarac National Wildlife Refuge
Via: Averill, Hitterdal, Callaway, Richwood and White Earth Indian Reservation
Mileage: 81.4   
Time: 7:29
Mph: 10.8
Terrain: moderately hilly for last 60 miles
Temperature High: 70
Temperature Low: 55
Cooks: Restaurant at resort
Food: fried food, no veggies within ten miles
Weather: sunny and lots of wind (some of it headwinds, some sidewinds and some tailwinds)
Lodging: Tamarac Resort Campground
Cumulative Mileage: 2000.2
Miles to Go: ≈2,299

    This day began with a great worry of a new noise coming from the rear wheel of my bicycle. There was a sort of intermittent series of pops that sounded like spokes, but I couldn’t locate it. I was with Bruce and Kevin at the time and we debated whether I should go to the bike shop or not. It turned out that I decided to try that from the point where we were discussing the problem. There was a gas station across the street that was willing to let me leave my trailer so I wouldn’t have to haul that unnecessarily back over the river into Fargo, ND. When I arrived, the store was not open for another twenty minutes and I saw no one inside. It seemed fruitless to wait since it seemed questionable as to what they could do for me in five minutes. How could they diagnose a sound that I couldn’t reproduce at will? So I went on in a rush to catch up with Bruce and Kevin. I caught them about twenty miles out and we rode together for the rest of the day.
    When we left Moorhead we were still in very flat farmland that gave a vista of many miles, it seemed. After we passed the town of Hitterdal, a drastic striking change took place: the forest appeared, as did hills. The similarity to some of the wooded areas north of Millinocket was remarkable. The only thing visible for miles was the road and the trees beside it. We could no longer see the horizon; it didn’t cause any sort of claustrophobic feeling (what with the trees so close to the road), it was actually a great relief to be back in familiar terrain.
    Because of the late start, I rolled in at 6:30 just in time to go to the bar-restaurant on the premises at the resort. It was astonishingly devoid of vegetables.
    The most outstanding part of this day was that I have reached 2,000 miles with just about 2,300 to go—nearly halfway! The differences between the terrain and environment back in Montana (just outside Cut Bank) and here in Minnesota are phenomenal. That area was grassland with vast panoramas over miles and miles of seemingly nothing. This area is forested and spotted with lots of lakes.