Sorry for the delay in getting the site updated, we have been without connection for awhile. Not to mention busy having fun.

Minot ND to Pipestone, MN
We stayed in a nice city park in Fargo named Lindenwood. Unfortunately it was very near the interstate and the traffic noise was never ending – needless to say ear plugs were a necessity. This park had beautiful flowers all around. We met Diane Fischer, the flower lady; she has been planting and taking care of the 23,000 flowers for 33 years now. She started doing this out of high school and has figured out how she can continue to do this on nights and weekends and have a regular job too. Turns out she is a cyclist also (has 5 bikes) so she helped us out with the bike trails around and getting out of the city. We rode out toward Galesburg and saw the world’s tallest structure. A 2,063 foot TV tower. It was hard to distinguish this was the tallest structure with so many other towers around it. Along the way we saw fields of sugar beets, wheat, corn and sunflowers. We had a slight tailwind on this day.
We did some touring around Fargo on the days we were there. We stopped in to tour the old renovated theatre. It was done very nicely. While there as we were looking around we discovered an impersonator, Mike Russell, who was making a promo DVD for his agent to send out. Anyway, we were asked to be a part of his audience. He did impersonations of Elvis, Buddy Holly, Garth Brooks, Dean Martin and Frank Sinatra. He was doing the Elvis impersonation while we were there. Very interesting, of course they made us sign releases to be in his DVD. You never know we may have been the first to see some big star someday.
We then went to the Hjemkomst Interpretive Center just over the river in Moorhead, MN. Here we saw the Hopperstead Church. It is a full scale replica of a stave church in Vik, Norway. Staves are the 27’ log columns that are the main supports of the structure. This technique of using staves and posts make this type of church an architectural work of art. One man, Guy Paulson, carved this whole church. It was truly amazing to see.
We then learned about the Hjemkomst (Norwegian for “Homecoming”) a replica Viking ship. This ship was a dream of a local high school guidance counselor, Robert Asp, to build and sail it to Norway where his ancestors were from. He built it in a potato warehouse in Hawley, MN. It is 76’ long, 17’ wide and weighs 16 ton. It took 100 oak trees, 7,000 rivets and 8 years to build. It was completed in 1980 and it was test sailed on Lake Superior before it was to be sailed to Norway. Sadly, Mr. Asp died from leukemia that same year it was tested. In the summer of 1982 a crew of 12 including 4 of his children fulfilled his dream of sailing from Duluth, MN through the Great Lakes, Erie Canal and then onto Norway. A 6,100 mile voyage. It took them a month to get through to NY, then 5 weeks to get to Norway. About 500 miles out from NY they hit a storm and a big wave that put a 14’ long 1/8” crack in their hull that they had to do a lot of bailing from. They eventually stuffed the crack with strips of potato sacks and continued on. They arrived safely in Bergen Norway with Mrs. Asp waiting on the shore for them. Mr. Asp’s motto “Dare to Dream” was fulfilled. What a great story to relive with the crew through a video presentation.
Another one of our great days was spent in Barnsville, MN at Potato Days. This was a 2 day annual celebration that the town went all out for. We attended on Saturday, starting the day with a potato pancake feed put on by one of the local churches. We sat next to a couple that were local potato farmers, so we learned about potato farming. Then on to the potato wash plant tour, we learned what happens after the potatoes leave the field and before we buy them in your local grocer. Then onto to see the sew -n- stack completion, this is where there is a 2 man team, one guy sews up the 100 lb burlap potato sack and the other stacks them on a pallet. A timed event of sewing and stacking 5 bags of potatoes, if any of the spuds fall out you have to resew the bag. Then there was the strong man competition where you pick up a 100 lb sack of potatoes and throw it up onto a pallet on a fork lift. The winner threw it up over his head to 8’6”. Many other competitions were going on throughout the festival such as mashed potato eating, mashed potato sculpture, potato picking, potato peeling, Miss Tator Tot, potato desert cook-off, potato sack fashion show, and crowning Mr. & Mrs. Potato Head for 2007. We were just spec”tators” for these events. There was also a classic car show that had over 200 cars to look at. There were lots of potato things to eat such as mashed potatoes with meatballs, potato sausage wrapped in lefske, potato soup and ice cream with chocolate covered potato chips as the topping. Late afternoon was the big parade, it was very, very long with every fire department and many Shriner groups from miles around. All in all it was a “spud”tacular day.
On Sunday we got 52 miles in heading south to Wahpeton with a headwind of 23 to 28 mph. It started out at 52 degrees then warmed to 87 by afternoon. Then Monday we were in Ortonville camping along Big Stone Lake. Got 48 miles in that day riding along the lake with nice rolling terrain before the storm. We saw lots of wild turkeys today along the road. We stopped in Wheaton for soup at a local café and Ann was asking a farmer what he thought the weather was going to do for the rest of the day as it had been misting all morning. He said a big system was coming through and he hoped we didn’t get hailed on. We thought he was joking with us. As we were heading out of town you could feel the stillness in the air, hear thunder and could see some lightening. Up ahead were dark skies. We decided to wait it out. And guess what the farmer was right we did have ¾” hail stones.
Tuesday, August 28, We road from Ortonville to Pipestone. It was a very foggy day. Thankfully we were on lesser traveled roads so traffic was not a problem. More wild turkeys along our somewhat hilly route. There were wind farms along the way with their wind driven turbines barely moving around. And today was our longest day of the trip so far 104 miles.
HAPPY BIRTHDAY SHERRY NEWBY AND CAROL PRICE !!

