Williston, North Dakota

Finally! Williston! It took us far longer than we would have liked to get here, but we're here! The winds have been unforgiving the past 2 days, but we rode through the best we could. Saturday was sunny and warm, but the wind was bad - 4-5 mph on flat ground, 7-10 down hills. Yesterday was more of a crosswind so we went a little faster but it was quite cold. Today we're taking the morning to do some errands then probably a short day into Montana! I checked the weather and am feeling hopeful. Just a few more cold rainy days to get through and by the weekend the sun is supposed to be out.

The night before last we stayed at a park called Little Beaver Bay right next to the river. The campground was nothing special, just an open field with some picnic tables and pit-potties and really bad water, but the surroundings were incredible. Definitely the most beautiful scenery on the trip so far. It was about 3 miles off route, down a gravel road close to the river in a very badlandsy canyon. The formations were epic. It's the only thing like it we saw...I was hoping for more, but alas there was none. I took lots of pictures to try and give others the scope of its beauty, but as usual the camera doesn't really give it justice. We noticed, as we've noticed with a lot of these campgrounds along the river, that there was a big area right next to the park that looked like it once held water. (We stayed at one a couple days ago that had a boat ramp leading into an empty grassy hole) We talked to the groundskeeper and he explained that the Corps of Engineers (who built all the dams in the Dakotas) keep letting the water out of the dams and its all flooding into the southern states. Plus there has been less snowpack in the mountains in Montana for awhile so the river's water level is getting lower and lower. He said about 10 years ago the park was a lot more touristy and pretty, but now the river up here is shallow and muddy until late July. It's kind of sad, really. I wish the river hadn't gotten so dammed up here-it would have made things a lot prettier, I think. The groundskeeper also gave us a ride up the hill to where there was drinkable water...it was our first time in a car since we left!

Last night we pulled into the park here in Williston and found some more bikers! They're doing a supported cross country trek in the opposite direction (lucky them). They're actually doing it for a cause. Heres their website - www.leavecancerinthedust.org/. Check it out! We didn't get to talk to them for too long, but they were really cool folks and we wish them all the best.

So despite some holdups we've been making really good time out here and are expecting to be done much earlier than anticipated, so we're hoping to take a side trip to Yellowstone. We'll only be a days ride away from it soon, so why not, right? Next time I write it'll be from Montana...exciting! It's the state me and Dylan were the most excited for heading into this.

Until next time, stay dry and ride a bike.