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.

6/24/11-HAIL STORM... or not

We woke up early and slowly got ready to leave, both of us loathed the thought of leaving the woods in exchange for the city. We had to take our gear piece by piece down the hill so the ranger wouldn't see that we were camping in the woods. After we finally got all the gear down we had to repair a popped tire, pump some water and jump in the lake.

After a detour to the library we headed out on the Micklson trail. The road was crushed gravel which i had no problem conquering  with my larger tires but LeAnn was less then pleased. We biked until Custer which was the last big city for a long while.Then the clouds started showing up. Huge billowing clouds at which we dutifully ignored. Until the locals stopped us worrying about us dying in the golf ball sized hail. At least we have helmets.


We took shelter at park, ate dinner and talked to a feisty  woman who i could see totally following us to Alaska if she were a bit younger.

The rain poured, we played cards.

Near dark we left Custer heading for a rest stop on the trail 9 miles away. We were greeted with the wonderful surprise of the trail being completely downhill what a blessing.

We slept out under the stars with only a slight worry of prairie rattle snakes cuddling with us for warmth

6/23/11 Rest day in the Black Hills (LeAnn)

Woke up to a beautiful sun glowing across all the treetops. Finished eating and decided to go down to the lake to pump water and wash clothes. Washing clothes by hand is much more involved than one would think. Wash twice, rinse twice, ring out water three times, hang to dry. I enjoy the simple tasks of living, it really helps me to appreciate everything so much more now, but I don't plan on going back to the easier way any time soon. Walked back up the steep hill to our campsite, lounged, ate dinner, played cards threw pine cones at eachother. After dinner we explored the top of the hill we were staying at and found the stalks of the mullin plant to be the perfect fighting swords. We fought for a while and enjoyed the scenery. Then back down the hill to camp and had peanut butter sandwiches for a late night snack.

6/22/11 Black Hills (LeAnn)

Woke up and ate Malt-O-Meal. Whooohooo, gotta love the malt-o-meal!! Went around town- bike shop, library, grocery store, hardware store bike shop again after my valve on my tire snapped in half as Ben was pumping it with air. Took the bike trail/highway with no shoulder all the way out of Rapid City and to Sheridan Lake. Uphill! This was the most challenging day for me. About 20 miles of steep hills and we were loaded with more fuel, water and food. Exhausted, we finally made it to Sheridan lake and I jumped into the water as fast as I could. It was cold, but not quite as cold as Lake Superior this time of year. We continued biking around the lake to try and find a campsite. Campsite again loaded with Rvs and expensive, so we carryed our bikes up a steep hill off the road. We trudged over lots of fallen red pine trees infested by the mountain pine beetle up the hillside til we finally found an opening good enough to put up our tent. The sun sets early when your smack dab in the middle of the Black Hills. Beautiful!

6/21/11 Rapid City (LeAnn

We biked the rest of the way to Rapid City. We hit rain again halfway. Soaked, tired and hungry we got into the city late and decided to treat ourselves a little. We hadn't eaten much that day besides Malt-o-Meal and granola bars, so we liked the idea of a Buffet. I was happy to introduce Ben to his new favorite restaurante- The Mongolian Grill. We came into the restaurante wet and starving and we happy to fill bowl after bowl full of fresh vegetables, noodles and sauces. Ben absolutely loved it and continues to mention the idea of eating at a Mongolian Grill again when we hit another big city. We've decided to save up our money and splurge when we find one again.

That night we found a picnic shelter at a trailer park to be an ideal spot to set up camp. We just set up our sleeping bags and pads in one corner on the cement and with our bellies full and one set of dry clothes to change into, we were content. Until we heard voices and were woken up by two teenagers (a guy and a girl), who happened to walk into the shelter. Ben talked to them for a while, while I tried to sleep. They were both very friendly. Then back to bed for a good night's rest.

6/20/11 Rainy Badlands (LeAnn)

Woke up early 4:45am! Left the bridge, ate breakfast, then the rain started. Biked back up the crazy steep hill to the Badlands. Rain kept pouring down. We stopped at a little tourist shelter with one wooden table in the center. I set up my sleeping bag and took a nap while Ben returned some petrified bones, kept an eye out for tourists, and played solitaire. Rain kept pouring, I woke up to random tourists gathering around the shelter giving us strange looks and inquiring about our adventure. Ben and I entertained ourselves with card games and fighting eachother (martial arts), until the rain finally let up a little around midday. As we left towards the scenic highway, a very friendly family from Wisconsin pulled up alongside us in their van and asked if they could take our picture, then they stopped again and their little girl came running and offered us $20. At first we refused, but the girl was very insistant, so we excepted the money and continued biking throughout the day. The amount of postive energy that people have toward us on our journey continues to amaze me every day.

We continued biking through the Badlands (again) and made our way to the little abandoned town of Scenic. Made dinner - spaghetti and cheese and a picnic table in town. Continued biking. We found a spot to camp alongside the highway on the top of a beautiful grassy hill.