Pretty well up to date.

We're thanking God for safety... we haven't had any close calls, but three days ago a woman was hit and killed on her bike in the town where we were taking a rest break. It was a sobering reminder that we need to be diligent about safety, and to keep asking everyone to pray for our safety as we ride. 2650 miles into the ride now...

Tonight we're in Pekin! ... ...North Dakota that is... there are several towns out here with only dirt roads. You pull off the 'highway' (read: two lane road that's paved) onto a dirt road, and that's Pekin! Probably four streets. We started looking for a yard where someone would let us set up camp. A man, Gene, pulled up and directed us to the park, where they charge $5 to camp. We're kind of cheapskates, and we told him we were looking for a yard so we could save the money. I (kind of) felt guilty when he gave us $5 to camp, but was also not-so-secretly glad/thankful that we didn't have to spend grocery money on sleeping tonight. Gene, also told us that tomorrow morning at the community center they have coffee and breakfast stuff for a 50 cent donation. You can probably guess on the plans we've made for tomorrow morning. THEN (as if all that weren't enough) Gene brought over a 'fogger' for all the mosquitoes. "They were kinda thick while I was gardening...didn't know how they'd be down here".

Two nights ago we stayed in a County Fairgrounds in Rugby, ND. We initially asked a guy if we could set up a tent in his yard, and he directed us to the fairgrounds. He didn't know if there was a shower, but said it was a 'nice place'. He tracked us down at the library; he'd driven down to the fairgrounds to make sure there were showers for us.

We shared a campsite with Adam, a cyclist we've run into a couple times. We all went out for dinner together after we saw a '$5 steak, potato, and corn dinner' advertised. Total dive bar, but the steak dinner was indeed a $5 10 oz steak... served on a styrofoam plate... alone. The potatoes and corn were on a side table. Serve yourself. David got a Long Island for $1.50 because he had a July birthday (usually $9.00 in Chicago), we served ourselves hefty portions of corn and baked potatoes, and enjoyed the $5 goodness that ensued. It didn't matter that the steaks all came out the same no matter how we ordered them...it didn't matter that they were slightly gristley... it mattered that it really truly was $5.

When we got back, David and Adam played disc golf. Our neighbors on the other side of the campground (in a camper) brought over about 20 freshly baked cookies. mmmmmmmm. Soooo good. A couple people from town rode in on their bikes, and chatted with David and Adam about touring. They were really kind, excited about what we were doing, and enthusiastic about spending an hour of the evening with us. The next morning, David and I slept in a little (7:30), packed up camp, and rode to the gas station to make oatmeal. While at the gas station, Jeffery Lingerfelt (the guy from the night before) showed up. "Hey...I told my wife after we left that I wished we could've bought you breakfast this morning. I have to go pick up my daughter from camp, but can I buy you guys breakfast? The place across the street is great!" With that, he extended his hand with a $20 bill. We ate a second breakfast/ early lunch that day, and were once again blown away by the kindness of strangers.

So, Minot has come and gone. No new saddle for David... it was supposed to be waiting at the post office, but the guy on the other end of the internet didn't send it. I guess we're kind of lucky that Mr. Internet runs a Mickey Mouse operation, because apparently David ordered a woman's seat. David's man seat will hopefully be waiting for him in Minnesota. Hopefully with a capital 'H'. We rode a 100 mile and a 130 mile day back to back to get David's seat as-fast-as-we-could. Now, we're taking it easy to Minnesota (65-75 miles a day) to let butts heal.

Minot was otherwise a great experience. We stayed with a WarmShowers couple named Tracy and Tina Brookens. They have four kids, all impossibly cute and blonde. We pulled up, knocked on the door and were greeted by Kristen Galat, age 3 1/2. Maybe I just needed a little kid fix, or... I don't know what, but I loooved hanging out with their kids. We read, we biked, we picked out clothes. Speaking of clothes, we woke up Friday and were getting ready for the day. Alec, their 5 yr. old, informed David that he needed to change because he'd 'already worn those clothes last night'. He looked kind of sheepish when David told him he didn't have any other clothes. We've sent so much stuff home, and will probably find some way to fill another box.

