8/8/08
Today we got up early and hopped on the interstate and headed to our objective, Bismarck, SD. Interstates are pretty uneventful, and in the case of Montana, traffic free. In a hundred miles we saw only about 10 cars on our side of the road. Once we got into North Dakota, traffic picked up and so did the heat, but not as bad as yesterday. Mercifully, there was a lot of cloud cover today and we even hit a little rain outside of Bismarck. After entering North Dakota, we decided to stop at the Theodore Roosevelt National Park Visitor Center, which was right off I94. This was part of the Badlands that extends to South Dakota. The terrain is characterized by dry grasses and bluffs. Lightning ignites lignite that burns underground and the intense heat turns the dirt to red clinkers. During a rainstorm three to four inches of dirt along the bluffs will be eroded. Eventually the land will look like eastern Montana with rolling hills rather than the severe, but striking, appearance of the Badlands. While walking around the grounds we saw a woman who was glassing for buffalo. Bear asked if she had seen any, but the reply was negative. However, it turns out that she is from the same town, Jerome, as Jackie and her dad was a barber who cut Jackie's dad's hair. She now lives in North Carolina. It is amazing how connected all of us are. Once we got to Bismarck we found a Super 8 and then went out to a Chinese buffet. Great meal. We'll be up early again tomorrow to pile up some more miles. One thing that is interesting about the plains is that the wind can blow in any direction within a couple of miles, and there seems to no correlation to geographical features. As we rode along, we would encounter strong winds coming from the left, which would last a few miles. Then the buffeting would stop, and in another few miles the wind would be strong from the right. However, the most challenging winds we have encountered so far were on the Mackinac Bridge.