New Salem, ND to Bismarck, ND. 41.3 miles.
I opened my eyes at 7:00 am to the sound of thunder in the distance. My tent was dry. I was situated in a grassy field next to a covered patio with picnic tables. Do I get up now and pack up to avoid stowing wet gear? Is it even going to rain anyway? As I thought about it for a few minutes, thunder clapped again, this time louder, and almost simultaneously, the wind kicked up. Crap! It's coming.
I jumped out of my sleeping bag, zipped open the tent, stuck my head out like a turtle, and there it was, a dark sky to the West, with clouds extending over my head. I quickly stood up, grabbed my pannier bags, 2 at a time, and carried them over to the covered patio. Then, a flash of lightning in the distance. I ran back over to my tent, yanked the 6 stakes out of the ground, and dragged the pitched tent with the ground tarp, rain fly, and remaining gear still in-tact to my fortunate shelter nearby.
"Ok, I'm awake!", I thought to myself. I guess I better put on a pair of shorts! Fortunately, no one was around to see my frantic attempt to reach the dry island I was now on while in my underwear. The rain now coming down in buckets, lightning striking all around me, I proceeded to pack up my things and load up my bike while Mother Nature insisted on my undivided attention.
The lightning moved on, skies were clear to the North, but it was still raining a bit by the time I was ready to go. To my right was the direction of my route and the town of New Salem, a place new to me that I had not yet ventured into. But, I could tell with my weak signal using the Google Map App that there was a favorably-rated coffee shop in town. Would it be open on the 4th of July?
To my left, a mile down the road and next to the interstate I rode in on the day before was a motel with a restaurant attached. I could make a dash for either one. I decided to try my luck with the coffee shop. As I rode down the main road from the interstate into town, I realized that the main street in this town would be all the way at the other end, not close to the interstate, but along the train tracks, just like many of the small towns I had visited recently. By the time I reached the coffee shop, my rain gear was pretty wet, and the shop was closed for the holiday. Darn! All the way back to the interstate I went, pulling off at the restaurant.
After a decent breakfast, I started out for a shorter ride to Bismarck, the state capitol of North Dakota. I wanted to get to this city early and be off the road for the latter half of the holiday to avoid drunk drivers. And, I was looking forward to spending the holiday in a place that would likely have some fun events to celebrate the occasion.
On the way, I followed the storm that had woke me up, now quite a bit ahead of me, with blue skies over my head. Apparently, at this time, the storm was unleashing it's fury on Bismarck, and the adjacent city on the West side of the river, Mandan. Every 4th of July, Mandan has a big parade in the late morning to kick off a day of events. While people were lined up along the streets, staking out the best viewpoints to watch the parade, the city cancelled the event and encouraged everyone to take shelter.
I had a South to East-Southeast wind on my ride that slowed me down considerably. But, I managed to get into town around 3 pm. I had to cross a bridge over a confluence of train tracks. This crossing provided a unique vantage point looking down into empty coal cars connected to a locomotive headed West.
I eventually merged onto a dedicated bike path that guided me through Mandan, over an old friend, the Missouri River (which was bustling with holiday boaters having a good time), and into the capitol city of Bismarck.
On the map, you will notice my path extends several miles to the South of the city center of Bismarck. My final destination was General Sibley State Park, a great campground full of shade trees along the banks of the Missouri River.
After setting up camp and a nice shower, I jumped back on the bike and rode North to explore Bismarck. I stumbled upon a great Irish pub that served up a delicious lunch in a fun atmosphere full of people. Several folks talked to me about my bike ride. I told them a few fun stories. I found out from the bartender that the place to be later was the State Capitol lawn, where the symphony along with a special guest will play music from 6 pm to 11 pm, including traditional patriotic songs as well as rock and pop music, along with fireworks starting around 10:30 pm.
I made my way to the center of the festivities, passing through a beautiful neighborhood of old homes that had been restored to their original luster, each with lots of character and charm.
The Capitol lawn was huge, and lined with American flags waving in the Southeasterly winds. People were gathering with their friends and families, laying out blankets, setting up beach chairs, conversating, playing cards and other games, all while the symphony was playing on the steps of the capitol building.
By the time night had fallen, the lawn was packed with people, but not uncomfortably so. Constant overlapping rumblings of distant explosions could be heard as people lit off their own fireworks across the river in Mandan where it's legal to do so. The capitol building was nicely lit up.
By around 10:30 pm, a fantastic fireworks show commenced, and was the finale to a memorable 4th of July... Bismarck style.
Of course, I did light off some sparklers before going to bed!
What a neat 4th of July! I love celebrations like that.
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