The most adventurous day!

Another thunderstorm

I woke up at about 0300 to flashing lights.  I initially thought it was a problem with a street light or something, but very quickly realized it was a distant thunderstorm.  It was so far off, I couldn’t hear the thunder, I could only see the lightening.  It took about 40 minutes before I could hear any thunder.  Not too long after the thunder, the skies opened up and it poured for a short time.  I laid there, watching the show, which went on for about an hour and a half all told.

Sweetheart

I told you my host was a real sweetheart, taking me all over town and such.  Well, she got up early to make me coffee because she knew I liked it, even though she doesn’t drink it.  Sometimes you score in meeting people.  She gave me a bit of advice regarding getting out of town while I loaded up Lucille.  I was loaded up and hit the road by about 0720.

The story of my trip….

The rain started soon after leaving Karla’s house, but quit after about an hour.  The U.S. 2 is a great road, definitely not an Interstate, but not really a local road either, so I made decent time.  A couple of hours into the ride though, I noticed the sky looking more ominous.  I got closer and closer to that darkness.

This is a horrible photo taken with my phone in the mount, but you can get an idea of what I was riding into.  As you can see, the shoulder is pretty small.

Soon, it got as dark as it gets at night right before full dark and the lightening was the only thing lighting my way.  Then the rain started to fall.  The rain turned into hail and the entire world went white.  I couldn’t see the road, the sky, the shoulder, anything.  Since I knew the shoulder was really small, I couldn’t pull over and I just had to power through it.  I used the guidance on my phone to know when the road curved and when it went straight.  Without a doubt, this was the worst thunderstorm I had ever been in, AND, I was riding Lucille through it!  It was insane.

• What are you going to do? 

Poor Lucille

After the rain finally let up, about 4 hours into the ride, it was nice.  The sun even tried to come out.  My destination for the evening was Lewis and Clark State Park on Lake Sakakawea.  When I was about 10 miles from my destination, I passed a road sign that said, “Bump”.  I looked ahead and saw what looked like the end of the road.  That couldn’t be right.  Both my phone and my GPS had directed me down this road, North Dakota 1804.  It couldn’t have just ended, could it?

The “Bump” was, in fact, the end of the road.  They had removed the asphalt and the base down to the dirt.  It was like driving a forest service road, washboard surface with loose rocks and some gravel.  There were cones everywhere to delineate the separate lanes of traffic, since the dirt road was much smaller that the paved version.  The potholes and washboard surface were so hard to negotiate on Lucille, and I’ve never really ridden in dirt.  I mean, I live on a dirt road, but I don’t live far down the road, and I’m very familiar with it, and if I want to drive a half a mile an hour, I can!  The speed limit on this monstrosity was 35 mph and people in North Dakota do not tolerate slow drivers.  Fortunately, there was no one behind me after a short bit, and I was able to creep Lucille along at 15-20 mph, apologizing to her all the way.  I drove on this for almost 9 miles!  I don’t think Lucille was very happy with me.

Not done

The dirt torture finally ended when I turned off the dirt road onto a paved road that led to the campground.  I was so grateful and I had to hope nothing was shaken loose on Lucille on our wild ride.  When I rolled up to the ranger check in, no one was there.  I saw another building, but it too looked like it might be closed, so I followed the signs to the campground.  It wasn’t long before the road narrowed by almost half and looked like it faded into the horizon.  I’d just been on a whacko road with Lucille and I decided I maybe took a wrong road going to the campground.  The road was now too narrow for me to turn around on, but right up ahead was a huge lot, full of RVs and boats.  I could turn Lucille around there.

I pulled Lucille down the little driveway and almost instantly realized my mistake.  The lot was not the solid dirt which it had appeared to be when it was wet, it was sand.  Lucille immediately started to get squirrely and fishtail around.  I have never ridden in sand in my life, not having had the benefit of starting out on dirt bikes.  Lucille was DEFINITELY not the type of bike in which you would want to have your first sand experience either.  I’ve watched videos of how to ride in the sand and read a lot about off-road techniques, but I had never had an opportunity to put them to use.  Until now.

