Wednesday July 14th 2010 – Fergus Falls to Circle Montana

Miles travelled = 484
Miles travelled since leaving home = 9408

Who would have thought that riding across North Dakota would have produced such a varied and interesting day. It started with me wakening up and thinking there was a flashing light outside my window. It was a huge electric storm. No problem, it was early so back to bed. When I did get up it was a full blown thunder storm, high wind and lashing rain. So not way I was riding at that time, so I decided to take the motel breakfast for a change, and read their free USA Today. Whilst eating I watched the local TV news, and they were giving Tornado warnings. Hmm, this could be a long day. The storm blew through really fast, and checking the radar, it was going west to east. Well I was heading west anyway. By 7Am it had stopped raining and was clearing to the west. So I waited for the roads to dry a bit and left about 8AM. As I was checking out a salesman got talking and suggested I keep an eye out for Medora, before the Montana state line. It turned out to be a good tip.

So I headed out, not really west yet, more NW, and the sky was less cloudy as I neared Fargo, North Dakota. After about 10 miles the road was dry so I made good time.

Rush hour in Fargo seems pretty good :), so I just kept going west on I94. I had intermittent rain until Bismarck, when the blue sky that had been teasing me became a reality, and the rest of the day was good riding, in the high 60s, a good road surface, and very little traffic. The only downer was the constant battering from a headwind. The problem is that the bike has a large sail area, so I really have to watch the gas consumption. I nearly ran out once riding from Kamloops to Sumas, crossing the mountains with a strong headwind caused my normal range to disappear. By the time I got to Hope, the bike was running on fumes. I saw one State Trooper, just outside Fargo, waving as he passed me. Actually I have seen hardly any in the States since leaving on Monday, except for Wisconsin where I must have seen at least a dozen in the first 5 miles, all with victims. A lot of riders were heading east to-day, many with 2 up and quite a few towing trailers. All kinds of bikes, not just Harleys. With a following wind they were sailing along.

From Fargo to Bismarck the scenery was more rural than prairie, with many large ponds scattered around. However, after Bismarck it became more like the prairies, miles of open viewing, and few trees. And very little traffic.

Rush hour on I94

No idea what this is

As I neared Medora, I crested a rise, and bam, the scenery changed completely. The North Dakota Badlands. It was quite a change.

All this was part of the Theodore Roosevelt National Park, the North Dakota Badlands. So I headed up to the Painted Canyon viewpoint.

Once I reached the exit for Medora, I headed into town. It is done up like an old western town, and the park entrance is there. So I headed in. I actually qualified for a Lifetime Pass for a Senior Citizen for all National Parks and Federal Recreation Lands, for just $10. So I paid my money, and now have a plastic card to prove it.
The park has many features, including camp grounds, tours and horse tours. I rode the loop, or part of it.
The following are a selection of photos from within the park, some taken whilst I was moving. I had the camera around my neck.

A lonely buffalo. Taken from a great distance and cropped like crazy.

Into Montana, and at Glendive, I said farewell to I94, and headed up SR200, a red road. I have travelled on some roads with little traffic before, but this was wild. I must have seen all of about 20 vehicles in 50 miles, and 3 of those were bikes. No gas stations, just prairie like scenery with some ranches.

So I arrived at Circle. Smaller even than Hanna I bet. I filled up with gas just in case I had to move on, and of the 2 gas stations only one had premium. One motel, the Travelers Inn, and I managed to get a room. The local diner next door seemed to have half the town in for an evening meal. Very friendly.

So tomorrow it is heading west down SR200 for a few hundred miles. It should be an interesting ride, and lonely on the road I bet.