July 10 - Stumbling Across Treasure in North Dakota
One of the things I love about being on the road is stumbling across treasures. Today my goal was to drive through North Dakota on my way from Billings, Montana to Custer, South Dakota. I thought it would be fun to “tag” the 20 states I didn’t get to last summer on my solo trip. I had traveled through North Dakota several years ago on the back of a bike but mainly just remembered the heat and the severe crosswinds. So, I was pleasantly surprised to discover Painted Canyon.
I left Billings early this morning heading northeast on Interstate 94. The ride was pleasant and uneventful as the scenery consisted mainly of rolling hills, brown plains, and green meadows. However, after gassing up in the town of Beach, North Dakota I came across the second highest point in the state – Sentinel Butte. The Butte consists of a series of tall, flat topped towers of rock created as the harder top layers resisted erosion from water. The layers on this butte were beautiful colors of green, white, and pinkish orange and were a beacon of color after so many miles of browns.
A little further east on Interstate 94 I noticed rolling hills with multiple beautifully colored layers. My first thought was that these slopes reminded me of the Painted Hill National Monument in Oregon. I stopped by the Theodore Roosevelt National Park Visitor’s center to take in the beautiful panoramic view and was not surprised to learn that the name for this sea of pink, yellow, brown, green, and grey layered structures is the “Painted Canyon.”
My drive south towards Sturgis and Rapid City on highway 85 was wonderfully uneventful as the ferocious cross winds I had been dreading never materialized, other than random “rogue” wind gusts that caused me to veer to the other side of my lane.
My route into Rapid City and Custer took me past the Buffalo Chip campground. There was a huge sign pronouncing “welcome bikers.” However, the six mile-long dirt road beyond that sign did not make me feel very welcome. I turned the bike around and took another way to the dealership. I’m including a photo of the showroom floor there – this is one dealership that does not have a shortage of bikes!
The highlight of the day for me was arriving in Custer. To me, the town feels like my home away from home as I so very much enjoy the hospitality of Don and Brenda Herren at the Rocket Motel. Don and Brenda have been so kind to me over the years and their rooms are always immaculately clean, reasonably priced, and fancifully colored with black and white tiles and red accents. This year to celebrate the publication of my new book Don and Brenda treated me to dinner at my favorite restaurant in town – Skogen Kitchen. This dining establishment is run by a sweet young couple who really put all of their hearts into their menu and the dishes they create. Tonight I had a tomato bisque soup, rib-eye steak with potatoes au gratin, and caramel pudding with toffee and whipped cream. I feel completely fortified for the riding ahead over the next few days.
