This was buffalo country. If I squinted my eyes, I could almost see their bodies blanketing the rolling lands. I have read where there was a time when one could see buffalo herds which stretched from horizon to horizon ! And out here, the horizons were VERY far apart indeed. It seemed such an empty land now. I had expected to see ranch houses in the distance, cattle and maybe horses, wildlife of some sort. Some times there were barbed wire fences, but much of the time there was only the two-lane road. Frequently I would drive for ages without even seeing another vehicle.
Imagine my surprise when one day a lone man on a bicycle came pedalling over a hill! Now there was a brave one! Hot as the dickens, and so totally alone in that vast land! I was impressed! Gave me a bit of perspective on my own journey. Here I had cold drinks and a place to lie down and rest and a radio talking to me (even if some of the stations were in French). It must take a special person to tackle that ride all alone.
I learned another lesson along this road. The towns were small and far apart. If I needed gas, it was best to stop and not drive on hoping the gas price would be lower farther along in the town. A couple of times I was out of town before even seeing another gas station and had to turn around and go back. Of course, it didn't help that the gas gauge broke about this time!
Listings of campgrounds were scant in my Good Sam Guide. Most of them had no trees at all and were very barren. Once again, I kept moving on, hoping to find something better,to no avail. Outside of some towns there were little signs with a tent on them. I finally went to see what this led to and found it was a little city park. No hookups and only a small parking lot, but it had restrooms with toilets and water. Since there were very few rest stops, I spent most of my times along this stretch in these little havens. Most people strolled into the nearby town, but I rode my bike ... I always looked for a place to get ice cream for I missed it a lot. (my freezer wouldn't keep it frozen) The kids enjoyed the swings and slides in the park, so it really wasn't bad at all. And they were FREE! The women-folk gathered together and spoke of grandchildren, children and recipes. The men-folks gathered together and spoke of their rigs, routes and mechanical problems. I wanted to talk to the men and learn from them, but the glares from the ladies soon discouraged me from that. I wondered what made them think I would want their men-folk anyhow ... they weren't exactly the greatest catches at best. ;-)
One of the strangest things I saw along this road were these little rodent-type critters. Time and again they would dash out into the road and stand there as if daring me to hit them! It was some sort of ground squirrel game I figured! Some would let me go right over the top of them, altho most of them squirted out of the way at the last moment. there were several things in my travel that I could never figure out (and will never know) and this was one of them. Were they playing chicken...trying to commit suicide...testing their karma...stupid...or was there so little traffic they had not learned to get out of the way ???
This was a very lonesome stretch of this first trip for me. The men at the gas stations did not speak to me as a rule, perhaps dismayed at a woman pumping gas in this land of machoism...who knows. I know my throat ached to speak to someone..anyone ...
Finally the land got a little greener and I saw a few cattle. I reached the city of Minot (my knot) and headed south to visit friends in Nebraska. As I approache Pierre, SD, (peer)..the skies darkened and it looked as if a pretty good storm was coming. Just south of Pierre, there was a sign for a city park with camping. I pulled in and found a lovely little park with electric hookups and water available, and I was close enough to get TV from the city. I was barely set up when the storm arrived. Wow! It was a beaut. In the middle of it a rig pulled in with its awning flopping about and an older fellow got out and struggled with setting up while the wind howled and the lightning cracked. I have no idea why he didn't wait until the storm passed...just one of those things. We chatted after the storm and they had been caught out on a elevated road and had been scared to death that they were going to be over-turned in the winds. The rig was new and they were hoping to find someone to fix their awning in town the next day. The wind had torn it loose and the man had sort of tied it up again. That evening a boy rode through the park and passed out free papers (which, of course, got him more in tips than he would have gained otherwise) After the storm a single man came into the campground. He had a large pack on his back with a sign that he had been born again. He pitched his tent down by the river and washed, then disappeared into his tent for the night. Again I appreciated my little house full of comforts!
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