Instead, my trip looked like this....
The trip started with low overcast skies; but, no rain. It appeared that as I got further West, I'd get through the frontal boundary and be greeted by clear skies. Minnesota is a flood plain; but, they say the amount of rain they've had recently is unprecedented. There was water encroaching on the roadways pretty much everywhere I traveled in Mn. On Rt. 14, I came across a road that was partially flooded out:
When I stopped for breakfast and while taking a restroom break, I ripped the zipper off my touring pants. I wasn't prepared to sew in a new zipper, so it looked like I was going to be riding with the castle gate open for the remainder of this trip.
Then, about mid way between Huron SD and Pierre SD, somebody wrecked their SUV about a mile or so in front of me. I didn't see it happen but, saw cars start heading for both shoulders. When I got there, I parked my bike and headed over to see if I could help. There vehicle was over turned, no fluids on the ground, with 2 people and one dog inside. One person was laying on the roof and the other was still belted in. The dog was pinned between the head rest and the roof, which was now crushed in. I asked the folks to stop trying to free the belted in person as they could hurt him worse. Fire/Rescue was on their way and only 10 minutes out. I didn't see any danger of fire. In fact, I put the car in park, turned off the car and removed the keys. After getting good assessments for the incoming medics and while evaluating level of consciousness, I asked if the passengers remembered the accident and one told me the dog jumped on her lap and startled her, causing the accident. Note to self: Always have the animals restrained in the back. Once fire/rescue got there, I went on my way; but, not after reclaiming my helmet from the Highway Patrol who was happy to secure it for me since it was sitting outside the car.
Even with the 45 minute delay, I was still making good time. It was early and I was in the Badlands. I looked up lodging and my GPS pointed me inside the park. I got to use my National Park Pass again! Looking up food, there were fewer options; but, one of the locals told me that Ms. Sue cooks on Friday and Saturday evenings at Cowboy Corner. So over to Cowboy Corner I went. Friday is for chicken fried steak and Saturday is Prime Rib. Damn. OK, Chicken Fried steak is it...either that, or I was eating gas station fair for dinner. Ms. Sue makes a mean chicken fried steak. Seriously. It was deep fried and swimming in gravy and onions. It was good though. I was pretty certain after eating it that I'd live forever. If that didn't stop my heart on the spot, nothing will.
Lodging was courtesy of the KOA campground, just outside the park. It was hot; but, I was able get my tent set up before the mosquito's started eating everything in site. All is well.
On Saturday morning, I went to the Minuteman National Park first. I thought I would get on an early tour, come back, ride the park and head off to ND. That didn't happen. The ranger said the first tour was at 1pm. He asked if I could climb two 15 foot ladders if I had to. I said yes and he handed me a ticket. Now the plan was to ride the park and come back for the tour. I'd be leaving much later than I though though. I knew this would put ND in jeopardy; but, it's not about riding states just to ride states. It's about enjoying the experience.
After visiting the launch center, I started traveling Eest on I-90 when I saw a thunderhead building over Rapid City. It was clear I was going to have to go through it; but, what was truly alarming was the explosive rate of vertical growth that I was seeing. I didn't need to kick some gravel and throw some grass in the air (Bill Harding - Twister reference) to know this was trouble. I decided that instead, I would tuck tail and run! I grabbed the next exit and started going East. The new and improved plan called for me to get 50+ miles away from that storm, check the weather and see if I could go North into North Dakota. The issue was that if I had to be at work for Monday and couldn't wait it out where I was, get behind it and continue. I decided if ND was to be an option at all, I'd have to try to access it from the middle of the state or further.
That storm was building at an incredible rate and covering a bigger and bigger area by the minute. When I stopped and checked weather, I saw that the storm was covering an area about as long as the state is tall. Plan B, now in the toilet, I decided to head for Sioux Falls, where 90 and 29 meet. This was plenty far East and I could sit the storm out over night and if the weather in the morning was OK, head up to Fargo. Incidentally, another thunderstorm was coming out of Billings ND and headed for my location. I was now outrunning a storm behind me and one trying to flank me from the North.
When I settled into my hotel room in Sioux Falls, the weather picture looked like this. The weather channels said this storm system was bad news. There wasn't a tornado in the future; but, lots of hail. I put my bike under the hotel overhang for the evening!
Sunday morning, I awoke to find this:
Hmph. Well, the path to Fargo was clear; but, Weather in Motion showed this storm moving into the Minneapolis area after 12:45pm. That would mean I'd make Fargo just fine; but, I might come back into this nastyness later in the afternoon. It was at that point I decided to chart a course for Montevideo, MN to get North a bit and then ride due East back to Minnetonka. Weather in motion also showed this storm continuing to impact a route home by interstate, so it was important for me to get North.
I arrived to choppy skies and building cumulonimbus clouds. I was dry and not hailed upon. Another successful trip!
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