The Dakotas – Day 35 – We find Hell’s Fire (Headwinds & Heat)

82 miles cycling, 2773′ of climbing (1837.2 tot) – to read from the beginning, click here.

We left Medora after a good breakfast feeling refreshed and ready for the day. This was the first time we camped in the same place for 2 days and it was nice to not have to go through the teardown/setup yesterday. Winds were light and from the East, so a bit of a headwind added to the 9 miles of climbing up out of TRNP.

We were backtracking our way to Belfield to catch US 85 south to either Amidon or Bowman. High heat warning forecasts were on our mind as we made good time to Amidon (the smallest county seat in the US with a population of 11), which was our first option for camping. Just in time too as we were out of water. We got to the campground around 1 PM. There’s also a bar there and the door to it had a closed sign on it, but the office next door was open and not marked closed. We went in and were pleased ther was air conditioning. No one came in so we went and got a PBR and used the last ice I had to cool it and went back to the office to wait for someone to come as is usual procedure at a campground.

And Satan’s wife, come she did, shouting “You two can leave right now! Out! Now!” She shooed us out to a shaded picnic table where she proceeded to lecture us on how stupid we were to be riding in this heat. Dana countered that we were not new to this and in shape and knew how to handle the heat. While we had been considering staying there and doing a hike to the highest point in ND, I said that and added, “but not after that greeting!” She retrenched a bit and offered us use of the bathrooms and water. We were seething and left which just made us more determined to finish the day.

We had passed the county courthouse and it was a fairly new building, so we went there. We were greeted warmly and when I asked if we could use the water fountain, Cindy led us back through the building to the break room where there was a refrigerator with ice and filtered water. We chatted with the Ag Extension agent for a bit – she said she wished we’d met the owner — he’s much nicer and likable than his wife. Got a couple of cokes from the machine, snapped some pics with Cindy and headed out into the heat for 20 more miles to Bowman.

Well, that was quite the adventure. Dana was far out in front and we both managed to ration our water to make it to Bowman unscathed. Did I mention that besides the heat, this was now full into a 20 mph+ headwind. We met up at a local bar, had some water and a couple of beers, and went to set up camp. Had dinner at another local bar, and then back to the tent for another well deserved rest and to get rid of some of our testiness after the hard day. The heat isn’t supposed to let up tomorrow, so we’re trying for an early start.