We drove to Fargo today from Fergus Falls. The weather was extremely rainy this morning, and even though it cleared as we neared Fargo, we decided to simply drive into town. We visited Barnes & Noble, and I got the next installment of the Harry Dresden series, Dead Beat. For those of you who are not familiar, Harry is a present day wizard who lives in Chicago and battles all sorts of dark, magical forces. The books are formulaic but entertaining, with likable characters. I stopped in at a nearby Petco to look for a portable water dish for Remy (like Vicki has for Mars!), but I didn't find anything satisfactory. The dog cart should arrive at the Great Northern Bike Shop by about 1 p.m. tomorrow, and then perhaps I'll purchase a water dish that will fasten to the inside of the cart. Once we have the cart, we will drive to Enderlin, MT, and I'll spend the rest of the day teaching Remy to like going into it. I'm sure mass quantities of treats will be involved.
I hope that, by Friday, weather conditions will have moderated to make it possible for us (me and Remy) to continue the journey by bike. As I have learned, we will begin with a relaxed attitude about enjoying the travel, let the wind blow through us, and get as far as we can.
One thing I was able to do this evening was to click back and forth between Adventure Cycling map detail and mileage queries to determine approximately what our upcoming overnight stops will be. This will also enable us to make motel reservations further in advance which will be of especial benefit on weekends, I think. We're trying to schedule rest days near points of interest or larger communities. I also discovered that the Lewis & Clark Route meets up with the Northern Tier Route in Dickinson, ND. I don't have the map that goes from Dickinson to Great Falls, but I will call Adventure Cycling tomorrow and see whether I can get a download. It's more direct than what I had planned, and it will mean that I don't have to go by car from Havre, MT, to Great Falls because of the busy road between them.
These are the tentative, upcoming stops, for those who wish to track them on a map: in ND -- Enderlin, Gackle, Steele, Bismarck, Glen Ullin, and Dickinson; MT -- Wibaux and Circle for sure. After that, I still need to calculate because I had it all figured out going to Havre and then to Great Falls. There's a big loop from Great Falls to Missoula that looks like it will have gorgeous scenery, but it takes 8 days, rather than 3 without the loop. We'll figure that out when we get there. Possibly, I'll ride the 3-day part, and we'll take car trips out to see some of the other areas. I guess we'll just have to see how it goes. That's a long way out.
We found an amazing organic restaurant for supper this evening, and both of us are feeling happier in our tummies than we have been most of the time -- nothing awful, just not like home, you know? We did order beverages and split a dessert, something we usually don't do, so the bill was pretty high, but man was it good!
Fargo is a college town, at least in part, so it has its share of cozy coffee houses, high-quality restaurants, etc. Tomorrow, when we head in to the bike shop we will also visit a health food store so I can stock up on Rx Bars and Tayler can get a couple more things to help with her allergies.
I guess I'm coming to grips with not riding as much as I'd expected. When it's right, it's right, and I will ride -- hopefully day after tomorrow.
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