Wednesday, August 15 Wolf Point, MT to Williston, ND
On the bikes by 6:45. Rolling terrain today. We were all a bit apprehensive today about going through the town of Poplar that is on an Indian Reservation. We had been told by several other cyclists along the route not to stop in this town - it was not safe there. The town has 70% unemployment and some angry Native Americans there. Needless to say we flew through this town - looking down at the road and not around at anything and praying for no flats or mechanical problems in this town. Thank you Lord, we were fine. We experienced lots of gnats on our route. But they were not as bad as the mosquitoes we experienced near Malta. The mosquitoes were so bad you could not even coast to stretch your legs without getting attacked. That motivates you to ride faster. After being in Montana awhile you understand why they call this Big Sky Country. We had a slight tail wind when we left then it turned into a direct headwind. What a grinder. We saw more golden carpets of wheat fields today as well as lots of baled hay and a few oil wells. We rode on highway 2 which parallels the Canadian border some 40 or so miles away. Time change when we hit North Dakota.

Thursday August 16 Williston
2nd night camping in Williston. Today was a day of reorganization, laundry, groceries, bike tune up and rest. We checked out the town and got our errands all done then took a 2.5 mile hike around a nearby lake. We contacted Celeste at Schwalbe tires about the side wall blowing out of our tire in the beginning of the trip. We received exceptional service and a replacement tire is being sent to us under warranty.

Friday, August 17 Williston to Minot
Strong head winds again today. Actually was 20 to 25 mph with gusts as high as 35 mph. Short riding day as the winds were treacherous. We arrived in Minot early afternoon and were told there was to be a rainstorm coming later today. We opted for a hotel for the night. We'll make up our missed miles over the next couple of days. One of our Therma rest mattresses delaminated and would only blow up into a bubble and the rest remain flat. Thanks to Amber at Cascade Design and Scheels Sporting Goods we were able to replace this under warranty as it had only been used 14 days before it malfunctioned. It is so nice to buy from quality companies that stand behind their products.

