Two Days in ND

6-15 – Gratitude for Gary: On behalf of the Mission Scholarship Foundation and the Tour de Mission riders I want to express heartfelt and deep gratitude to our good friend Gary Edington for his support over the past 20+ days of our trek. I can accurately say that without Gary’s help we would have never made it to this point. Gary’s generosity in supporting the riders carried us from the Pacific coast, over the crest of the Rocky Mountains and well into the Great Plains. Gary has acted as cook, advisor, confidant, entertainer, quartermaster, intelligence officer, counselor, comedian, provocateur of discussion and thought, but most of all, as a friend. We count Gary as one of our best good friends and a blessing in our life. We love Gary and believe it’s important that others understand the sacrifices and contributions he has made on behalf of the Mission Scholarship Foundation and the Tour de Mission. Gary’s presence and support has been an indispensible blessing to the whole effort.

Tomorrow morning Gary will be leaving us to go on to Minnesota for a well deserved and long awaited fishing trip in the Boundary Waters. We wish Gary and his family well and want him to understand the depth of our gratitude. Love and God Bless you Gary.

Don’t be shy: If you are following this blog please don’t be shy about sharing our website with all your friends and acquaintances. The purpose of the ride remains to raise money for the Mission Scholarship Foundation. The more people you share this with the more possibilities we have to fund the foundation.

Lewis and Clark (Diner and Interpretive Center): When in Rome…We had a great breakfast in Washburn, ND at the Lewis and Clark Café. I had the Explorer, Katie had the Clark, Gary had something off the senior menu along with a piece of pie. Good stuff, good folks, great time.

The interpretive center was good, but in all honesty not up to the one in Great Falls. It is always good to be reminded of the sacrifices made and the challenges that the Corps of Discovery overcame. What a great event of the American experience.

A town with a sense of humor: Hensler ND has a good sense of humor. Outside of town a sign reads…Hensler – Don’t Blink.

Ponds, lakes and birds: As we bike through central ND we are seldom out of sight of a pond, lake and scores of birds, particularly water fowl. If there were more trees you would think you were in Wisconsin or Minnesota.

Goodrich: Typical of everywhere we have stayed along the way in ND the small towns are well kept, have a very high average age and have a great park to stay in. Goodrich was no exception.

A great day to ride: We were so grateful for the weather today. It was in the mid 60’s and only mild winds. A very enjoyable day to ride.

Contrast: Western and Central ND is an area of great contrast. On the one hand there is every evidence of a very robust economy. On the other hand most of the small towns seem to be struggling to survive. The oil, coal and electric energy production is all going great guns and will be for some time. However, the smaller towns seem to be realizing very little of the benefit. The empting of much of rural America is a tough thing to consider and experience. I wish these small towns had a way to survive because they are such great places to raise families.

Empty Schools: Goodrich, Dodge, Haliday, Grassy Butte are either going to close their schools at the end of this school year or have closed their schools in the last 5 to 7 years. Here’s a proposal. Bring students from urban schools who have not experienced success in that setting and, in a voluntary fashion, have them come to these small schools for a great learning environment. The Haliday School which is going to close this year is in excellent shape and is valued at $3 million. They are willing to give it away to anyone who will use it. Urban schools could get these facilities and bring teachers and students to these wonderful environments where they would all experience a higher level of success and quality of life.

6-16 – They Call the Wind Mariah…: Central and eastern ND have had a lot of wind for us. We had hoped most would be from the west, a supportive wind, but that has not been the case. The forecast is for more of the same. Today’s ride was a hard 75 mile grind against a very stiff wind. We will start riding at 5:30 AM tomorrow to beat some of that hopefully. Looking at the forecast we may be in ND a day or so longer than we planned.

Town Pride: Most of the little towns promote town pride on their community signs. Good rich is home to the 2007 Miss North Dakota Basketball player of the year. Sykeston is home to a major league baseball player. I can’t remember his name but he plays for the Indians. Glenfield had the 1995 state girls basketball champions.