64.84 Miles / 1353.85 Total Miles
1965 Ft. Elevation Gain / 58,936 Ft. Total Elevation Gain
We were up at the crack of dawn to eat breakfast in the hotel cafe, then hit the road. We said goodbye to the cattle and changing landscape of eastern Montana, as we headed for the border of North Dakota. The weather was cooler today, the winds were milder, and there was no rush to get to our destination, so we had time to mosey through all the little towns we passed through.
Our first stop in North Dakota was Wibaux, where a couple of Ed’s friends, who rode the Northern Tier, 2-3 years ago, posed on a bike sculpture. Time for a reprise of that pose. Ted, the caretaker of the city park, gave us the lowdown on where to find the Wibaux’s bike sculpture installations, and we laughed our heads off mounting the bikes for photos. After downing a beverage from the local grocery store, we moved on to Beach.
The terrain in South Dakota seemed prettier–no sage brush, but still lots of crops and livestock. Even though there were no rain clouds in the sky, it drizzled on us for about an hour, as we moved down our route.
We arrived Medora, set up our tents in the Medora Campground, showered, then headed next door to the Theodore Roosevelt Nation Park, to get an overview of the park. Then we rode another couple of blocks into town for dinner. Sitting outside on a deck, so we could enjoy the views, we ordered our meal But pretty quickly, we had to move under a large overhang, because a torrential downpour kicked in with thunder and lightening. Being on our bikes, we had no choice but to wait it out. While taking cover, we chatted with a couple who run a huge beekeeping operation in North Dakota during the summer, then transport the bees via 30 semis to California for the winter. They know our upcoming host at the Honeyhub Hostel in Gackle, who has a similar beekeeping enterprise.
Living Our Bucket List 