Mandan to Moffit - Jesus Calms the Winds

Tuesday, June 02, 2015
Moffit, North Dakota, United States
We had originally planned to spend the morning touring the fort here, then mount up after lunch and ride the 37 miles to Moffit (or 50 miles to Hazelton, if we could), but last night we saw the forecast was for winds and possible rain in the afternoon. So we decided to ride in the morning, then come back for the sightseeing, and stay one more night in Mandan. This is a beautiful campground, right on the Missouri River (I'd recommend, though, that you not try to ride out a flood – the waters have been as high as 19’ here!). Since it is so nice a campground, with marvelous showers, it’s easier to stay another night than have Chuck and Laura pack up their tent and all their gear and drive to a place where we don’t know that there will be anyplace to camp, let along one with good showers! So we stayed, and experienced a terrific thunderstorm about 2 am – pouring rain, lightning, thunder. I just wish I hadn’t been so tired. I would wake up, note the pouring rain, the thunder and lightning, then go back to sleep. Never cared quite enough to get out of bed and watch it. But Chuck assures me that it was a really impressive storm! Got up at 7 to clearing skies and no wind. Had a simple breakfast, then packed up the bikes and Chuck & Laura drove us the 7 miles back to Mandan where we had left off yesterday. The first stage was on a bike trail, and it was great! It was generally in good condition, and we cruised along at 15 mph. The bike trail took us across the Missouri River and along the south edge of Bismarck, then out into the countryside. Clouds that had looked like they were moving off thickened again, and we wondered if we would get rain. But it just increased the humidity, something we’re not used to. The bike path continued for a few miles out of town, where we had our first hill – a pretty good one, too. But the path was good, and we surmounted it with no real problems. At the top was the University of Mary, an odd name, but a pretty setting. Then we rolled along gently down and up and level for another 27+ miles. It was beautiful! Now and then the views would open up down into the Missouri River valley. There were several deciduous forests along the ridge where we rode, and lush green fields. At Twin Buttes (another pair with the same name as the ones we passed yesterday morning), some people had built a house between the buttes, looking down over the river valley, and the house was designed to fit in that location. It was kind of an octagon shape itself, and had at least 2 towers jutting out from it. Very tastefully done, and really was stunning in that specific setting.

There were no winds today! It was amazing how much faster we rode without the wind . On the levels we cruised at 14-16, down the hills we once topped 30, and only the uphills still slowed us down. After a while, we figured out that if Dave led, I could draft behind him and get up most hills at 10-12 mph, a big increase over my normal hill speed. We stopped at the crest of a hill to have a break, sitting on the side of the road to share a Coke and eat our morning snacks. Except for the increase of bugs, it was very pleasant. But after 15 minutes or so, we continued on our way.

Chuck and Laura were to pick us up in Moffit at noon, following the route to meet us wherever we actually were at that time. We had a long, gently downhill cruise to the intersection w/ US 83 and the little hamlet of Moffit at 10 minutes til noon. While we were at the stop sign, figuring we’d just keep riding until they arrived, we saw them coming. So we loaded up the bikes and headed back to Mandan.

On the ride this morning, I had noticed that I definitely had less lung capacity going up the hills, and it felt a bit like breathing through water, but I wasn’t sure how much the humidity contributed to that . But Dave and I both thought it wise to take some of our free afternoon and get me to a doctor to have it checked out. We found a walk-in clinic on the north side of Bismarck, and there was virtually no wait, so it didn’t take long. And yes, I have bronchitis, which is causing the bronchial tubes to constrict when I am breathing hard. He called in prescriptions for an antibiotic, an inhaler, and a steroid; he says Dave will have trouble keeping up with me with this. Woo-hoo! Performance enhancing drugs!   He was a very nice doctor, a native North Dakotan, but he also said he had no power to make the winds blow from the west! He did say, however, that research has shown that throughout its history, N. Dakota has had snow on every calendar day of the year. I guess we should be glad it’s only the winds causing us problems!

The pharmacy was not nearly as fast as the clinic, but by 2:15 we had picked up the meds and lunch and were on our way back to camp . As we entered the park, Chuck went to pay for the extra night at our campsite, but the lady told him our space was reserved for someone coming in that evening from Illinois. So we had to move to another spot just a couple spaces down, which took most of an hour. It was nearly 4:00 and had grown hot and muggy by the time we were able to head up to Fort Abraham Lincoln to sightsee.

Built in 1872 as Fort McKean, it had originally been an infantry post against the Indians. But infantry proved ineffective, so cavalry was moved in late that year, and the fort was renamed. Gen. George Custer (by this time he was actually a Lieutenant, but having been a Brig. General during the Civil War, he insisted still on the title of General) was the commander, and it was from here that he led the 7th Cavalry west to the Little Big Horn in 1876. A number of buildings have been reconstructed, including the General’s house, and it was a very interesting tour. We also visited the Mandan village just upriver; it was not the village where Lewis & Clark spent the winter in 1804. That was 60 miles upriver, and by that year, this village had long been abandoned.

Thunder and lightning were threatening from the west, so Laura cooked dinner in the camper and we all sat in their very-spacious tent to eat it. Then we headed into Mandan to use the library’s internet services again. A very charming library, if you’re ever in the area!

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