June 26 - July 9, 2008 - North Dakota to Minnesota

 

When we started after a rest day on Thursday, 26th June, we were greeted with a very stiff SE wind just outside of Williston. We also encountered the steepest hills so far, at least for the first 14 miles. We needed to push the bikes to make it up these hills. To make things worse, we realized after the first 20 miles, that a huge storm front with black clouds had built up behind us. We raced as fast as we could to reach the next campground, but we could not find any sign for it. Already a little desperate, we were saved by a young farmer, Clint Hartsoch, who invited us to his house 2 miles away along a dirt road. When we reached the front porch, the rain began.                          Williston, ND North Dakota spaces Long climb against the wind Storm On the Hartsoch's front porch The Hartsoch family We stayed with the family of five until next morning. In the evening the parents of Clint and those of Tina, his wife, showed up to see the crazy Germans. We had a wonderful, relaxed time with them, while we learned a lot about farming and taught them a lot about bicycling and Germany. Thank you Clint and Tina. We left them next morning with a strong NW-wind, which pushed us along the next 40 miles to New Town, where we had been before in 2005. This strong wind also accompanied us on Saturday. We made some 55 miles along a very isolated stretch of Hwy 23 until the intersection with US-Hwy 83, from where we took a lift 16 miles into the town of Minot.             Where to go? Oil production Man-made Lake Sakakawea On Sunday we had one of our last real climbs out of the town of Minot. We then followed US-Hwy 2, a four lane divided highway with a wide shoulder. It was a hot day, so we stopped by at every possible spot, Granville and Towner, during this 70 miles stretch. The last 9 miles of that was road construction, which reduced our shoulder-width to 3 feet. We were really done when we reached the town of Rugby, which claims to be the  geographical center of North America.                                  Granville bank Stop in the shade in Granville Downtown Rugby, ND Foxtail grasses After a rest day in Rugby, we headed to the town of Devils Lake, some 60 miles  away. We stayed on US-Hwy 2, but it was very hot. The only stops were in Leeds (a nice town of 300) and Churches Ferry (a run-down gas station).  7/2 - After a thunderstorm in the night, it cooled off considerably and we had a strong northerly wind. Not bad for us, heading SE. Again 60 miles along Hwy 20, Hwy 15, and Hwy 1. We stopped at the bar in Warwick, which can - without alterations - be a set in a movie. We ended up in Binford City Park, where there were nice cabins. That evening was wonderful: Sunshine, not too many mosquitoes, silence and a clean bed.                                               Devils Lake Bar in Warwick, ND (2 photos) Our cabin in Binford City Park