July 30 Day 30 Aberdeen SD to Webster SD. 48 miles 830 climbing

Riding out of Amberdeen there are a lot of  small lakes, retention ponds not quite sure what they are.

This is Suzanne, she's the young pup in the group at 55 and started riding 5 summers ago.

She is a massage therapist and yoga instructor. She is a friend of Nancy's and that is how she found herself riding across America with us. A great rider and  very strong and fun to ride with. A very happy lady. She helped Jim with a hamstring that was giving him a hard time. 

I have so many pictures of old barns and houses I have to show you one every now and then.

This is the town that Sam found for the lunch stop.

This hotel looked really neat from the road. It was sad when we got closer. But hey, we found the Waldorf Hotel in Andover SouthDakota

And here's Sam and his very first rest stop. It was really over cast today. There is suppose to be rain this evening, it should be done by 9:00 tomorrow morning.

These birds seem to be the only residents in Andover.

We are spending the evening in Webster. There isn't much going on, but they are having the Class B

Baseball playoffs going on and tonight  is the finals.z

The fellow standing on this side of the table is a fellow named Ron. He comes up from Iowa to fish the lakes here. He told us about the water. It seems that all the water we see is natural. There is a huge Auquifer that is pushing the water to the surface. There are actually farmers that have lost their farmland to the lakes that are forming. Tomorrow we leave South Dakota and we head to Ortonville,

Michigan. About 63 miles will get us there.

July 28 Day 28 Bowdle SD. to Aberdeen SD 60 Miles 453 Climbing

It was 41 Degrees this morning, a record low! We were in the shade and it was really hard to get warm. It was a short ride today so everyone was ready to hit the road.

This was the front of one of the hotels several stayed in. It once was a hospital. The fellow who owns it is a crop duster. No one ever saw him. One of the rooms actually had two hospital beds.

Bowdle boast the tallest water tower in the state. Last night we learned that there are 138 kids in school there. That is from Kindergarten to High school. They all go to the same school. The owner of the Resturant moved with her husband and 3 kids from Wisconsin to Bowldle 6 years ago so their children could grow up in a small town. Her husband use to come here to hunt pheasant. When I walked the town, it really was pleasant. Lots of well kept homes. The one thing that stood out for me were the bikes in front of most of the homes. When was the last time you saw kids bikes lying out on the front lawn.

This flooded area was actually a fish hatchery.

Yesterday we rode about 8 miles of smooth concrete surface. The same thing today. We found out that that part of the highway went through an Indian reservation.

Damon and Cindy called this the last supper. They're done, no more rest stop for them. We will miss them. The rest stop is a hard job. They made it look so easy. The cool thing is they a still smiling.

All this corn Jim and I started to think we were in Iowa.

These two are the luggage lackies, Roger and Larry. They are in charge of luggage when we get to our destination each day. These two are usually the first ones.

Above if you look closely you will see a deer. Actually it is a fawn. Doogie and I saw him when we were walking near the hotel this evening. Tomorrow is a rest day. We will see Damon and Cindy off to the airport, check out bikes the. Discover the sights of Amberdeen.

July 29 REST DAY Aberdeen SD. no miles no climbing

Rest day means get your bike ready for the upcoming week. Jim helped Nancy with some adjustments on her bike. You can tell she was quite pleased.

We had errands to run and we went saw a movie, "Red 2" just a fun bang,bang shoot em' up movie.

Diggity and Doogie went and stayed in the Truck. They love the truck. Here Doogie is in his navigation position between Jim and Sam.

This was a rest day even for the camera. However I do take it on my evening walks with the pups.

This corn field is behind the hotel we were staying in. . A beautiful sunset for an otherwise cool,cloudy, little rainy day. it was a nice way to end the evening. Tomorrow we ride to a little town named Webster.

It should be a nice ride about 45 miles 

July 27 Day 27 Mobridge SD. To Bowdle SD. 45 Miles 1605 climbing

This was in our motel room. If I didn't know better, this could have been in a place in Texas.

