Just stick needles in my eyes

Today started out great, except that I stayed and talked too long. Of all things, Pam and I started talking about dog training (close to my heart).



I left Pam's house about 0815 hrs. I wished I could have spent more time with her. She is one of those "salt of the earth" people. Hope I see her again before the next 30 years goes by.

I stopped in Havre for gas before heading out.
$2.89 for premium! Not so many taxes here. Take a hint, Washington.

I went down the road knowing I was late by more than an hour. I set the cruse at 80 and let her fly. I stopped only for gas at Glasgow (2 minutes) and headed toward N Dakota. I hit a stretch of road that was under construction. It was about 10 miles long and started out as gravel, which turned to dirt. Many places were soft dirt... not good for my kind of bike.

I came to a place where they had set up a portable red light. A bunch of us had to wait there until a pilot car shuttled us to the other side in groups. The wait was about 30 minutes. When the pilot car arrived and turned around to take my group, I could see that the guy looked like he was in his early hundreds. He was wearing very thick glasses and one of those oxygen hoses that went around his head and into his nose. This guy was our GUIDE? He drove at about 10 miles an hour... for 8 miles. My hopes for hitting Fargo by dark were getting dimmer.

Finally we came to the end of the construction area. My bike had been in first gear for what seemed like forever. Hard pavement was a real welcomed deal, let me tell you.

I finally made it to N. Dakota.

When I hit Williston, I knew I was not making good time. Then speed limit was 70 (I went 80), every time I came to a town (every few miles) I had to slow to 35. This was making it hard to beat the clock. I filled up with gas, got some fast foof (the faster the better) and headed down south to I-94 (that was just about one hundred miles) and went east. I had to make up some time. I cranked it up to ..... well, let's say I just went fast.

I could see a lot of clouds in the distance, but they looked like the "good kind" of clouds... and they were... at first.

I went past the Teddy Roosevelt National Park on Hwy 85 but I kept on going... no time for pictures today.... not enough time. I did get one shot of the "Bad Lands" however.

I realize this shot does not do this area justice. It is really a very beautiful area, it has to be seen... Cameras have never captured it, I don't think.

I took the picture on the fly. I wanted to get to
Fargo by dark. I was running out of time. When I got to Dickenson, those "nice clouds" had blown away. They had been replced by the other kind. It started raining again. Now, for those of you on the west coast, rain is a sort of "drizzle kind of thing." For those of you from the MID-WEST, you know when it rains, it rains HARD. It rained HARD and did so for about 100 miles. Then it got dark on me. The standing water on the roadway was about two inches deep. I had to slow way down. I had 200 miles to go and I was only going about 40 MPH.

When the sun went down, the rain on the windshield and on my goggles, made it hard for me to see. Even thought I was on a divided freeway, when I would meet cars coming in the other direction, it would glare on my wet windshield making it impossible for me to see the white center line markers (sometimes under water). Should there be a critter in the road, I feared would be unable to see it in time. This condition lasted until the oncoming traffic was past my point of view and did not reflect on my windshield... several hundred feet or so. Too much, I felt... So... I pulled into Bismark and got a motel. I really didn't want to become a "case number," or a story in the news papers the next day. Even with all that rain, the only thing wet on me was my gloves. Since it was a bit warmer today, that wasn't bad.

The stop at the motel seemed like a defeat to me. I wanted to get home. It was only 200 miles to Fargo. But, I have plenty of time... Mom could wait until tomorrow.

By the way, speaking of mom, she does not have the internet, so updates this week may be slow in coming. Check back now and then. I will get stuff uploaded somehow.

I parked my bike at the "Comfort Inn" for the night. It was COVERED with dirt and crap. It looked like it had been stolen. They let me park in up on the sidewalk under their roof.

(I took this shot the next morning)

I made my way to the room and dumped my gear. Then I went to the lounge and got something to eat. Then I hit the showers and collapsed.

Total miles on my fiasco: 560 miles today. 1527 total. I was only about 1/5 of the way through my trip. I was glad my wife wasn't with me. I was afraid she would shoot me, or hang herself, or maybe both. I realize now why guys takes these trips in (dry) AUGUST.