Bizmark ND to Beminji MN

June 15th, 2025

Today was the first morning that I was not woken up by birds or trains. It was cloudy and foggy, but not raining. When I got up and looked at my phone it was 6:15 am. I had been waking up at 4:30-5 am on most days. I would fiqure out later in the day that I had gone through a time zone and now I am in central time. I have lost an hour.

I left the campground around 7:15 and headed down the street to another Marilyn's for Breakfast. They had good coffee and a sunday morning buffet. Good enough. I talked with the people at the table next to me and we shrared stories of the road. He was with his wife and mother. His mother was 93 years old.

After breakfast, I had one chore to do. I needed to oil by chain again. I took off my side cases and collected the gloves from under the seat. I found the WD-40 and chain lube stashed in various places in my cases. I pushed Kim onto her center stand and I was ready. Gloves on , I sprayed the chain with the WD-40 and used a paper towel to clean it off. I switched to the lube and began to spray as I turned the tire. That lasted about two sprays and than ran out. Another item I would need to find on the road. I also realized that the chain could use to be tightened. With a long day ahead, and rain on the way, that chore would have to wait until tomorrow. I put all my gear back on the bike, gased up, and got started with todays ride.

This part of North Dakota was pretty flat and uninteresting. It also started to rain, so I pulled over and put on my smurf suit top. The rain was off and on for awhile. To pass the time, I made up country songs about a man I called Trucker Magee. He is a long range trucker. He goes many a mile, carrying his loads. He is gone for many moons. He misses his wife and dreams of home, but he has far to go across North Dakota. He stops at truck stops and rest areas where he showers and sleeps, until he is on the road again. Whatever helps you get through those miles.

I stopped twice, once to use the restroom and a secoand to get coffee and gas. After the second stop, it was finally done raining. Now it was just windy. Eventually the skies brightened and I was away from the rain clouds. At 2 pm I stopped for lunch at a Subway. There was a Dad and Grand dad there, enjoying Fathers day with the kids. After lunch, I made my reservation at the Beminji KOA. I went across the street to fill up and then was on my way again.

I was now off the interstate, and noticing that there were starting to be many more trees in Minnesota than there were in North Dakota. It was nice to be on the smaller highways and to be going 60 instead of 75. I could hear my music again and the scenery was more interesting. It went from flat farmland to tree lined roads passing by swamps, and lakes. At one point I counted 7 lakes in a few miles. I stopped once more for coffee at about 5pm. I talked with a nice gentleman who was waiting to pick up a pizza at the convience store I stopped at. Coffee drank, I mounted up and drove the last 50 minutes to Beminji MN. When I reached Beminji, I stopped to set the GPS to go to the KOA. Most of the day had been cloudy and around 60 degrees, so I had on my Jacket, liner, and heated liner.

I rode the last few miles to the KOA and stopped at the office to check in and meet the host. She was very friendly and escorted me by golf cart to my site in true KOA fashion. She really seemed to enjoy being a host. It is a large site. It has a picnic table, a fire pit, and plenty of privacy with wooden solid fences between sites. I decided it was finally cool enough to have a campfire. It was the first one of the trip. It took some work, but eventually I got it to stay going and enjoyed it's warmth as I am writing this. I had a nice chat with Rob too. I enjoyed a nice view of the sunset at 9:15 pm CT. A rabbit hopped across the road, and a few birds chirped nearby. A little while later, I was sitting watching the coals of the fire and realized I heard peepers. I must be back in the land of water. I have been out where it is very dry, so I hadn't heard them in weeks.

As I was traveling today, I saw a huge statue of a Holstein cow on a hill. Some days are just travel days to something or back from somewhere. You make the most of those days and see all you can see. Till tomorrow....Happy Father's Day Dad