Day 42: (from) Rollin', Rollin', Rollin', (i've got a) RAW HIDE!

McClusky, ND to Washburn, ND

Stats!
Miles biked today: 47.9
Total miles biked on trip so far: 1641.2
Max speed: 24.0 mph
# of new species spotted: 1 (antelope!)

Today was a surprisingly good day. I say surprisingly because we woke up to dark skies and rain. Last night, we were a bit worried, because the sky kept changing colors -- it was a weird green, which made us worry about tornadoes, then gray, then purple. Very strange. Dean hopefully said, "purple skies at night, sailor's delight!" But it was not to be.

We had breakfast at the McClusky gas station (you'd be surprised how many meals we eat at gas stations). The lady at the register saw our clothes and said, "You do know it's raining, right?" Yep, we knew. I laughed at myself a little when I chose the breakfast burrito over the ham and egg sandwich because the burrito had more calories, more carbs and more protein. After practically a lifetime of dieting, it feels strange to purposefully pick the heavier option, but 500 calories gets you a lot farther than 350!

There was only one decent-sized town on our route today -- Mercer -- and it was only 13 miles into our ride. We are rarely hungry that early in (maybe only if we've been climbing mountains), but since it was the only stop, we rolled into town. We thought we could just buy a sandwich or sandwich supplies to eat later on. Alas, there was no grocery store and the only restaurant was closed (well, it was only 10 a.m. and most taverns aren't open that early). So we had to move on. We decided to take an off-route detour to Turtle Lake. It was just about halfway into the ride, and seemed to have a restaurant, so going 4 miles off course didn't seem like a huge deal.

I'm really glad we decided to take the detour! Turtle Lake was home to Rusty, the two-ton metal turtle, and the cafe we went to was great. It was a very cute town. At the restaurant, there were some Red Cross workers. It looked like Turtle Lake offered a Red Cross shelter for flood refugees.

All yesterday we had no signal, so we based our decision to travel to Washburn on the distance (looked to be about 50 miles on the map) and the size of the town (medium-sized, for North Dakota). Small towns often have nowhere to stay overnight, and there were no cities around, so Washburn seemed like our best bet.

While we were at the cafe in Turtle Lake, we had a signal on the phone, and checked for lodging options in Washburn. Nothing! Oh, no. Camping? Nothing. I did a google search and pulled up the Scotswood Motel, but when I checked the map, it looked to be in Beulah, more than 30 miles away. We called the RV park, just to see if they maybe allowed tent camping, and they didn't. But Dean asked about motels, and it turns out the Scotswood was, in fact, in Washburn, but that there was just another one in Beulah. Phew! We called and made the reservation. This is just an example of why it's annoying to have to go off the ACA route.

We pressed on in the sprinkling rain. It wasn't too bad. Wind was calmish and it wasn't too cold. A little ways after Turtle Lake, we saw our first antelope! They ran along with us for awhile, which was cool.

We've been seeing a lot of little planes in the sky in North Dakota. We guess they're crop dusters? We're not sure. I never have time to grab the camera, aim it, zoom, etc. to take a photo of it in the sky when we see it, so when we passed the airport today I took the opportunity to grab a few shots of the planes on the ground.

As we rolled into Washburn, we saw a sign for the "Lewis and Clark Interpretive Center." We went over there to try to figure out what an Interpretive Center was. Unfortunately, it cost $7.50 each to go in, and we don't have that kind of dough to throw around. Instead, we just took some pictures outside. But if anyone can figure out what an Interpretive Center is, please let us know!

We checked the map, and it seems like if we're willing to do three 60+ mile days, including one night camping in the badlands, we can make it to Montana in three days. Weather permitting, of course! I hope we can make it!