Day 47

Border
This morning was a really lazy morning. I guess the past two das really got to me. The weeds outside my tent were moving and I couldn't figure out how. Then the giant frog jumped into view. I would love to catch one of those, but I bet they'd be too fast for me. I didn't get going until about 11. After a while I made it to Oaks. The first gas station didn't have post cards, but I got everything else I needed there. The next one didn't either, but had several suggestions of places. The first drugstore- nothing. Second one- jackpot. There were so many, it took me a while to choose. The lady there asked me where I was from, and she could not believe I was from Alaska. I guess I'm just used to being in Washington, where Alaskans aren't that rare. She asked what I was doing in North Dakota. I told her about my trip, and she was even more surprised. She came out while I was writing on the postcard and invited me to dinner- I was starting to like North Dakota already! Unfortunately the day was still young, so I had to pass up the offer. Honestly I don't really remember what happened for the rest of the day, so it must not have been too exciting. When it came time to find camp, I saw off the left random bunches of trees. I picked one and crossed over the train tracks to get to them. I tried to get around to the other side. The grass engulfed me. After struggling to push my bike through the stuff, I reached the barbed wire fence. Well, I guess I'm not going that way: I tried the other side. As I went over there, I discovered that the train tracks split a small pond. Crap. I was sure I'd be overloaded with mosquitoes. I thought about trying to find a better spot, but I'm sure it would be tougher to do as it got darker. On the other side of the trees, there was still a fence, but there was enough space to set up a tent and the grass was tall enough to mostly block it from view. Once inside, I did a few calculations. In about 8 or 9 days, should be half way, mileage wise. This means that if the second half takes just as long as the first, I will be in Maine around October 15th. I'm pretty content with that. It's actually starting to get cold when I ride around and after sunset- likely because I'm so far north, but Maine is just as north. I guess we'll see if I finally use the sweatshirt that I haven't used once yet on this trip.