When I realized what I had done, you would think, given how well you know me, I would have panicked.  However, I did not!  I was so worried about getting stuck in the deep sand, I actually didn’t have time to panic!  I knew that I needed to keep a loose grip on the handlebars, keep the bike moving and try to move the weight to the back in order to keep the front tire from bogging down.  Believe it or not, this is exactly what I did.  Lucille fought me the entire way, trying to get herself stuck or to tip over, but I freaking made it out of that sand without getting stuck or tipping over!  I was amazed, and when it was over, completely terrified.

This is how deep the sand was on Lucille’s tires.  Almost to the rim!

I need a break

After my misadventures in the dirt and sand, I needed to get off Lucille and regroup.  I rode her up to the building I had seen earlier, parked her on a rare flat spot, and walked to the building.  The first thing I saw was a bathroom, so I gratefully took advantage.  When I was done, I continued my loop around the building and found an entrance.  Inside, it looked like a cross between a campground store and a ranger station.  There was a ranger in there, so I asked if I was allowed to buy stuff, and when she said yes, I got a Gatorade and a bag of BBQ chips.

I then told her I had a reservation, for which I was 45 minutes early.  She told me I would not be able to check in until 1500, but that I was welcome to sit outside at the store.  I did for a bit and rang home.  I talked to my BFB and BFG for a while and about 15 minutes later I went back inside to ask about showers and water availability.

Check in

The ranger was super helpful, showing me on the map where I could get drinking water and where I could shower, in addition to showing me where I could park Lucille while I was camped in the walk-in tent site.  I asked about the lot, was it paved, was it flat and she assured me it was both.  Another ranger came out to tell me the lot was very small and I might not be able to turn a motorcycle around in it.  I assured her I would be okay if it were flat then asked if I could check in.  I was now only about 25 minutes early.  She said no.  It would be fine if I drove to the parking lot, but I could not set up my tent or any of my equipment until 1500.

I thought this was kind of weird, but decided I’d go check out the tiny parking lot and see where I’d be spending the night.  I hopped back on Lucille, calmer now, and followed the directions to the parking lot.  The parking area was a lot larger than I’d thought, and I had no trouble flipping Lucille into a u-turn in it.  There was not a soul in the tent area and almost no one in the RV area.  Why couldn’t I set my tent up 20 minutes early?

We made it!

She had been so emphatic that I could not set anything up until 1500, that I was afraid she would send someone out to check.  So, I sat in a different campsite to which I was not assigned in the shade, drank my Gatorade, ate some chips and waited.  It didn’t last long.

The spot which would be mine.  At 1500 exactly.

Set up

At 10 minutes to 3, I gave up.  Why was I just sitting here when no one was around?  I started to unload Lucille and get my camp set up.  Given the way a lot of things have gone on this trip, you’d think this would be the bit where the ranger comes up, catches me and fines me or something.  That didn’t happen.  I set up without incident.

All set up!

Pretty

The lake was actually really pretty.  There were few boats on it that I saw and only a couple of jetskis.  I was glad I came here.

The view of the lake from the tent parking area.

I got some water after getting set up, then took a shower and did up the laundry.  It’s always good to shower after a day on the bike and the earlier I can get my laundry done, the better chance I have of it being dry by morning.  After taking care of the chores and covering Lucille for the night, I relaxed a while.

Eventually, around 1630, another tent camper showed up, soon followed by another.  That was it.  Just three of us in the campground and all single women.  At least it would be quiet!

A view of the lake just steps from my site.

Winding down

Eventually, I made dinner and headed into the tent to relax and possibly go to bed.  I ended up reading for a while and left to hit the bathroom one last time about 2300.  The sun was just setting!  I can’t believe how long it stays light this far north.

     

Sunset at the lake at about 2300.  

I snuggled in and thought about tomorrow.  While the Bunk a Biker in Billings told me that I could camp in his yard, I realized I wouldn’t have access to a bathroom or water.  I got busy with my friend Google and found a cheap hotel in Billings to stay the night.  I definitely appreciated his kindness, but I didn’t really want to be peeing in his yard as a way of saying thanks!

So, tomorrow I’d make it to Billings.  If I counted right, there were only 4 more nights before I got home.