Day 88 - ending at Williston, ND - The Great Plains Trail - Sort Of

August 10, 2023

Day 88 - ending at Williston, ND

Day 88 - Buford, ND to Williston, ND

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The east wind was still blowing hard when it started raining at 3:00am. I rolled over and went back to sleep. Woke up at 6:06pm to a calm morning with no rain at the moment. Ate breakfast from my lunch bag at 6:56pm. Rain was back at 7:35am. I was in the tent with the intention of catching up on reports. The sound of the rain on the tent was just right for putting me to sleep, so instead of reports I went back to bed and slept until 9:50am!

It looked like the rain was done for the day, so I packed up. One of my camping neighbors was gone already. The other left shorty after I got up. There were waves and good wishes exchanged as he left. I was pleased the tent had stayed dry inside, except for a few places where heavy gear had been sitting. On my way at 11:46am. By then the sun was out.

I rode back to the Missouri-Yellowstone Confluence Interpretive Center to report that I had camped overnight at their campground. Apparently if you don't report, it's not a big deal. For $5 I could tour their museum displays, and also the Fort Buford buildings. I figured I'd spend about an hour looking around, which ruled out touring the fort and watching a 22-minute video. One of their display rooms covered the history of the confluence area, while the other was focused on the life of Sitting Bull. After checking that out I walked outside down to where I hoped I could see where the two rivers meet. I didn't know exactly where to look and there were trees blocking the views. I got back to the bike at 1:07pm.

Noon mileage: 0.7 mile.

Today was going to be another short bicycling day - just make it to Williston, North Dakota for staying either at a campground or a motel. Just before I got to nearby highway ND-1804, I stopped to eat a Clif Bar, then called the campground in Williston. They're not set up to accept tent camping, so it's going to be a motel night.

The wind was from the west today and increased the further east I went. My present focus was on getting to Trenton, where I could get lunch at a gas station there. That was about 10 miles away, and I got there under an hour. Trenton Rose Express was the place. They have hot food, so I picked up a chicken sandwich and bought a few other items to go along with that. When I was paying I mentioned that they apparently didn't have a spot to sit inside to eat. The cashier then pulled a stool out from behind his work area and set it out where I could sit and eat. The cashier worker is from Tunisia. It was interesting hearing the places he's been since he'd arrived in the US. He says he's going to go back to Virginia because North Dakota is just too cold. Just before I left I decided I wanted a soda with ice, so bought a root beer.

Shortly after leaving Trenton at 3:08pm, I came to a hill, which I'm happy to report I was able to ride up without coughing. I think I'm finally over this cold. I do feel well.

Highway ND-1804 curves more and more to the north as it goes. Just before I reached highway US-2, I was going straight north, fighting the west side wind to stay on the road. My right turn onto US-2 had me going east again and I was flying. My GPS routing had me getting on secondary roads to get through Williston, but the shoulder of the highway was adequate, so I just stayed on it. I'd decided that I would stay at the Econo Lodge, due to the price Google Maps was indicating. I arrived at the motel at 5:28pm. I don't think I'm going to trust Google Maps anymore for motel prices, because the actual cost was significantly higher. But they had everything I needed: a ground floor room, fast wifi, free laundry machines, free breakfast, and is close to Walmart - I have more prescriptions that need filling. I signed up for 2 days. After I got settled in room 104, I went back and bought a root beer. I'm especially keen about getting caught up on journal postings, so got right to work on getting posted online one that was several days old. Then I took a shower. It feels wonderful being clean again.

After my shower I gathered up my dirty clothes, but found the laundry machines in use. Rather than stay up too late tonight I think I'll just do laundry in the morning. It's 11:50pm now. I better hurry up and get to bed before it is morning.

Jeff

Spent: $5 (tour fee) + $16.34 plus $1 (lunch items) + $2.11 (root beer) + $102.12 plus $5 (motel room) = $131.57