Belfield, ND to Wibaux, Montana

Good morning to the great grass plains of North Dakota

If I were a bovine this is where I would want to live. Brad Hunt praises how great the beef is in Nebraska; I don't think you could touch the grass fed cattle of North Dakota! They must be truly contented until their demise. I am uncertain how the cattle feel about winter though. Such winters do bring forth an abundance in the spring and early summer as can be seen by this photo.

 

Today was as good as yesterday was bad. The wind had finally abated and today was a marvelous journey through beautiful countryside which I pretty much had all to myself. Taking Old Highway 10 from Belfield to Interstate 94 led to Theodore Roosevelt National Park and the Painted Canyon Visitor Center where I had my first encounter with a bull buffalo.  While seemingly ignoring motor vehicles, it on the other hand, was quite interested in my bicycle and its rider. I found this to be pretty intimidating. In any event,the whole thing turned out well except for the picture I took of him which was quite blurry. 

From there it was on to Medora on Interstate 94 where it is legal to ride bicycles. The highway sports a very wide shoulder so it was not intimidating at all.  Medora was a beautiful little town in a gorgeous setting. 

John Moss is  80 years young and has taken five trips across United States since the 70s and has even gone up to Alaska on a bicycle. He's a man after my own heart and yet he says he's "not a bicyclist." Still trying to figure out when it is we actually become bicyclists...how many miles does it take? He is traveling alone and self-supporting. Go get 'em John!

It was here that I met John Moss, 80 years young, riding across the country. Attached is the map of his many journeys just since the 1990s. He has been riding across the country since the 1970s. From here I rejoined Old Highway 10 which was a beautiful, pristine, example of Sweetgrass Prairies. I saw little or no vehicles but I did encounter some additional bicyclists going from west to east. Next was Sentinel Butte, ND, a very small village consisting of 56 souls, which led to Beach, ND.  I hung my hammock and took an hour’s rest before moving on to cross the border into Montana.  

 I will be spending the night camping in Wibaux, Montana. Named after Pierre Wibaux, a contemporary of Teddy Roosevelt and a French entrepreneur from a wealthy family, he ventured into the cattle industry in a big way and ran herds of up to 65,000 head.  The winter of 1887, made famous by Charlie Russell's painting of the lone starving cow, basically bankrupted him and many others in the cattle industry. Teddy Roosevelt was also dabbling in the cattle industry and lost a considerable sum of money with the loss of his cattle in the same winter.

All in all, it was a great day with beautiful scenery, good weather, and great bicycling. Many of the roads I had entirely to myself and I bicycled close to 60 miles today.

A special thanks to my friends at ADM who took time out of their busy schedules to wish my wife a happy birthday today. Not only did I miss her birthday but I missed our anniversary as well. The special thanks to my sweet wife who has been putting up with my antics for the last 41 years.