We are under a weather delay at 8am local time in Devils Lake SD, so I am getting a head start on tonight’s writing. Hopefully this storm system is fast moving and we will be on the road by about 10am.
When I left off last night, I was writing and Monkey was in charge of the laundry room. We had 2 loads to get done with the use of the free laundry facility. We were getting hungry and asked Monkey how much longer on that final dryer? He replied, Let me go check. He came back down to the portico where we were gathered tailgate talking and cracking cold one’s, and demurringly stated we have about another 1/2 hour… I forgot to turn the dryer on. Of course you did. After about 1/2 an hour he went to retrieve the finally dried clothes, and then demurringly said to Stick, “Ahh, I forgot to throw your clothes in the wash and dry, they are still sitting on your bed”. Now to clarify, we are roommates, my bed right next to his. Hopefully it’s catching on out there why he is referred to as the Monkey.
When most everybody’s laundry was fluffed and folded, off to dinner we were. A local mexican joint was recommended to Ski Doo Matt when he was at the Verizon store, still trying to remedy his cell phone issues. Margaritas, chips and dinner were very good. Our attempts to get a margarita to go were not successful, so most of us turned in for the night after dinner.
One good thing coming out of this weather delay and our lingering in the breakfast room is the conversations with some locals. One kind lady suggested we visit Painted Canyon Overlook on the way into Medora, which is now on the schedule for the kids. Another kind gentleman was just a conversationalist and was asking about our ride and also giving ideas. His most popular comment with our group was “so your going to Medora…your ride will start getting pretty once you get to about… Medora”. His other funny one was “yea, you can watch your dog run away for about a week in the fields out here”.
Well I have a little time, I’ll explain the “Road Apples” title of our blog. When these guys started requesting/demanding that I continue to document our trip and write this stupid blog, it also meant that we should have an appropriately name for it, summer related and relevant to the adventure. A few ideas were thown out, Big Al’s suggestion of “Road Rash” was considered for a moment, but I just couldn’t overcome the negative juju that it brought with it. Then I got to thinking of this time my buddy SP and I were at the Harley Davidson 110th anniversary in Milwaukee and ran across a group of guys who ride together and called their group “The Road Apples” I, at that time, was not familiar with the slang. They explained that road apples are the horse droppings on the road that you avoid when riding a bike. I hated to steal their moniker, but I felt that it was a very appropriate title for our adventure… horseshit on the road.
TO BE CONTINUED… upon arrival to Medora, Stick.
Ok, back on the keyboard I am. We are now in Dickinson, ND, at the Microtel Inn. Yes, I am aware that I told you we were going to Medora today. Be patient, I will catch you up.
While we were waiting the rain to pass at the last joint, we started calling around for rooms in Medora. There weren’t any. The friendly gentleman that shared his euphemisms about the plains of N Dakota, suggested we try Dickinson, as it is only 30 miles short of Medora. And they did have 3 rooms for us. Problem solved.
We topped off our tanks at the neighboring fueling station, and were on the road by 10:10am CST. It was overcast and about 68 degrees. The roads were slightly moist from the passing showers. The big storm never materialized. We cruised about 40 miles, with about the last 20 miles being covered in road construction dirt/mud/slime, what have you. We finally are getting the bikes dirty like they should be. We stopped at a gas station for a quick rest/restroom break and then rode 90 miles thru miles and miles and miles and miles of farm and pasture land.
Those 90 miles were in the west bound direction and the wind was from our left at about 40mph, and steady. We rode at an about 15 degree angle for about 2 hours. And when you passed a fully loaded semi it was like a quick tsunami just blasted you. If my neck wasn’t sore from the fat hotel pillow, it will be now.
As the day progressed the weather improved, the wind died down, and the roads became more rolling hills and slight curves. A big departure from the endless miles and miles and miles of straight county roads we have been riding for 2 days. Plus, we crossed the Continental Divide today as well!
On our travels today we crossed over the Garrison Dam, an earth-fill embankment dam on the Missouri River that is over 2 miles in length, and is the 5th largest earthen dam in the world. Pretty cool. A short break was taken in the roadside over look, a few photos taken, and down the road we went.
Our lunch break was in Underwood, SD at the Rusted Rail Bar & Grill. We had a great lunch of chicken wraps, chicken salads (Hedgehog) and wings and some house made tater tots that were divine. I even won $22 playing the slot machine in the corner!
Back down the road after lunch, the winds were lighter, the roads fairer but still miles and miles and miles of farm and meadows. Saw a few elk along the roadside, staring at us in bewilderment. Those seagulls back in Wisconsin that plagued Ski Doo and Hedgehog must’ve called ahead our itinerary, because I saw at least 4 near misses of birds dive bombing Ski Doo as we traveled the back roads. No direct hits, however.
About 50 miles outside Underwood, it was time for rest break/rest room. But there was not a shade tree, gas station, house, civilization for miles and miles. So we found an abandoned asphalt former drive on the side of the road, and pulled in for our break. We were there for probably 15 minutes, and not a SINGLE vehicle passed us. We looked back at the straight road that went for as far as the eye can see that we had just traveled, then looked forward to the continuing straight road as far as the eye can see, to be traveled, and just laughed out loud.
Back on the road to Dickinson. About 24 miles from our destination, and there was a quaint road side bar called the Dog House Bar. Well we may have passed it briefly, but the temptation was to strong. A quick U-Turn in the middle of the barren road, and we were walking in the door. Grabbed a cold one, shot the shoot with a couple locals and the friendly bar maid, and it was time to get into the hotel where our tailgate cooler of cold and blue Rocky Mountains awaited us.
We are now in the Mountain time zone and 2 hours behind most of my 7 followers back east. I am now waiting for the washing machine to come available so I can do my laundry today, and some other guest beat me to the washer while I was unloading my dirty clothes, so I here I am, telling you my problems.
If this is the worst my problems are, this will be a great trip. It already is a great trip. We are having a ball, quite frankly.
We are headed to Rapid City S Dakota tomorrow, and will take in the Painted Canyon Overlook on our way South, as it lays in front of us still.
We shall see,
Bye for now,
Stick
