3JUNE2011 @ Bismarck, ND (Me) and near Mission Ridge, SD (canoe) - At 0200 a violent storm had cleared through Bismarck and I left the Ramada Inn for the one-mile stroll to the bus station. By 0245 I had a ticket to ride Bismarck-Dickinson and was stretched out on the floor getting some sleep. Felomina's bus arriving late gave some extra time so I probably got 2 to 3 hours. She was actually surprised to see me as I had evidently told her to expect me in Dickinson. Neverthemore we occupied seats across an aisle and had a good 100-mile conversation. She looks good, healthy and happy. Forty-eight hours on the bus hardly shows. After breakfast in Dickinson we bade each other goodbye and I began a trek north toward Killdeer, arriving at 1020. Walking well past Walmart I finally got a ride from Jeremy Schiefer, a young man from Riverton, WY. After a short wait at Kildeer I got a 7-mile ride to Dunn Center and then a 3rd ride to the bank at Halliday, arriving at 1230. Gordon Hoffner is at the bank branch in Beulah; he will arrive in Halliday at 1800 and take me down to Charging Eagle Bay. Both rides from Killdeer were provided by folks pulling a trailer holding a vehicle. That makes three such rides this week ... a statistical anomoly for sure.
Gordon was thinking Beulah (Central) time so in Mountain time Halliday, we headed out at 1700. On the way to Charging Eagle Bay we conversed about several things, chief among them being the condition of vthe road, which had received new road mix and been regraded in a few areas. It also had been damaged by oil field trucks but not yet to the extent seen further northwest. April's route to his cabin could no longer be used so we drove to the Mossett house, north across a field and connected back about 500 yards from my truck. A hundred yards or so of that also being under water, we drove parallel to and 40 feet up the sidehill to get around. The truck started instantly and we moved out just as fast. Across the Mosset's field I spun out just enough to let me know that in a few weeks that route would be a muddy mess manageable only by a 4-wheel drive. Stated otherwise, it is good to be driving up and out now as soon the retrieval would be put back into September. Up and out happened with no problem and soon Gordon and I were exchanging some final words at the Twin Buttes store. He went south to Halliday and I east to the Garrison dam and highway 83. Driving aside Lake Sakakawea I was struck by how far I had traveled through the ice those six April days ... that seem so long ago. A viewing stop at the dam followed by an orange juice stop at the Riverdale store was followed by a sleepy drive down highway 83 ... ending at Washburn as the sun was setting. I slept very little last night - no problem now as I am off the road and settling down.