58.4 miles, 2382′ of climbing, (1657.4 tot) – to read from the beginning, click here.
We took it slow this morning for three reasons: a relatively easy ride to Glen Ullin, there’s not a lot to do or see in GU, and it started thunderstorming. We were packed up before that and saw what was coming on the radar and headed to the visitor’s center. We watched a movie about the Mandan Indians and Lewis & Clark and Custer and toured the museum in the center.
We finally got on the road to Glen Ullin around 11 and made our way back up to Mandan and Old State Rt 10. A good bit of climbing, but also relief that there were downsides to the hills, something we haven’t experienced much in NE. It makes the climbing easier to know you’re going to get a break, even if it’s a short one. About halfway, we stopped in New Salem for lunch. The market there had little to offer in terms of open and eat, so I got a couple packs of hard boiled eggs. The local coffee shop was closed, so we went to the park across the street to eat and use the community free wi-fi. There were also speakers on the telephone poles lining main street pumping out classic rock and an acceptably low level.
After lunch, we stop at the Metropolitan Hotel for a look around. There were multiple businesses in the building including the Metro Perk. Since we already ate, we just bought a diet coke for a little caffeine for the road. We chatted with the brothers who bought and restored the old building and ran the operations. Mitch gave us a tour of the nicely done hotel rooms and Matt and he told us the history of their endeavor. Nice guys. If you’re ever near New Salem, ND, check it out.
We continued on to Glen Ullin in no big hurry since the camping was going to be primitive and as I mentioned, no much going on. 12 miles of this section was on I-94 as there were only gravel roads otherwise. We’ve both had that experience before and we’ll do it again later in the tour. Good, wide shoulders and big rumble strips, but we had about 2 feet at the edge which kept us far away from the traffic. Only sore spots were crossing the exits and entrances, but that went OK, too.
Made it to Glen Ullin and stopped at the Wet Spot lounge and had some afternoon refreshments and Dana had a long conversation with Tim who was hanging at the bar. The kitchen was closed because someone hadn’t show up, and the bartender/manager said they were closing early at 7 because she had to drive to Bismark to pick up her shared custody child. More stories. We left at 7 when the place closed and sat outside trying to figure out our next day.
Dana called the pizza/gas station/convenience store place next door only to learn they also closed at 7, but the woman said she’d stay open and make one for us. So we sat on the curb and ate our plain cheese pizza before heading to the campground. At the campground two other touring cyclists, Paul & Sam, were setting up their tents. I chatted with them a bit while Dana went to find power and water, both close by at a pavilion and RV spot. Our site had no amenities save for a latrine. Mosquitos abounded and we braved them to talk to Paul some more. They were doing about the same route we had taken all the way back to Michigan, so we shared some of our experiences with him. Then off to bed.
That is until Dana heard a few kids talking on the Caboose that was parked in front of the tent sites. She got up and fetched the electronics from the pavilion and after returning, the group dispersed. Still not a quiet night with a highway close by with rumble strips before the stop sign and an active railroad that had at least three passes that night replete with whistles. We were glad to get some sleep at least.
