6/28 - Day 25

Leaving Wagner Park Campground.  Extremely well maintained with nicest bath house I've seen to date.  A gentleman all the way from Alaska agreed as we surveyed its cleanliness.

Texture.  Highlighter yellow jacket in early morning shadow.  Noticed + taken while journaling.

County Road headed into Fargo.  An almost continuous roadside swale which offered beautiful reflections of the saturated greens and blues.  This and the nicely finished road surface made for great morning riding.

Approach into North Dakota.  VAST country.

More smile propaganda :)  How can one not smile when seeing this?

I stopped at the Atomic Coffee (coffee, wine, beer bar, all-in-one) for a coffee and internet, and discovered they have Surly beer on tap.  This was meaningful to me mainly because I ride a Surly bike (Surly Long Haul Trucker), and had never seen the beer.  Given the need to cover plenty of mileage after this stop, I asked for just a sample.  The Atomic staff gladly obliged and served up the powerfully tasty Surly Furious.  If the joy of riding my bike could be poured into a glass, this is how good it would taste.  Wow.  Thanks Atomic Coffee! (oh yeah, the coffee was great too!)

Detail.  Expansion joint.  Veterans Memorial Bridge from Moorhead, MN into Fargo, ND.

I Fargo.

In spite of studying the NDDOT road closure map, just west of Fargo I encountered some high waters.  Thankfully for me none of the waters were entirely covering roads (note, entirely, see below), but my heart goes out to the many farmers and families suffering through these terrible floods.  Unreal.

Picture = 1000 words.  West Fargo, ND.

Same.

The high water levels, though not covering roads, did make for difficult (nearly impassable at times) road conditions, with saturated sand literally giving way under my tires.  This, coupled with an unexpected 'Dead End', changed the day's course, needless to say.  I made way quickly for some paved roads to gain speed/time, but North Dakota isn't exactly a highly paved state, so routes aren't quite as direct as in other states.  After finding a paved (and non-freeway) route, I began the detour, right into 17 miles of headwinds.  This meant having to face shorter mileage for the day.  The positive is that these challenges truly make one stronger.

Red, White, and Blue.  What an impressive nation we have.  I am extremely grateful to have this opportunity to soak in its beauty from the saddle each day. 

Detail.  Holding towers at Canola Oil Processing Plant (can you smell them?  this was the most intense olfactory experience to date --> and it wasn't particularly pleasant, haha).  The silver lining?  Getting to see a canola oil processing facility.  Apparently ND produces quite a lot of it.

Enderlin, ND.  Campsite for the night.  $Free.99!  The city allows travelers to come and camp on a lawn with free power + water.  I almost couldn't believe it either!?!  The townspeople were super kind and helpful, the benefit of the day's redirection.

Sunset from the camping area.  Enderlin, ND.