Saturday, August 18 Minot
We rode 48 makeup miles today . We rode until we came upon a freshly oiled road that also had loose rock on it. So we headed up another road. We saw a farmer combining his wheat so we stopped to take pictures. When Janet and Ann waved at him he pulled his combine over to the edge of the field to talk to us. He showed us what he was harvesting - durum wheat. He was happy to tell us all about his equipment, farm, crop and etc. He said he had to get this field done today before any rain came - today he was getting 40 bushel an acre. This made his 150 acres of crop worth between $42,000.00 to $43,000.00. He thought he could have it harvested in 5 hours if his 3rd combine was up and running. If he didn't get this done and it got rained on it would be worth $12,000.00. Don't have to think about that one too long... You can tell you are in the farm areas of the midwest when you go into a grocery store and one side of the aisle is all jerky, beef jerky, flavored jerky, jerky of all package sizes and brands. The other side of the aisle is sunflower seeds of all types, shelled, salted, unsalted, flavored, etc.

Sunday, August 19th Minot
We rode the final makeup miles in from Rugby to Minot this morning with a great tailwind. And how many of us knew that Rugby, ND was the geographic center of North America? Certainly not us. Lots of sunflower fields along the way. The sunflowers are amazing plants the sunflower head itself rotates around to find the sunlight. So in the morning before the sun is shining brightly their heads are all facing down and to the west and as the day progresses they turn toward the east. They harvest sunflowers for the seed and also to make sunflower oil. When the heads are all up toward the sun it is a blanket of bright yellow. What a sight to see.

Sunday, August 12th Havre to Malta, MT
We camped in Havre last night. When we checked in we asked about the trains at night as the tracks ran 100 feet behind our tent. We were told there was 1 Amtrak train between 2:00 to 4:00 AM. That was true but they failed to tell us about the other 7 CSX trains throughout the night. Needless to say not too much sleeping for these tired cyclist. We had a biking day of headwinds along miles and miles of wheat fields. We saw our 1st rattle snake today along the shoulder of the road, 6 foot long. Lucky for us he was hit by a car instead of us. To realize the desolation of Montana the whole state which is 678 miles wide is all in the same area code - not many people living here.

Monday, August 13th Malta to Glasgow, MT
We were up early to get a good start on our long day. On the bike by 6:45 and in by noon, thanks to a wonderful tailwind that took us across 72 miles of wheat field country very quickly. There is quite alot of train traffic in this area, probably seen as many as 25 trains today. Bill & Janet had their 2nd flat today. Once in Glasgow we grocery shopped and got the bike all cleaned up. After a quick stop in the Glasgow Clinic and seeing Dr. Brian Buschman (a cyclist himself)we were ready for a night at the Northeastern Montana Rodeo. This rodeo was alot of fun. It was bull riding, barrel racing, bronco riding, steer wrestling and a wild horse chase. There were alot of local guys in the rodeo which made it alot of fun to sit in the stands and hear the locals cheer them on. What an experience. The last event, wild horse chase, was absolutely wild to watch. There were 8 teams of 3 cowboys each and 8 wild horses - never been ridden. Imagine all these cowboys and horses in the arena at once, all trying to get their horse saddled. The first team to accomplish this and ride around a barrel is the winner. The team that won were Native American cowboys that while one of them was putting on the saddle the other 2 where biting the horses ears - yes I said biting. It was amazing. Obviously not their first rodeo !!!!!

Tuesday, August 14th Glasgow to Wolf Point, MT
Up early again this morning - so much for this being a vacation where you get to sleep in !!! Thankfully we had a tailwind yesterday because today we had a consistent headwind of 25 to 30 mph. Relentless, it drained every ounce of energy to push these miles. Again more wheat fields and trains today. But we did see our 1st field of corn. Not much in any of these little towns - good thing we have Rich come back and bring us water after he has set up the RV. Once we were in Wolf Point we decided to go check out the area. We found Honeyland, Inc. He has 4,000 bee colonies and produces 1/2 million lbs of clover honey annually. We purchased 5 lbs of clover honey for $9.50 - what a deal. Good thing we have the rv to carry this for us. Tomorrow we push on to Williston, ND for a couple of days off.

