The Windy Prairie

Given what I do for a living, I am used to flying somewhere for no other reason than to turn around and come back again. Most students' cross country flights follow that pattern... fly to an unfamiliar airport, land, come home. Maybe get them lost in one direction or another. So it only seemed a little bit weird to land in Fargo Tuesday morning, have a quick bite to eat, then hop on the motorcycle and start heading for California.

For some reason, I always thought of prairie as dry and brown, but the Dakotas are lush and prosperous. Everywhere you go, fields of green wheat undulating in the wind, and fat, healthy looking free range cows. Forget being a vegetarian, we're in beef country and the steaks are fabulous. Towns are small and every one seems to be based around the central grain storage and grinding facility. Even now in the 21st century, the capacity of the grain silo seems to be what limits expansion. Rolling down the road, you see well-kept farm after well-kept farm... very few dilapidated structures, and no litter. None.

Ever since I decided to come on this trip, people have been telling me their scary motorcycle stories of impalement, decapitation and general road rash. But by the time I got to Fargo I really wasn't worried about that. The bike is comfortable, and since leaving California five weeks ago, Patrick has already ridden it some 9000 miles through wind, rain, snow, thunderstorms. Everything but tornados. Riding from Napoleon, North Dakota yesterday we had heat in the high 90s and, since there's nothing to stop it, like mountains or even trees, wind of 25 mph or more gusting straight across the road. Getting blown halfway across a runway by a gust of wind is one thing - at least you're nestled in an FAA approved metal cabin. Getting blown halfway across a lane on a motorcycle demands even more sustained attention than landing an airplane. Add to that several miles of unexpected road work going through the Indian Reservation and yesterday was a real endurance test, but we made it just fine and had a nice evening in Kadoka, South Dakota. Which is where we are now, packed and ready to go except for me typing away here so... more later. Picture is of the grain facility in Napoleon.