300: Ride through the South Dakota heat
This is the 4th part of the account of the 300 mile bike journey I took from my front door and back in early July.
Leaving Brown's Valley behind I entered South Dakota. It was a bit surreal as I passed many abandoned fireworks "shacks" and quonsets in the middle of nowhere. These places were literally on some country road, the only remnants of civilization for miles. One was particularly disturbing. Out front was a smoldering fire, probably made from the remaining fireworks and supplies. It made for an eery scene which I imagined terrorists had come and destroyed the festive July 4th ingredients. I digress.
Sisseton is approximately 10 miles from Brown's Valley. I made it into town around noon. A big Pow-Wow was in progress but I failed to seek it out as I sought for a place to lunch. Solemn emptiness welcomed me to the downtown of Sisseton. Not a sign of an open business. With heat rising I decided to eat at Taco John's mostly because they had the History Channel on the dining area tele. They also had the AC kicking out some chill.
I had intended to go to Fort Sisseton 28 miles further but nixed the idea as I rode through a veritable prairie desert to the west. A flat tire changed my mind added to the pain. I made it as far as the Nicollet Tower before deciding to change course.
The Nicollet Tower is an interpretative centre and an actual tower, dedicated to the life of Joseph Nicollet, the man who mapped a vast portion of the Dakotas and Minnesota in the 19th century. Well worth a visit. From the tower you can see portions of 3 states- SD, ND, MN.
After a lengthy stay, I set out for Sica Hollow, thinking that would be a good place to spend the night. I changed my mind when I realized I'd have to go west again to get to it. I changed course and decided upon Hankinson, ND.
On the way there I came upon a small town, Claire City, that had a pop machine which contained Mountain Dew Code Red for only $1 (Pretty remarkable in this day). At least that is what I thought. It turns out it was sold out so I chose Pepsi instead (Pepsi points for me again). I discovered in my time in South Dakota they perfer cans to bottles when littering so my Pepsi point collection did not increase much.
Into North Dakota I biked through about 10 miles of wildlife refuge. I arrive in Hankinson around 8PM and after a bite to eat at the covenience store head out to Lake Elsie to camp. The Lake Elsie beach area is a mess after the Fourth of July weekend with leftover fireworks a cans strewn all over. The bugs are bad too but what can you argue about for free.
Leaving Brown's Valley behind I entered South Dakota. It was a bit surreal as I passed many abandoned fireworks "shacks" and quonsets in the middle of nowhere. These places were literally on some country road, the only remnants of civilization for miles. One was particularly disturbing. Out front was a smoldering fire, probably made from the remaining fireworks and supplies. It made for an eery scene which I imagined terrorists had come and destroyed the festive July 4th ingredients. I digress.
Sisseton is approximately 10 miles from Brown's Valley. I made it into town around noon. A big Pow-Wow was in progress but I failed to seek it out as I sought for a place to lunch. Solemn emptiness welcomed me to the downtown of Sisseton. Not a sign of an open business. With heat rising I decided to eat at Taco John's mostly because they had the History Channel on the dining area tele. They also had the AC kicking out some chill.
I had intended to go to Fort Sisseton 28 miles further but nixed the idea as I rode through a veritable prairie desert to the west. A flat tire changed my mind added to the pain. I made it as far as the Nicollet Tower before deciding to change course.
The Nicollet Tower is an interpretative centre and an actual tower, dedicated to the life of Joseph Nicollet, the man who mapped a vast portion of the Dakotas and Minnesota in the 19th century. Well worth a visit. From the tower you can see portions of 3 states- SD, ND, MN.
After a lengthy stay, I set out for Sica Hollow, thinking that would be a good place to spend the night. I changed my mind when I realized I'd have to go west again to get to it. I changed course and decided upon Hankinson, ND.
On the way there I came upon a small town, Claire City, that had a pop machine which contained Mountain Dew Code Red for only $1 (Pretty remarkable in this day). At least that is what I thought. It turns out it was sold out so I chose Pepsi instead (Pepsi points for me again). I discovered in my time in South Dakota they perfer cans to bottles when littering so my Pepsi point collection did not increase much.
Into North Dakota I biked through about 10 miles of wildlife refuge. I arrive in Hankinson around 8PM and after a bite to eat at the covenience store head out to Lake Elsie to camp. The Lake Elsie beach area is a mess after the Fourth of July weekend with leftover fireworks a cans strewn all over. The bugs are bad too but what can you argue about for free.
Comments