Thursday, August 9th Kalispell to Cut Bank
Woke to more smoke this morning forcing us to ride in the motorhome a second day in a row. We drove to Big Fork to look around and of course to have Brookies Cookies, a spot we frequent whenever we are in the area. We picked up Ranier cherries and Flat Head Valley apricots - the fresh fruit is so wonderful. After doing some errands we headed out for Cut Bank. Along the way we experienced more smoke and went by the camping area for all the fire fighters. We estimated at 200 tents set up in this area. The mountains have now changed to foothills and plains. We took a short ride to kick our muscles out late afternoon.

Friday, August 10th Cut Bank to Chester
Rain woke us @ 4:00 this morning. We were on the bike by 10:00 headed to Chester. Rode in overcast skies that lead to rain 23 miles later forcing some of us to have hot chocolate and a pastry (we love rain)in a truck stop in Shelby. After our 2nd breakfast we rode along lots of wheat fields that are being harvested. Every small town has a grain elevator in it. Also many of the farmers have their own grain bins. We heard that the farmers are concerned because there is not enough storage area for the abundant wheat crop they are experiencing this year. Today we saw our 2nd dust devil - which is like a mini tornado that picks up dust from the fields. Bill & Janet had their first flat today. We camped at Lake Elwell overlooking Tiber Dam.

Saturday, August 11th Chester to Havre
Very cold this morning - 48 degrees with a head wind made it a challenging day. Once we rode into Havre we found our camp ground and then went on a tour of the underground city. This was created after a fire destroyed the city in the 1930's. All that was left were the basements of the buildings. Post fire building requirements required all buildings to be brick. The brick availability and cost forced the merchants to utilize their existing basements and underground artery connecting them. This covered a 10 block area.

Saturday, August 4th Old Town, ID to Sandpoint, ID
We rode the bike path out of town and on to Priest River. We talked to 2 joggers, Janice & Jody about the route. They advised not taking the route the maps showed as there was more road construction and no shoulder. They sent us another way the was very scenic along the Pend Oreille River and Lake. We had a tail wind most of the way - it was wonderful. Bill & Janet had their chain break on them twice today - mechanic Tim put it back together again. We had our 2nd flat of the trip - ran over a huge staple. We checked out the 3 bike shops in Sandpoint, had to get new pedals for Ann (think she has too much turbo power). We really liked Sandpoint, it is a younger feeling town, lots to do and great places to eat. Very active people here, biking, jogging, swimming and roller blading.

Sunday, August 5th Sandpoint to Cabinet Grove, ID
Another sunny day. We stopped in a bike shop in Clark Fork to see if he could help with what we thought was a freewheel problem but after further investigating we discovered our rear axle was bent. Tim called Jack @ Tandems Unlimited in Birmingham, where we purchased the bike, for advice. Since it was Sunday DT Swiss (maker of the axle in Grand Junction,CO) was closed, we would have to nurse the bike along until we could get parts overnighted. After some adjusting we made it the rest of the 55 miles on some rough roads to Cabinet Grove. HAPPY 13TH BIRTHDAY HEIDI NEWBY !!!!

Monday, August 6th Cabinet Grove to Kalispell, MT
We got an early start this morning to beat the heat, which was a high of 97 today. We rode along lots of rivers, creeks and lakes. The route took us over lots of rolling hills along Bull Creek, we were off the bikes by noon and had our 53 miles in. There was considerable smoke in the air from the forest fires. We stopped at The Forestry Department to get an update on the fires and was advised that the air was full of smoke and we shouldn't be biking. Additionally, our motorhome drivers needed to get to the nearest airport. Michelle's 94 year old father, John, had been in the hospital for 6 days. These two issues made our decision easy to get in the motorhome and head for Kalispell (about 80 miles). We got flights booked for tomorrow and now have Rich Post (Bill's nephew) coming on Wednesday to drive sag for us. Gus & Michelle will be greatly missed, but we all know family comes first - the way it should be. HAPPY BIRTHDAY UNCLE DON WEAVER !!!

Tuesday, August 7th Kalispell, MT
The overnighted axle arrived today. Thank you DT Swiss for replacing the axle for free as they have never had a bent axle in their tandem hubs. We took Gus & Michelle out for a drive this morning around Flathead Lake. They flew out this afternoon. We ran errands and got a few more needs for the tandem. Cool camping tonight.

