Murdo, SD to Ft. Thompson, SD

July 21, 2010
77 miles

We are now in the Central Time Zone so it was darker than we were used to when we got going this morning. We started out going east on a frontage road that paralleled I90. The road surface was rough for about 10 miles and then it got better. It was very nice early on as we were quite a ways from traffic. Also, at this point it was cloudy but no rain so it was nice and cool.

Looking at our hotel in Murdo just before we rode east(The flag on the right is blowing in the wrong direction!)


First part of the ride was pleasant


However, as we moved east the winds from the east picked up and eventually became strong headwinds. Moreover, the clouds started getting thicker and darker. By the time we got to Kennebec it had rained a little. We hung out a while and saw Dick cruise in with a flat tire. He called Blaine to assist in getting the pump.

When I left this stop the winds became stronger and harder to ride through. The next 23 mile stretch to our lunch stop in Reliance was tough fighting the winds.

Snack stop Kenebeck


A few large machines shared the frontage road with us


Frontage road where there were strong headwinds


I grabbed my usual sandwich of hummus and turkey at the truck and saw that the clouds were now becoming very dark. I knew we had 20 miles to our destination at Ft. Thompson so I ate quickly and got back on the road. I was riding north on Hwy 47 trying to beat the rain. As I got closer to the Missouri River it started raining hard. The rain came down much harder than any other time on the tour. Fortunately that lasted only about 10 minutes and I was able to find the Lode Star Motel in Ft. Thompson. It was on the Crow Indian reservation with a casino next to it.

Just before dinner the rain started up again. Ed, Tom, and I decided to get a ride to the Casino restaurant in the hotel van. The whole group was at the restaurant. I can't say anyone really cared about the quality of the food there.

After dinner we were able to walk back to the hotel as the rain stopped briefly. However later in the evening while in our rooms it rained heavily again.



Missouri River at Ft. Thompson just after a strong shower