Winds: Sometimes Good and sometimes not

Wed.  6/16 Gravel ... Thanks, Google!!!

Headed for Miles City.  A 50 mile ride.  I get about 20 miles into it, and I'm following Google Map's routing on a nice quiet paved country road.  About 10 more miles down the road and it turns to gravel.  Another 3 miles and it keeps getting rougher.  I flagged down the only vehicle (SUV) that came down the road. It was mail delivery.   In rural areas USPS contracts delivery to individuals who deliver mail in their own cars to remote homes.   They informed me that the road continues like that for another 30 miles, and just keeps getting worse.   I did a u-turn and my nice tailwinds became headwinds.   My 50 mile ride ended up being a 70 mile ride, with 13 miles of headwinds and about 15 miles on the shoulder of I-94.

At the western edge of Miles City was the municipal swimming "pool" which was actually a small lake that had been made by diverting water from the Yellowstone River.  It was really nice, a smaller version of the Strandbad Mythenquai on the Obersee (lake) which we enjoyed in Zurich in 2018.   

Thu. 6/17 to Baker MT.

A long day(80 miles , 2254 ft vertical), but with brisk tailwinds.  Pretty small town with limited dining choices, but was able to have an ok steak dinner (a little tough) and a good night's sleep.

Fri. 6/18 to Hettinger ND.

Nothing open for breakfast in Baker... so it's gas station snack for breakfast and head down the road 33 miles to the first restaurant that was open.   Baker to Hettinger is 86 miles, the longest ride so far on this trip. But winds were favorable.   Hettinger has a population of about 1300, and limited choices for dining. 

Sat 6/19 to Watauga SD

The town is in the Standing Rock Indian reservation, 50 miles East of Hettinger, but with the SE headwinds, it felt more like 70.  There's no town to speak of.  The only restaurant closes @ 2PM.  The Dakota Countryside Inn is a 10 room hotel which I had to talk my way into getting the owner to accept the reservation because he said they were having a "family reunion" of his wife's family that weekend.  The owners are an elderly couple.  The wife is recovering from a recent stroke, and the reunion consisted of her brother, Jim, from Montana who was visiting.  Other than Jim and me, there was no one else there.   I think Jim was glad I was there because he seemed to need someone to talk with.    Dinner and breakfast was cereal, milk, and bread with Nutella.  

They do love their guns.

Sun. 6/20 to Mobridge, SD

The next town east of Watauga that alleged to have food was McLaughlin, but...

I'll tell you what's wrong with it my lad... It's Dead!

There was a gas station along rt 12 in McLaughlin, however, that had OK corn dogs... which kept me going 'til Mobridge.

Lots of hay fields, and lots of cattle grazing.  The cattle liked to do this half-hearted stampede when I rode by.    

Not much else interesting happening along this road to keep them amused.  

Mobridge is named after the bridge over the Missouri River on US 12 that leads into town.

One of the first attractions in town is the Klein museum, which I, of course, had to spend some time trapesing around in. It's an interesting collection of stuff from the early to mid-20th century.

Dinner in Mobridge was problematic.  I had intended to try the Chinese restaurant that Google Maps said was open until 9PM.   It was "closed until further notice".   I don't think it's coming back... so, again, I updated Google Maps to so indicate.   I've done this so far for about 6 different businesses.

The only places open were Burger King and Subway.   I ended up with a Healthy Choice Korean bowl.  It was sort of like bibimbap.  Not terrible.  Supplemented with junk food (peanut butter rice krispie bars and milk), you can make a meal out of it.   

Mon. 6/21 to Gettysburg, SD

This is a sad little town.   US 212 comprises the main street in the town and was closed from the West to East end of town.   Major construction.   This seems to be killing the businesses that depend on car traffic along US 212.  The only eatery open after 2PM is a fast-food stand called "Quiett's Corner" which is a fast food joint.  Better than nothin'...but just barely.   The gas station on the East end of town had an OK mini-mart and some food service in the morning...so that got me back on the road.

Tue. 6/22 to Redfield, SD

81 miles with headwinds.  Jeesh! 
This town has about 2,000 people, so there were a few surviving places to eat.  I lucked out because Tuesday Night was ribs night for dinner.  It was surprisingly good, and really really big.   

Wed. 6/23 to Watertown, SD

The high temperature today was 104 in Redfield, and 96 in Watertown, which is a little higher in elevation. Headwinds again...so a 73 mile ride was just not possible.  I arranged for a taxi from Watertown (a city of about 25000 people) to pick me up in Clark, about 33 miles west of Watertown.  

Breakfast in Redfield was significant.   After my eggs, hashbrowns and toast at Leos,which opened at 5:30, early enough to get out of town before it got hot, I had this monster fresh out of the oven.

The Monster Caramel Bun

I was going to have a donut at The Bread Box bakery across the street, but they are also closed, so I fixed their Google Maps listing before taking off for Clark.

Stopped in the local bike shop to get my tires pumped up  (hadn't done that since Missoula), then grabbed a lunch of wings and fresh-cut fries at Harry's.   It was so big that I'm skipping dinner tonight.

These Klein guys sure get around