8/29/2015
Obstacles have kept things interesting. At times on this trip nature provided the conflict. At other times we courted the hardship. The thirty-five mile journey to Jamestown was a combination of the two. Crystal and I left the room at the last possible moment. It seemed the temperature was rising but at least a light wind blew against me.
The route wove through the streets of the little college town and took me to a hill that winded into country road. The hill did little to slow the pace for the day. It must have been the sense of urgency. Dust swirled each time my feet hit the ground. I saw hidden treasures and even stumbled up a yard with a hundred or so antique cars. They begged to be discovered and restored to their former glory.
After twenty miles my stomach began to rebel. It was upset at the items I had put in during our one year celebration. I had been crippled to the point of walking until I met Crystal on the side of a cornfield. There she urged me to put something soft into my stomach. The sweet taste of a peanut butter sandwich made me feel a little better. Crystal joined me on my trail and kept me company. While we wandered on the road baby bullfrogs hopped in every direction. After a while I began to regain my form. The country roads led to another small college town.
Jamestown was a place where everyone had a pleasant and friendly smile. The Applebee’s was once again happy to donate a meal and we had a great time getting to know the staff. Many times people from smaller towns want to leave and go to the big city but the citizens of Jamestown sang a different tune. The grilled vegetables tasted super buttery and had a hint of garlic to add some zing. A baked potato helped fill my stomach and left me relaxed and sleepy.
A wonderful gift basket greeted me and Crystal when we arrived at the Comfort Inn. It was filled with trail mix, fruits, and chocolate bars. The enormous bed had soft and firm pillows. Of course the most important item for me was the large bathtub. The water ran hot and I was able to wash off another tough day.
I had the chance to thank Heather, the manager, for the wonderful accommodations. She had gone out of her way to make sure we had a great rest. She even provided a number of a local school that was just resuming from break. She said they loved having special visitors. I put the number away with the other places we had planned to revisit.
That day was filled with more sunflower fields. There were millions of flowers covering miles and miles of field. As a train sped past one of the fields the plants looked as if they were downtrodden refugees. The sound of the screeching steel added an eastern European feel to the hunched over plants. They marched up and down the hills beside me. When I was just a couple miles away from my destination for the day, I found my plan thwarted. I should have known when I spotted the sign that read private property. I figured it pertained to the field and not the road. I was gravely mistaken. I had to find my way back around. Another thirty plus miles on my legs. On this night there would be no hotel. We did however take advantage of a public shower run by the city of Medina. The stall was a bit primitive but the water was hot. Crystal and I both took a turn in the shower.
Three streets made up the town. We probably passed five small churches and three tiny motels. We decided to park our beast next to one of the churches. The evening was silent and the night was dark. It was the recipe for a nice slumber.
The sound of a car parking and doors closing caused me to rise from my bed. It just happened that one of the church’s members wanted us to know they gave away fresh veggies from local gardens. The ladies were happy to load our trailer with goodies and they were excited about what we were doing.
I had believed that we had left the lakes back in Minnesota but it turned out there were plenty of lakes in North Dakota as well. Several bodies of water appeared on the way to Dawson. There wasn’t much variation on the road. I enjoyed the easy run. I just didn’t enjoy having to bath with a water bottle. It seemed we had passed so many tiny towns over the pair of days that had no grocery stores. Somehow they all had a bar. Dawson was the same. We sat outside and enjoyed the sunset from a picnic table. Civilization was a world away. I was okay with that.
Leave a reply