Milbank, SD to Miles City, MT



I saw this sign as I was leaving Milbank, SD this morning. Yesterday I traveled on U.S. 12 through Minnesota and into South Dakota, so I had to have a picture. This morning I decided to take I-29 north to Fargo and I-94 west to Miles City, MT. The route today covered 592 miles and was the longest day of the ride, as well as a new record for the most miles that I have ridden in one day.

The weather conditions today covered everything from sunshine to rain. The most difficult had to be the wind. As soon as I got onto I-94 in Fargo the winds were blowing constantly, with some big gusts just to make sure I was awake, until I hit the Montana border almost 350 miles later. I can still hear the wind blowing as my ears are ringing even though I used ear plugs.

I did come across the Theodore Roosevelt National Park about 30 miles east of the Montana border, check it out at http://www.nps.gov/thro/index.htm . Included in this park is the Painted Canyon which has a few spots just off the freeway that would make some awesome photographs. The best way to describe it is that it looks like a mini Grand Canyon. This is another spot on my list of places to visit with a camera.

Everyone made it home from the camporee even though there were some snafus with the transportation to the airport. As I understand the situation, the buses to transport the Meadow Glade Pathfinders and staff to the airport arrived more than 1 1/2 hours late. On the way one of the buses had mechanical problems and needed repairs. The club transferred half of the group onto the one good bus and headed for the airport leaving behind 20 pathfinders and 4 staff. The good bus made it to the airport approximately 25 minutes before their flight was scheduled to leave and the staff at the Southwest counter had the baggage claim tickets and boarding passes ready when they arrived and quickly processed them through the check-in and security process. Meanwhile, the group that was left behind finally got underway to the airport but there was no way they were going to make it in time to catch the plane. Attempts to get on other flights were unsuccessful as all flights were booked full until Tuesday. The rest of the details are a little fuzzy but somehow the flight was delayed until the rest of the group were able to board and the entire club arrived in Portland on the same flight, just a couple of hours later than expected. Praise God!!

8-17-09 Stats
592 miles
4,988 miles down
1,203 miles to go
80% complete

States - SD, ND, MT