After David and I showered, we went upstairs to chat with Tina and play with the kids until Tracy got home. We all ate enchiladas together (!), and then Tracy trued our wheels and did all kinds of other good stuff to our bikes; David stood with him in the garage, chatted, and learned. He also tested Tracy's Trice brand recumbant. His description? "Awesome". No butt problems with that seat! Inside the house, I chatted with Tina and cleaned up the dinner mess. After the kids went to bed, we stayed up and talked a little longer, then crashed. Tracy and Tina were ok with us spending another night there while we took a lay day.

The next morning, we got ready, went to the post office (no seat), the grocery store, and then went to the movie theatre. I think we've seen one movie in a theatre in the last year. Maybe 1/2 a tv show since we've left. We pulled up to the movie theatre and hear, "Wait! I know those people! David? Kristen?!" It was Mary Rich, one member of the big family we ate 4th of July dinner with! Here she was 800 miles from home, and we were running into her and her sisters in Minot, ND! Not only that, we'd stayed with her brother the night before, and would be staying with her son in a week!

On the way out of the theatre, we ran into the 'Womans Tour' group that we've been hearing about along the route. There are two groups of older woman that left one day apart. We've slowly been catching up to them. The more I think about it, the more genius I think the tour guides are. They basically charge an arm and a leg to be a SAG (Support and Gear OR Support Aide Group) for these older women. They have two 16 passenger vans with giant bike racks on top, and one covered trailer for all the women. They provide some meals, and set up hotel arrangements for the ladies, use Adventure Cycling's maps, and charge thousands of dollars to do the best they can in getting the group halfway across this year, and halfway across next year. Doesn't sound like a bad arrangement to me at all.

When we got back to the Brookens, the kids swarmed around us. "There are more people coming!" "It's going to be a party!" Apparently, two more bikers were coming into town for the evening. How hilarious when it ended up being the same two bikers we shared a campsite with in Glacier! Tracy and Tina grilled out for everybody, and had a friend of their own over. I did some popcorn reading with the oldest little girl, listed to some violin and guitar by the kids, and then came out to join the adults. Absolute hilarity ensued until midnight. So many funny stories from Tracy and his friend, Mike, who are in the Air Force, and from Adam and Jim, the other bikers. The whole evening was one of the most memorable times on our trip... pretty much from the bottom up because Tina and Tracy are so darn hospitable. Tina, Tracy... thank you for being so kind to us in Minot.
To complete the circle of coincidences... we ran into both Adam and Jim (the other bikers) separately the next day at Dairy Queen. I guess it's not so coincidental... who doesn't love ice cream after biking?!

We hear that finding a place to sleep in Williston, ND is rather difficult, thanks to the recent oil boom. Thankfully, Kyle and Mandy hooked us up with Kyle's uncle. James and Jean Rich must have been looking through the windows waiting for us, because the second we pulled up to the curb, the door was opening. James showed us where we'd be sleeping (the most comfortable pull-out bed in the world), and where the shower was. He and Jean then had to leave for work for a little bit. We showered up...David got our stuff ready for the next day, as well as took a trip to the bike shop, and we enjoyed being clean and comfortable until the Rich's got home. Jean cooked us some hamburgers, onion rings, french fries, and made salad. We enjoyed talking with the Rich's until bedtime about their lives, our lives... North Dakota... and then we slept on the heavenly pull out. Pretty nice. We got a really early start the next day, so we weren't able to see them, but we heard from James' sister that after we left he registered for WarmShowers and had another cyclist into their home the following evening. Wow! We're really thankful for the time we were able to spend with James and Jean.

I've seen more campers in the last two weeks than I think I've seen in my entire life combined. I'd say about 40% of the traffic is campers, 40% are trucks (semi or pickup), and 18% are motorcycles.

We still haven't written about last night, but as usual... bed time calls. After reading through this a second time, I realize just how inarticulate I'm getting on this trip.