Day 19: Smooth Plains Saling

 

Steele to Valley City, 95 miles, less than 1000 feet of climbing.

Today was probably one of the most uneventful days that we have had so far - and we mean that in a good way, especially after yesterday’s events. We started out from Steele ND this morning in bright sun, moderate temperatures (low 70s) and a mixed breeze but nothing that would rise to the windy category.  We breathed a sigh of relief at what amounted to a relatively light breeze, as the NWS had promised windier conditions. Things went pretty well from there.

We kept a pretty brisk pace throughout the day, stopping a few times, mainly to take advantage of shady spots, as the sun was out in full Great Plains intensity throughout the day. And yes, that included a stop or two under an overpass, which are becoming more plentiful as we travel further east in North Dakota; there were virtual none in Montana and further west in ND. Actually, after our experience yesterday we have become quite enamored with the under-appreciated underpass / overpass. Protective, uncluttered, (usually) unoccupied. Perhaps a place for a cheap date. We now consider ourselves connoisseurs when it comes to overpasses, and we have to say that some of those we visited today did not live up to our standards.

We had a good time today and only stopped because we were started to become a little zapped from the temps reaching the mid-90s. We also had a pretty good reason for contemplating going for another high mileage day (our next lodging option would have added another 60 miles - a bridge too far today). North Dakota has beaten us up quite a a bit this week, and we spent the day wondering why we got a bye today.  It might have been that ND deities (or whoever is in charge here) somehow forgot about us for a day, and we fear that they might make up for it with a full body blow tomorrow.  So, we gave serious thought to getting out of the State tonight.

In any event, we had a good day today and listened to our bodies and better judgement (doesn’t happen often) when the heat got to be a bit much. We only have 70 or so miles to go before we cross over into Minnesota.  Please don’t say anything to any North Dakota spirits until then.