9/9/2015
We woke up early for a breakfast of yogurt, burritos, and pastries. The La Quinta Inn provided me with something salty, and something sweet for breakfast. It was plenty of fuel for my easy day. Despite rising early, Crystal and I somehow managed to use up all the time in the morning. Each time I looked at the clock another hour had passed. At noon time, we thanked Darren for the wonderful room and we headed out. With plenty of sunlight left in the day the running was delayed even more. We stopped into a community center and waited for the staff to return. We figured we would see if they had spare food in their pantry.
Around 1:30 Crystal contacted Kevin at Upin Thai. We couldn’t believe we found a Thai restaurant in the area. It was just our luck that Kevin also agreed to donate our lunch. I was excited to drink up some green curry. It seemed like Texas was the last time we had eaten Thai food. The restaurant had a cozy feel and everyone that ate there was as friendly as the owner. Crystal warned me as I ordered, “Every time you have eaten spicy food before running, it has ended in an upset stomach.” Did I listen? Not exactly. The spicy dish provided me with a rich array of veggies, sauce, and a tingling tongue. I couldn’t help myself.
My legs were set in motion around 2:30. The presence of wind would usher me out of North Dakota the same way it welcomed me into the state. The town of Belfield was a straight twenty-one miles away. Crystal stayed in Dickinson to purchase a few necessities while I pushed forward. The spices from lunch hit my tummy with a vengeance. “Why didn’t I listen to Crystal?” It was too late to take back the level of spice in my food. I just had to conquer it with my mind. At least new shoes protected my feet. The scenery was like most of my other days. There were few people and lots of open grassy space.
A few steps before the end of my run, a sharp pain hit my toes. I felt my face grimace for a moment. The odd sensation was something like a cramp mixed with a hit. The irritation lingered a few minutes. I had stopped to shoot a few photos of the Cowboy Inn’s exterior and relaxed my feet. It was a strange time for the nuisance to creep up but I was glad it happened after the day had ended.
Crystal and I heated the leftover curry in our room. Like a moth to a flame burned by the fire, I could not help myself. Western themed furnishings adorned the room. The wood walls gave the room a warm earthy feel. It certainly did a great job of keeping the wind and cold outside.
The chill from the previous day had refused to budge so the morning started with a chill in the air. It looked as if I would make short work of the day. I was running into the Theodor Roosevelt National Park. It stirred excitement because of all that Roosevelt did in the name of conservation. Over 230,000,000 million acres of public land were protected by him. The area I was running toward had shaped his philosophy on conservationism.
After the first six miles the road turned to gravel. The road I ran had roaming cattle. I wasn’t exactly running with the bulls but I did cause a tiny stampede. The army of cows ran ahead of me until they reached a fence and cattle guard. There they stood until they saw me approach. With each step towards them, the cows grew increasingly nervous. They went left, right, then back to the left. Eventually they darted off in a single file line along a barbed wire fence. Strange behavior.
I had left Crystal a few miles back. She had been feeding apples to a trio of muscular horses and I could see they had befriended her. I reached a no trespassing sign and sent her a message to take the freeway to our destination. The road seemed non-threatening and the wide path was enough for large heavy machinery to pass on both sides but, I didn’t want her to find trouble.
The view grew more majestic with each step. I found myself in the middle of painted canyons. The eroded hillsides showed the layers of different time periods stacked on top of each other. The different colors were markers of the climate and habitat of time passed. I was enjoying my solitary time with nature. The tranquility didn’t last for very long. It was a coincidence that just days earlier I had mentioned to Crystal that we hadn’t experienced a major obstacle for quite some time. I was worried my documentation had become repetitive. The universe decided to throw a little loop my way.
I had encountered disappearing roads early in the expedition. The various brushes with danger had taught me the importance of safety in the wild. The day began to go awry when I missed a turn. Sully Creek road had been a safe, scenic, and comfortable route. I should have known it could take me to the Badlands Motel in Medora. Google maps thought it would be funnier to send me on a trail that was off the beaten path. After losing a couple miles my beaten path became no path at all. The grass grew to about the middle of my calf and even though it wasn’t very tall, the tips poked my legs through my socks. I saw tiny cacti sprouting in odd places. The vegetation differed depending on the direction the hillside faced. I reached one plateau where hundreds of prairie dogs ran free. I couldn’t tell if they were producing a chirping sound that I had heard or if the sound was coming from some sort of bird.
Slowly I made my way towards the town but I found that I had to go through several switchbacks. Worry inched its way into my psyche. I began to have flashbacks of the desert. The saving grace was that I wasn’t desperate for water, I knew my location in relation to the town and freeway, and my cell phone was functional (although the battery was only fifty percent).
I had put one foot in front of the other and suddenly found myself on the top of a very large hill. Crystal had sent me several nervous text messages but I asked her to remain in place and to cease the messages for a while. I needed to preserve the battery as a precautionary measure and there was no way for her to reach me by vehicle. My only option was to push forward.
I made my way down one of the hills and had to jump into a deep ravine that had been created by a tiny stream. As I climbed out of the steep crevice the dirt beneath my foot gave way and I slid down the side. I was fortunate to have soft dirt under me (or was I unfortunate?). A new plan took shape. I would run up the hill and jump to the top. If I failed I would be covered in mud. I planned each quick step and I treaded lightly. It took four steps up the dirt wall for my hand to access the grass above. I pulled myself up, rolled onto my back, and picked myself up. I could taste the dust that I had kicked up. With the town only a few miles away I felt comfortable expending my energy again. I took myself along a barbed wire fence until an opening manifested. It was back to running once I reached the train tracks that led into town. Another dirt road appeared alongside the tracks and it led me right to the Badlands Motel.
Like Gilligan, my three hour tour had been stretched out. When I reached Crystal I could tell she had been worried. The hardships we had endured on this trip fostered a deep empathy for each other. This was just another experience for our books.
I entered our room and discovered large comfortable mattresses, a Teddy Roosevelt teddy bear, and a high plains motif. I thought that Roosevelt must have had a deep love of adventure and nature and I could see how the area got into his blood. I was happy to relax and reflect on the beauty and adventure I had just experienced.
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