6/26/11 Hail storm...power outage (LeAnn)

It's always nice waking up to a beautiful clear day with blue skies as far as the eye can see. Our goal was to make it to Lusk, the first city in Wyoming so we could refuel on water and food. The city was at an elevation of a little over 5,000 and if we had had some forethought, we would have realized the challenge that lay in front of us. At 30 miles away form Lusk, we were running short on water and the hills and wind were killing us. We pushed through as always and made it to town with nothing to spare. Then came a surprise, the entire city was having a power outage. The grocery store was closed and we were lucky to find a gas station without lights or gas, but was still running it's cash register on a generator. We stopped for a lunch of tortillas and peanut butter and decided to splurge on Gatoraide(since it was 2 for $3).

Then the storm came in. Pea sized hail and pouring rain fell down on the city with its people driving in and out of the gas station, frustrated about not having gas. Ben and I patiently waited for the storm to pass underneath the roof of the gas station and enjoyed the break from the heat.

After the storm cleared, we biked a few miles down the road to a roadside rest area and Ben cooked a bean and rice dinner while I washed dishes and refilled our water. A few more miles down the highway we made camp again just off the roadside. There was nothing but fences and prairie pasture as far as the eye could see. Another beautiful sunset ended the day.

6/25/11 Last leg of the Mickelson Trail (Ben and LeAnn)

Down hill.... down the hill goes, no need to peddle, no need to sweat all i hear is the rushing of wind and the melodious voice of my girlfriend joyously singing about how all she can see all day is her boyfriends butt, because he always is in front.

It will be the next hit.

We finished the last 30 miles of the Mickelson Trail with ease and pulled into Edgemont. Then off to the grocery store (which i might add had a For Sale sign in front of it,) got a few vittles for the road ahead(mainly tortillas). We stopped at a gas station on the way out of town to refill on water and take shelter from the heat. As we strolled the aisles dreaming of cool beverages(like Gatoraide which was on sale for $1.50, we had a man and his daughter come up to us and ask if we wanted some Gatoraide. They both just happened to be from Hermantown. Thankful and surprised, we accepted the Gatoraide and manderine oranges that he gave us. We decided to wait for the heat to cool off and sat underneath the shade of the gas station roof at a little table, play cards and drink Gaitoraide. I don't think I have ever tasted a beverage quite as satisfying before. A while later, we headed out trying to get past the border by sundown.

As we left Edgemont, ND storm clouds of loomed all around us. They looked quite nasty and dark. There was that one point when we looked into the distance and could see nothing but constant strikes of lightning shooting all the way to the earth. We decided no storm could stop us from getting to Wyoming, and away we went. Lucky again, the edge of the storm was all we got. There was a short period of strong winds and heavy rain, but soon it was over, the skies cleared and we made it to the border. We rode a few more miles into Wyoming, then camped along the side of the highway for the night.