The bicycling life (with my dog): Homesick

I suppose it's normal to feel a bit bereft, having left so many people and "secure" things behind. It just hit me today, 16 days into the journey. As we sat having lunch at Boots Bar and Grill in Medora, ND, on the edge of the Theodore Roosevelt National Park, I said, "I'm having a little trouble today." If Tayler hadn't asked what it was about, I probably wouldn't have gotten teary, but there you are. The rootlessness has come home to roost, at least for today. These things are constantly changing, of course, so I doubt that tomorrow will feel the same.

We left Dickinson by car this morning because Tayler had driven to Theodore Roosevelt yesterday and remembered some road construction that we thought might be a problem for me, as part of my prescribed route was to take me on Interstate 94. That may sound horrible to some of you, and it's certainly not the most desirable place to ride -- on the shoulder of the Interstate -- but it is direct, and the shoulders are large. Nevertheless, in a construction area where traffic is down to one lane, it seemed ill-advised. As we drove the stretch from Dickinson to Medora, we saw many fracking sites. I don't know what the rest of the bicycle route would have shown, but I know it wouldn't have been much fun if I was biking past all of that ugliness.

First stop was at the Visitor Center just off 94 before Medora.

This was the first of many places that we saw this:

... a humongous buffalo turd. The buffalo and wild horses roam freely throughout the park.

It's a beautiful day in Medora. Not many things are open yet, pre-season, but the ones that are are very friendly. Jennifer at Dakota Cyclery sold me a Presta adapter (in case I need to use a gas station air pump) and a new mirror (mine is cracked and getting loose); and she went above and beyond finding something to help my cart attachment fit better on my rear wheel.

From the cyclery, we went to Boots Bar & Grill for lunch. (It was that or the gas station.) I had a buffalo burger and sweet potato fries. It was a little pricey, but delicious. When we left the restaurant, we saw this fellow in the parking lot.

It was later identified by a naturalist at the park as a hog-nosed snake, a constrictor and not dangerous to us.

Next, we walked to the Post Office, so Tayler could mail a postcard; then across the street to the only gift shop open so far that we had seen. The clerk who was working there, Charlotte, was from Tennessee, traveling with her two cats in a mobile home, and stopping off for the summer to work in Medora so she didn't run out of money. She gave me a couple of tips: a book to read, and a website from which to find work if I want to keep up the nomadic life after my current journey.

We had been planning to take in more of the Theodore Roosevelt National Park, so we drove to their entrance where I purchased a year-long national parks pass ($80, and worth every penny of it!). I figured we'll use it as we go through Montana, Idaho, Oregon, and Washington, and I'll probably continue to use it as I go south through California, and then on the way back to Michigan -- if that's what I end up doing.

I had thought I would ride around the park, but I'm glad I didn't. It would have taken a lot of concentration going up and down the steep hills, and I don't think I would have been able to give enough attention to the amazing vistas around every bend. Yes, folks, this is the Badlands, but it's not as barren as what I remember from South Dakota when Abby and I passed through there a few years ago. There's a lot of sage everywhere, prairie dogs, bison, and wild horses. Tayler, Remy, and I hiked the Wind Canyon and Buck Creek trails and otherwise just drove peacefully through the area.