Those who know me, know I have a fascination for claw machines.The hotel we were in last night had one. I didn't get this little fellow last night, but I got him this morning. Total investment $1.50. Surprised Cindy & Damon with it. Damon watched me try the night before.

Here is our morning locals watching us ride out of town to Bowdle.

For the last two days we have had sunflowers lining the road. I thought of them as our fans watching us in our own TDA-Tour de America

This house comes with a matching barn.

This deer walked across the road then ran along the field. It was curious about us and stopped at the edge then it bounded away.

The bustling town of Bowdle was closed today. We will be staying in the camper because "No Dogs Allowed!" Tomorrow we are off to Aberdeen and two days of rest. We will miss Cindy & Damon they were Rock Stars of rest stops. Those who have done rest stops know how hard they are. So our hands go out to them and Keith and Martha. We are looking forward to having Sam Montag join the ranks of Rest Stop Extrodinare.

July 26 Day 25 Lemmon SD. to Mobridge SD.97 Miles 2100 climbing

Well a Cold Front came through last night and we woke up to 46 degrees. Everyone scrambled to get the cool weather gear we had been lugging around. The Weather report on TV last night they started talking how early winter would be arriving. It reminded Jim and I when we were in Montana the first time. Someone told us there were only 3 seasons there. June, July  and Winter.

This young colt was running around and kicking up his heels.

I love this shot. It has the most clouds we have seen. The long rolling road is what we have seen for many days now. What a great trip this is.

This is a Silo  across from the first rest stop. I had to zoom in with the camera to see what was on the side. Bras and Panties!!

I can't imagine what happened to this home .

This was way up on a hill we passed. Never saw the cafe. Josiah Jones is the young fellow on Chris's right and Wilfred in on his left. When Nevin was in a convenience store Joseph ask if he knew Chris Kegel. Nevin was floored. He said yes and said he would be at the trailer in a few minutes. He came over and told us Chris had stayed at his uncles house a few years ago. He went and got his uncle. When Chris arrived they all had a good laugh.

Chris told us later that when they stayed with Wilfred they learned that he was the Shaman for his Lakota tribe. While they were with them they were invited to a Pow Wow. What a great memory

We made this climb of 5 percent. When we reached the top 

This beautiful vista was waiting for us. Not to mention an awesome down hill.

This is in the town of McIntosh

We climbed a 5% grade and came over the top to this vista that went for miles.

Tis is the Mo Bridge. It goes over the Missouri River. We rode across into the city of Mobridge.

All along the road today sunflowers were popping up out of the asphalt.

This one was at the top of the bridge after we crossed. 

And here is Jim popping up the top of the road after crossing the bridge

Across from our hotel there is an interpretative walking trail about the Lewis & Clark trail.Jim, Damon and I took the dogs out and let them off their leashes. What a fun run they had. This is the last shot of the day.

July 25 Day 25 Bowman ND to Lemmon SD.65 Miles 1049 climbing

Getting out of Bowman North Dakota. 

This morning there are so many dark clouds, we were amazed how clear the sky was when we left. 

As long as we keep heading east the clear weather seems to following us.

You see miles and miles of land. I started to say open range. There is no such thing anymore as open range.Because rolling along the road are the barb wire fences.

This is the grain elevator for Lemmon. They seem to be standard issue, they all look alike.

Rolling into the Lunch spot. 

Ah, a day at the Spa. Spending time in the Mud Bath.

Off in the distance you can see the road wind off to the right. That is where we are headed and it is about 6 miles to Lemmon.

That was a short time in North Dakota. We will be in South Dakota for 6 days.

Goodness we are finally in Lemmon. The first 49 miles were a piece of cake. It was Jim's kinda of ride.

Long rollers and mostly tail wind. The last 16 we had a side wind. It was especially fun when the trucks would come the opposite direction.

This crazy sculpture is outside the museum in Lemmon. We will be off to Mobridge, SD tomorrow.