Center of it all

There’s a lot going on this week, but I’m keeping the focus here on last weekend. It was probably my last motorcycle ride through North Dakota.

Despite what Wendy and Leanne think, I enjoy riding. There were a couple of moments I wasn’t entirely comfortable, like going over gravel, when we forgot to put the kickstand down and the whole 750-pound machine kind of sunk and when the sun goes down and it gets pretty cold. But other than that, I’ve felt pretty safe.

I broke the visor thing so I do get wind in my eyes, but my sunglasses help that somewhat. The regular glasses are a little less so, but the weather’s been beautiful and therefore sunglasses-worthy so that point is essentially moot.

And honestly, if the wind ever gets too bad, I can just dunk behind my driver’s helmet and not look to the right or left. I miss some good views of sunflower fields that way, though.

I drove the Red Cross truck on Saturday and couldn’t get away for a longer ride then, but we opted to do a quickie trip to Rugby instead. It’s only an hour away and is the “geographical center of North America.”

So that’s a cool thing, right? Only somehow, we missed the big marker. I’m not sure what happened – this was one of those times I was staring at the red helmet – but we veered off to see the Pioneer Museum, which was closed. We walked around it, which necessitated creating a trail up and down a hill. That got a little confusing, but after that, somehow, we just went the wrong way and tooled through the town.

The little museum did have one of those little marker things and I thought it was the center point, but then in our walk, we also ran across a bigger one that was made of some kind of cheaper material. I thought maybe it was a stand-in like the fake Stanley Cup, but I really never figured it out.

However, on the way out, I saw the real marker across the street. It was a big thing on a platform shaped like a heart. It’s not much, but it was kind of neat to see. Hey, neither is the Four Corners place.

 

Yesterday, we headed out to New Town, which has a casino. I lost .70. My driver lost $8.50. I had to laugh. It didn’t take five minutes to go through it.

We went to that building – on one of several reservations in North Dakota – to avoid a rainstorm, but I’m really unclear on if it ever did rain. It was kind of neat to see, really. They’ve had concerts there before and I wondered what the venue was like. (Answer: sort of a gym.)

On the way out, we went to a hilltop that overlooked Lake Sakakawea, which, you might remember, was made when the Garrison Dam was built. When the dam was put in, it was going to flood a town in the valley, so the town relocated and Sanish became New Town.

Apparently when the water is low (which it hasn’t been since I’ve been here), you can see the spots where certain buildings used to be. As it was, the little sign said the rodeo grounds had been located under where the gigantic bridge was now.

It’s also a Lewis and Clark site, and there were little markers showing where they’d camped. On the way back from their trip, it was the spot where Sakakawea left the Corps of Discovery for home.

We got home fairly early yesterday, all things considered, and then grilled. It was a nice afternoon.

But probably my last ride. My diver heads back to Minnesota this week and is gone until after Labor Day, so I won’t see him anymore. I am a little bummed about that, but I knew it was coming so it’s not like I can complain.

There is lots to keep me busy at work this week, and then everything changes. But right now, the focus is on trying to put together a policy manual and a how-to book. As if that weren’t enough for the week, I also have to sit at a booth at the fairgrounds for three days for some oil expo.

I’m not really sure what it’s all about, but they wanted to donate a portion of the proceeds to Hope Village, and this is the hoop I have to go through to get it. At the time, I didn’t realize it was going to be THIS week, but I’m dealing with it.

What’s kind of amusing to me is that I have all these tickets and things and I really can’t say I know anyone who really wants to go. (Seriously, who do I know to ask?) I’ve even got three tickets to some reception on Wednesday night. If they have good food, I might ask my driver to go, but I don’t think it’s more than appetizers. It’s some kind of Bakken Oil event.