August 7, 2023
Day 85 - ending near Grassy Butte, ND
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I got up at 7:40am and had breakfast at 7:55am, which included a canned coffee that I bought last night at Sweet Crude. Worked on yesterday's report until noon, but wasn't able to get the pictures uploaded with the cell phone signal I had here.
Packed up tent, then worked on the problem I was having with the MAP330 GPS power adapter. I was able to pop the case apart using that multi-tool I'd found at the side of the road as a hammer. The inside of the case and the circuit board were wet. I thought drying them out would be enough, but it wasn't. In the end I had to tape off the GPS terminals and run the GPS on AA batteries.
I finally took off at 2:30pm, but I didn't get far. The Grassy Butte Post Office Museum was next to the park. I stopped to take a picture of the building. A woman sitting on a bench outside nearby said, "You can go inside." Gail followed me in and explained the history of the building, and then told me about the items on display. The building was the post office for Grassy Butte between 1913 and 1962. The back room was where the postmistress lived. They've had lots of donations of old stuff to fill up the place. The one piece that is original to the place is the icebox. I was able to give Gail my $15 camping fee. With well wishes from Gail, I was on my way to my next stop in town, which was the Long X Saloon for supper.
It took a little figuring by the bartender, but she was able to come up with the password that hooked me up with 5G wifi. That allowed me to upload the report I'd prepare this morning. She turned on the grill and made me a double bacon cheeseburger with onion rings. I left with more good wishes for a safe trip. I was finally on my way out of town at 4:30pm, heading north.
I had just 19 miles to go to get to Juniper Campground inside Theodore Roosevelt National Park, North Unit. My ride was on US-85 until the park entrance. Just before the park entrance US-85 became very downhill. I was at the entrance at 7:43 CDT, since I crossed the time zone at the Little Missouri River. As best I could determine, my entrance fee into the park was zero, thanks to my America the Beautiful pass.
I had 5 miles of park road to ride to get to the campground. There were ups and downs and beautiful butte valley views. I was near the entrance to the campground just before sunset. I stood there with two others enjoying that view, which didn't last long.
I'd selected site #4 and had paid my $7 camping fee by 9:22pm CDT. The park has longhorn cattle roaming around in the park. Well, this evening they were roaming around in the campground. I got the tent set up hoping I wouldn't be stampeded by cattle and was in bed at 10:47pm.
Jeff
Spent: $13.25 plus $6 (supper) + $7 (campsite) = $26.25
Today's ride: 20 miles (32 km)
Total: 3,101 miles (4,991 km)
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