Sunday in North Dakota

I woke to rain yesterday morning.  Instead of sitting in a tent, I drove west to Beach, North Dakota, the western most ND city on H. 94.  I liked what I found.  It was a sensible little small town with no pretensions other than being no. 1 -- the no. 1 exit off the highway.

There was a visitors center with wireless and plug ins and plenty of maps and brochures that I needed to consider for my next day trip. I ate lunch in town and talked to folks about farming, always interesting.  I found out that the winter wheat, which looks so nice and green, is rotting at the roots.  No hope for the farmers there. 

On my way back to the campground, I considered the exit sign that promised food and beds.  Certainly not at the campground, so I took the dirt road and found Buffalo Gap, which is a motel for riders, with corrals for the horses, a restaurant, a bar, and quite a few customers at the bar.

Next I decided it was time to go drive the loop through Theodore Roosevelt National Park.  Seemed like a good idea until I found how many miles it was, that there would be few places to turn around, and that the gas tank was riding on empty.  

I tried to hurry things along, but the others doing the loop kept stopping to look at bison, prairie dogs, and other critters and there was no way to get around them.  I could see myself running out of gas, which took some of the pleasure from the scenery. 

Still, I had to take a photo of the Badlands, didn't I?

And what about a herd of wild horses?

I made it to Medora, filled up with gas.  As I drove into the campground I looked over my shoulder at ominous clouds.  A fellow in a pickup with a camper back drove in behind me and yelled, "It's been following me from Billings!"

In the next 12 minutes (I timed myself), I packed up all my gear, all while cooking ravioli on the campstove.  I finished up the meal just as the rains came. 

It was another night sleeping in the car but before I turned in I did my bookkeeping for the first week of my tour. After deducting costs from what I've earned, this trip has cost me just over a dollar. Not bad,considering I first began to tell stories on Thursday.