Traffic was light, 6 cars passed me my direction in the first two hours 8:30 - 10:30.
I arrived at the vanishing point, photo below, in an hour or two.
Yesterday and today I rode through the prairie pothole portion of North Dakota. On days like today, calm and not too hot, it is serenely beautiful. Corn and hayfields interspersed with isolated prairie pothole wetlands and copses of trees. The area is loaded with birds. When I stopped to “smell the roses” it was quite peaceful. I probably did not stop enough.
I remember there was a Supreme Court ruling about the filling of Prairie potholes, ie. wetlands, several years back “Should they be regulated as ‘waters of the state’?” There does seem to be two sides to the coin (not black and white) seeing them as they are.
I found the sign below, about 20 miles west of Enderlin, confusing/out of place. Not sure that it even fits as the divide between Mississippi and Missouri basins. If someone figures it out let me know.
I stopped at local minimart to cool off and have a bite to eat. I ended up talking to a couple. Her sister runs the Hannah Grimes non-profit and gift stores in Keene NH. I expect Harry & Nina (uncle & aunt) are familiar with that organization. Small world at times.
To quote my good friend George “God willing and the creek don’t rise” I will leave North Dakota and enter Minnesota tomorrow. More on that later.
By the numbers:
Dist - 76.2 miles
Elev gain - 1,179 ft
Elev loss - 1,984 ft
Moving time 5:54
How far, do you think, from your line of vision atop the Iron Stallion to the vanishing point on that great straight flat road.
ReplyDeleteThanks for the stories of nice people and good roads. You are my favorite thing on the internet
You are making fabulous time! Should I tell Ann and Gus to expect you earlier?
ReplyDeleteYou are the topic of conversation around G&O - maybe more than when you were working?! We are all pedaling for you.
Nancy
PS Laurerntian Continental Divide separates the Hudson Bay,Gulf of Mexico and Great Lakes watershed.
ReplyDeleteNancy
"Copses of trees".... are you traveling with a thesaurus???
ReplyDeleteNancy is probably right, but it could be the midpoint of North America at that latitude. Just a guess. The people in Pierre (pronounced Peer) - almost due south of you - think they are the center of the US. Go figure.
ReplyDeleteWarren, if your beard and creative headwear (flag motif notwithstanding) don't scare the locals away, then you truly are in the land of hospitality. Keep up the good work!
ReplyDeleteYes, I think Nancy is right... it was the Laurentian divide. If you go through Hibbing, MN (a little out of your way, to be sure) you could find a "triple divide", where a drop of water could flow either to the Arctic ocean, the Atlantic ocean, or the Gulf of Mexico.
ReplyDeleteOn a separate note, I remember from my cross-country driving days that it took longer to cross Montana that to drive from New York to Chicago. You're practically there!
I am so enjoying following you... -John
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ReplyDeleteI look forward to reading your posts. However, you seem to be having problems with your photo uploads. I keep seeing images of the same road every day.
ReplyDeleteSeems like a nice day. The scenery in ND can be beautiful and I think you saw quite a bit of it: the prairies, grazing land, farms (you saw some corn and will now in MN see a lot of it plus soybeans, in fact, all the to PA). The birds and wetlands must have been refreshing and beautiful. Enjoy MN, another beautiful and hospitable place. You will also enjoy Nancy's brother Bill and sister-in-law Elaine. There too you will have typical rural hospitality.
ReplyDeleteI’ll go over to Hannah Grimes and say hello from ND.
ReplyDelete