I Was Cruisin' - Day 217

  Today's lonely North Dakota picture doesn't have the emotional impact of some of the previous ones... for you anyway. For me, this was about all I saw today. I've joined the New Rockford Canal, which does not have water in it (except a little in the bottom). This canal has few bends. It mostly runs straight east, so I was continually just walking toward the horizon.

I'll show you a few flower pictures. All prairie plants. First is wild licorice, or American licorice. I think the roots do have the familiar licorice flavor, although this plant is not the common source of that flavoring. (That is the European licorice plant.)

This one was completely new to me. I haven't gotten the species nailed down yet, but I believe it's a globe mallow, Genus Sphaeralcea. The leaves don't seem quite right for the species I looked at.

This one I know without looking it up, and I'm sure you know what kind of plant it is. It's a milkweed. But see how reflexed and starry the petals are? This is showy milkweed.

I'm pretty sure some birds that flew around me for a while are willets. There was a dead badger in the canal road- I'll spare you the pix, but I thought it was really interesting. The only two badgers I've ever seen were both dead. I got a really poor picture of a female northern shoveler duck with a juvenile. Yesterday, a family of grouse (not sure which kind) ran across the road so fast I couldn't even get the camera turned on. Other birds landed and took off so fast I can't even begin to identify them, but I'm getting better at recognizing the blue-winged teal.

I'm also pretty sure there is a white dinosaur grazing on the leaves of that tree.

Now, about that cruisin'? It was nice and cool today. About 71 degrees. The sky was clouded over all day. Omer said there was rain where the trailer is, but I didn't get rained on at all. This canal road has pea gravel at worst, and just packed dirt at best. This doesn't hurt my feet. We managed to get me walking at 7:40 this morning. I finished for the day, including breaks, at 1:15. (But having all that extra time in the afternoon didn't mean I got much done. I fell asleep!)

Miles today: 15.9. Total miles so far: 2606.0 (broke 2600!)

See Lonetree Wildlife Management Area