Through North Dakota

Yesterday, the children's librarian at Devil's Lake Public Library told me that she is a teacher during the school year.  When her school was built it was several miles from the lake.  Now it is 80 feet.  A new school is being built, thanks to a federal grant, but for the next year, there's a levee system going up to protect the building and the students.

"What's happening in Minot is a stroke," she said.  "Devil's Lake is a malignant cancer."

I did the first performance of the tour, which went well, then drove south, but once again, I had to go through the road construction that is shoring up Highway 20.  This slowed me down, but finally I was once again driving 65 miles an hour on state highways and 75 on the interstate.

I love North Dakota dearly, but the drive can be wearing.  Often the off ramps carry the dreaded signs: "No services."  That means no mom and pop restaurants, no gas, no nothing.  Drive on.  North Dakota has beautiful rest stops but the entrance to one of them was flooded.  All along the drive, I found flooded areas.  I suspect there are many frustrated wheat farmers out there.  Will the price of bread go up?

However, the avian population is extremely happy.  I spotted blue herons, white pelicans, redhead ducks, oh so many breeds.  This made me want to stop at some of the reservoirs to bird, but I am not in storytelling mode and had to keep moving.

I finally came to Bismarck and found the KOA campground.  It was pretty much what I expected.  Tenters and RV's were right next to each other.  There was a heated swimming pool which I had no time to use, showers which were welcome, and of course, with the flooding, I was lucky to have a spot to camp at all.
But the noise from the highway and the planes from the airport was deafening.  I pitched my tent for the first time this trip, took a sleep aid, and slept through everything.

I started to take photos of the campground, but thought better of it. Who needs a photo of a hundred RVs?

For the record:  I've driven 971 miles so far, and the good old station wagon is getting over 25 miles per gallon.

I stop daily at a McDonald's for a $1 salad and the use of their wireless system.

The librarians have been sending my fees to Seymour instead of giving me the checks directly as we had agreed.  I find this satisfactory since Gary drops them off at the bank there and I can then access the money with my debit card.

My old Cellcom phone, with no apps whatsoever, does what needs to be done.  I have service everywhere.

Today, performances at Bismarck and Mandan, then it's Theodore Roosevelt National Park for the weekend.