Far to go from Fargo

There was nothing to fear in North Dakota, mostly because there is nothing in North Dakota. Actually this state was not what we expected, in a good way. Believe it or not there are hills to climb, wetlands to admire, trees other than telephone poles, and amazing city parks for camping at no charge. North Dakota is known for it's hospitality and we found that to be true. We have put in some long days, although our mileage doesn't quite reflect our hard work, we blame the HW (headwind). Thankfully it haven't been too strong but it blows us enough kisses that we feel loved. The other night we rode after dark for few hours and were greeted by fireworks and chaos upon entering Hope, ND. Apparently it was the start of Hope Days and each year it begins with a huge kickball tournament. The population of Hope is around 300 people and there were at least many if not more at 11:00 pm on the school football field partaking in the annual event. As school teachers it was bit odd to see all of those Bud Light cans littering the school property but we joined in the festivities. We even debated taking a rest day the next day to watch the derby and rock out at the street dance but we decided to keep pedaling. We have been running into several other bikers who are following the northern tier, most traveling the opposite way (some call it the right way). By the way we must take this opportunity to thank Emily Dean for lending us her Adventure Cycling maps, we've definitely put them to good use. It is hard to believe how far we have come and how little we have left, although we hear Eastern Montana can be quite the mental challenge. I'm confident that just as we were a little afraid of ND, Eastern Montana will keep us entertained just the same. Today we are taking a rest day in Minot (my-knot) and have dubbed today, "Why not in Minot?". We are hitting up the local movie theatre, eating a bunch of candy, spending quality time in the library, and then loading up on groceries before heading towards the Big Sky state. I think we are going to beat Rachel and Sam to Montana. They will beat us to Columbia Falls but at least we got to the state before they did (not that it really matters but I like to create little competitions where I know I can win). We are eager and excited to see Glacier National Park and hope Sam and Ty will join us for our final descent.