North Dakota August 25 – August 30, 2017 100 miles
We left Bellevue, Nebraska and hit the road for Jamestown, ND. First we hit a Sam’s to get gas and some supplies. There were tornado warnings north of us so we were nervously watching the skies. We traveled through some high winds and rain, lots of lightning. When we headed west from Watertown, SD we saw some odd looking clouds. We googled and found out they were called Mammatus clouds which are associated with severe thunderstorms.
Passed many lakes, wide open spaces and cattle farms in South Dakota. Arrived in Jamestown, North Dakota about 10:30PM, lots of RV’s already in residence. Quiet night with a bit of rain late.
Traveled to Mandan, North Dakota to stay at Fort Abraham Lincoln State Park. Awesome park, great camping on the Missouri River. We practically had the park to ourselves on Monday and Tuesday.
We were able to do 75 miles of biking from our campsite. We rode the trail in the park to the Lewis and Clark Legacy Trail, Millenium Trail and the Bismark Trails. Bismark is a beautiful, bike friendly town. We rode along the Missouri River through beautiful parks and east of the river past soccer fields, baseball diamonds and a huge indoor, outdoor archery center. There was a walking target range with 14 target stations. Did I mention the hills – yes, we climbed hills. Made us stronger!!
Fort Lincoln’s most notable resident was Lieutenant Colonel George Armstrong Custer. He and his wife Libbie lived here for 3 years. Custer and the 7th Cavalry rode out of here on May 17, 1876 to the Battle of Little Bighorn.
We left Fort Lincoln behind on Wednesday August 29, 2017 and headed for Medora, North Dakota. Hoped to stay in Roosevelt National Park but settled for private campsite in town. That is why we have internet and we are able to make this post. Yay!!
Plan to finish our 100 here in Medora if we can mange the hills. More to come later.
We did finish our North Dakota 100 miles near Medora on Thursday August 30, 2017. Jennifer at Dakota Cyclery was a huge help in getting us on a route to finish our 100. We had thought we may try and ride some of the Maah Daah Hey Trail but after talking with Jennifer we decided our bikes were not made for that technical of a trail.
- We road a small portion of the scenic trail in Roosevelt National Park and the rest of our ride was through some of the Badlands on Route 10 west of Medora. It was a lonesome highway – hills and wind. We both agreed we had never ridden for such a long distance in the sustained winds we experienced today. Badlands indeed!!
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Plains Hog Nose Snake – found by Flo. - Fort Abraham Lincoln Park Trail
- Lewis and Clark Legacy Trail
- Millenium Trail
- Bismark Trails
- Roosevelt National Park
- Route 10 west of Medora