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Deane and Norm's Motorcycle Trip to Northwest Territories & Nunavut | |
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August 29-Winnipeg, MB to Bismarck, North Dakota 420 Miles |
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This was the day for Deane and Norm to part company, so after breakfast, a warm handshake, and a promise to start thinking about next year's adventure, we went our separate ways. Norm rode toward Ohio with plans for visiting relatives along the way, and Deane rode toward Albuquerque, with planned things to see and do on the way to Albuquerque. Yes, we each have a destination, but its the journey that counts in motorcycle touring, not just the destination. Since Deane has the laptop PC, the narrative from here on is just about Deane's trip. I rode about 150 miles west in Manitoba, from Winnipeg, to see more of the southern part of Manitoba. Most of the way was taken by large farms with the wheat fields now harvested by combine and therefore golden in color. Bordering the fields again were lines of trees, some turning color. Then there were some crops still green, and with a perfect sunny day, the colors of the landscape were sharply defined. It was beautiful. Turning south to cross the US-Canadian border north of Minot, North Dakota, the land became more gently rolling hills. I thought I might have a difficult time getting back into the US, from what we all hear about tightening up by the border patrol. However, the border agent was quite jovial and of course he was interested in the Gold Wing and interested in the trip we had taken. I did have to show a picture ID, my driver's license, and answer that I didn't have any alcohol or tobacco purchased in Canada, but other than that we just sort of chatted. I have found over the last few years at border crossings of the US, Canada, and Mexico, the border guards are not too concerned about motorcycles, probably because they can't haul very much, so they don't present much opportunity for smuggling. Entering North Dakota, the farm field pattern continued the same for awhile, but changed fairly rapidly from gently rolling hills to fairly sharp rolling hills. Still most of the large fields were wheat, but interestingly, much less had been harvested as yet, compared to Manitoba. One would think that the farther south fields would be harvested first, not the other way around. Also, along with the change to sharper rolling hills, there appeared many small ponds in the low places of the fields. When I stopped to take the following picture of one of these places, to show contrasts of colors, a very inquisitive little boy from a nearby house came out to see the Gold Wing. He wanted to know "What is this?", "How does that work?", "What happens if I turn or push this or that?". And he was so quick that he was all over the bike before his Dad got him slowed down. So, I took his picture with the bike and got the background I wanted. It turned out that the father was a biker also (with a '76 Harley - yes - 1976!), so we exchanged stories.
It was interesting that maybe the second largest crop so far in North Dakota is Sunflowers - big fields of them, and then some fields of corn started to show up. Every once in a while I saw a silo and machinery for Sunflower Seeds. I had planned to stop at the "Lewis and Clark" interpretive center on the Missouri River, that I had passed up a few years ago, so I spent some time there. I also went down to the reproduction of their "Fort Mandan". It was not in exactly the actual spot of the original because of a river channel change. However, it gave one the flavor of what the Missouri River was when they spent the winter of 1804 there, on their epic trip across what was wilderness then. I had liked both Minot, ND and Bismarck, ND, from a previous trip, so I just rode through the center of each town. Nice mid-size towns. Tomorrow will see me through North Dakota and into South Dakota. |
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