Wednesday, August 8th Kalispell, MT (still)
No riding for the 2nd day in a row, we don't know what to do with ourselves. We drove up to Glacier National Park for a 3+ mile hike. This is a wonderful hiking area and a beautiful lake to walk around. We picked up Rich at the airport this afternoon and we are anxious to get back on the bike tomorrow. We all got our laundry caught up and final tuning done on the bikes before we head out to areas that have no services.

Tuesday 7-31 thru Friday 8-3

Winthrop to Omak, WA. We rode into Twisp and stopped to check the hardware store for something to fix Janet's mirror, while there a couple of locals, George & Rick told us of another route to take to avoid Loup Loup Pass. Their route took us along untraveled scenic roads, with orchards, farms and rivers. We traveled past orchards of apricots, apples, pears, nectarines and cherries. The only challenge is that it ended up adding 40 miles to the ride. We stopped in "Rest Awhile" fruit stand and deli in Petrosa for lunch and to enjoy their wonderful molasses cookies (freshly baked). The ladies there were most helpful and kind. We camped in the City Campground in Omak. It was a very sunny hot day in the upper 90's. While in our tent that night next at about 1:15 AM the lawn sprinkler system came on, we both sat up and thought maybe we had pitched the tent on top of a sprinkler head. Concerned about the sprinklers spraying water in our tent Tim went out to check out the situation. He determined that he just needed to stop this one head so he turned a picnic table upside down on top of it - genius guy that he is. After he returned to the tent we both layed there giggling like 2 kids that we had out foxed the sprinkler system. When that zone was done in 20 minutes another zone came on and it included 2 large heads pounding us from both ends of the tent. No more laughing from us. Needless to say we just had to wait for the 20 minute cycle to complete. What a night !!!!


Omak to Republic, WA. It gets light here at 4:45AM and dark around 9:45PM and there has been a full moon the last few nights - nothing like trying to sleep with the lights on. We were on the road by 6:30. This day the route included more farmlands and orchards. We stopped in Tanasket for a 2nd breakfast before starting the climb to Wauconda Pass. It was a tough hot windy day. Even when you were going down a hill with a little breeze it was still stiffeling hot off the asphalt. When we stopped at a convenience store in Republic the thermometer in the shade read 100 degrees. We camped at Miller's RV in Republic. Really nice clean community - and no sprinkler heads in the tenting area - we checked. Next to the tenting area a guy had homing pigeons - it was interesting to watch him let them loose and how they would all return home. We also had many flocks of honking Canadian Geese fly over.

Republic to Ione, WA. It was a chilly 49 degrees when we got up. A real blessing after the previous days heat. We were to be going over Sherman Pass, the toughest yet. The whole pass road was being reasphalted and had no shoulder and lots of tar and single lanes. It was suggested due to the danger of these conditions that we not attempt this on our bikes. We reluctantly yielded and rode over in the motor home. In route we stopped in Colville at Clarks Sporting Goods and had John take care of our shifting problem on the bike. Excellant work at a reasonable price. While in Ione we drove up to Crawford State Park. We hiked to the Canadian border (just to say we were there). We then toured a 494 foot deep limestone cave named Gardner Cave. It was 43 degrees inside the cave. It was discovered in 1899 by a bootlegger named Gardner who later lost it in a poker game. It was a very interesting stop. This was a special day for us raising funds for the Cancer society as Ann's dad, Bud Oakley, passed away 2 years ago today from prostate cancer as well as other causes. He loved bicycling in his later years - he would have loved to have rode this with us. Miss you Dad !!!!

Ione to Old Town, ID. We have made it through the state of Washington in 7 days, a total of 438 miles. Another scorcher day today, however we were on a shady country road along the Columbia River all day. Tomorrow we are off to Sandpoint, ID. Thanks again for your contributions to the Cancer Society.