Sometimes the wind is enough
to make a grown man cry! Screaming out
of the Northwest, straight into my face, with such force it just about curled
my lips back over themselves! Goodness gracious how I hate the wind...except when it is at my
back. I struggled along at 4 and 5 miles an hour and even had to walk up
moderate grades because between the hills and the wind I just didn't have the
"juice" to get it done. I will be reciting every prayer that I
learned in catechism praying that the wind moderates by tomorrow.
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| Dickinson State University |
Dickinson, North Dakota is the home of Dickinson State University and the proposed site for
the Theodore Roosevelt Presidential Library. For diehard Teddy fans, it is
common knowledge that some of Pres. Roosevelt's happiest days were spent in the
wilds of the West and especially in this part of the country.
There
was little of note on the ride between Dickinson and Belfield... mostly tall grasses and
pigmy size corn...ankle high by the Fourth of July would very likely
be the motto here. What little corn I did see probably splendidly represented
what the Indians likely starved on in days past. The grass by contrast was
rich, full, and a delight to the cattle that were feeding upon it. The little town of Belfield, my home for the night,
sports close to 800 residents with just about that many big rigs burning up the
roads. Unemployment is virtually nonexistent and there are signs everywhere
seeking applicants for just about every position imaginable. Prices on the
other hand are astronomical. I observed an advertisement for a 14 piece bucket
of chicken for $38! Belfield is touted
as "The Gateway to the West" as well as "Where friends meet on
the Custer Trail." Established in
1875 as Fort Houston, the name was later changed
with the arrival of the Northern Pacific Railroad to Bellfield and folklore has
it that the town was named after an engineer's daughter, Belle Field.
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| Belfield, ND |
Welcome back to the road Steve! Remember, the tortoise wins the race.
ReplyDeleteGreetings Jay. Thank you for lending the moral support. Certainly needed it yesterday with that terrible winds. Hopefully the winds might be a bit better today.
ReplyDeleteGreetings Steve,
ReplyDeleteGlad to see you back on the road... Spoke with Andrea yesterday.. tried to leave you a message early last week but found out this week that my dyslexia had reversed two numbers after calling the guy Monday.. of course he had no idea what the message meant... At any rate I plan to head out of Chicago Sunday on the Empire Builder heading to Havre Montana. Will arrive around 3:00 p.m. Monday if the train is on time. Plan to contact a 'Warm Shower' resident to see if I can pitch my tent for the night and then will head east down Route 2 on Tuesday looking to meet up with you somewhere along your route. Sorry to hear about the 'wind' situation... there is truly nothing more demoralizing than a stiff persistent headwind...Hope that turns around and pushes you on down the road. Looking forward to feeling the road under my wheels but certainly NOT looking forward to feeling the wind in my face...Thanks again for allowing me the privilege of riding with you... have safe travels... will be in touch..
Monte