Stats: mileage 44; total climb 1307; total mileage 1381
After a great night's sleep, we were ready to roll. Some terrible storms had rolled through the area overnight and now the wind was coming from the north, no longer in our face and the temperatures had moderated. About 10 miles from town, road construction began. This turned out to be very lucky for us because there was a wide, brand new shoulder for us to enjoy. At 15 miles we arrived in Bainville for breakfast. We met a pair of bicyclists who were also going East but at a much faster clip.
The perfect shoulder continued until we reached the state line. At last, we have reached our 5th state and 3rd time zone.
The theme of today's ride would have to be the "Three C-s" which would be cattle, construction, and crude. There was construction for most of our ride in Montana and a good deal of North Dakota.
As we reached North Dakota the rolling hills replaced the flatness and we welcomed the change. Cattle grazed in the fields while oil was being pumped.
The oil industry is experiencing quite a boom in North Dakota. We were never out of sight of a pump and all the motels in Williston and the surrounding areas are full. However, tonight were are in a standard motel with all the amenities and no bearskin on the wall!
And the Missouri River is just beautiful along this stretch of Rte 2. Enjoy.
Beautiful picture of the river!! Enjoy the real hotel and the upcoming train ride. Jane, put ur feet up and relax.
ReplyDeleteSorry we missed you guys. We ended up staying at the big sky motel which was at the east end of WP. Dinner would've been great, will have to meet up with you further down the road. We'll be in Williston on Thursday, been falling a bit behind-sarah's knees have still been hurting and I had some stomach virus!! Hope all is well. God Bless! Mark & Sarah
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