The railroad is gone, and only trucks service the elevator. The one bright spot is that just outside town, Valley City State University has built a regional education center for environmental studies. I also saw one new house being built. One has to wonder why. Perhaps it's for someone who grew up there and didn't want to move away from family.
Enjoy a few more Dakota scenes taken from the rail bed that the trail now uses.
I knew it was going to be windy, but I didn't know HOW windy. Generally 25 mph with gusts to 40 mph. I was having a lot of trouble actually staying on my feet. This picture should have been a movie, but maybe you can get the idea. I was on a slight berm so that my eyes were on a level with the top of a field of corn. The wind was just whipping the leaves which shimmered in the light.
The confession of the day is that I wimped out early. The rail grade was ballast rock, and my feet were killing me. Then the wind. I called Om to pick me up. I came home and iced my feet.
Second confession of the day: I like cowboy music. Not country-western, cowboy. I kept my mind occupied on the rail bed by coming up with all the words of "There's Silver on the Sage Tonight." Other North Dakota inspired musical memory games have been "The Song of the Pioneers," "Roll Along Prairie Moon," and "Don't Fence Me In." Oh yes, and for the days with the beef, "The Tune the Old Cow Died On."
Miles today: 12.5. Total miles so far: 2790.4.
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4 comments:
I'm guessing the new construction was someone who is more introverted and prefers to keep to themselves.
You can see how the wind is blowing those corn stalks.
Then the inquest held that the cow would yet be alive had not the farmer sang that song under the maple tree. A day in which one does not learn something is a wasted day, and today I have learned of the Tune the Cow Died On.
Ann- I also thought it might be someone involved with the environmental center.
David- That one is not a cowboy song. I learned it from my grandmother as a child. I think it originated as a folk song of the eastern US. It always makes me smile. I also sang "He Owns the Cattle on a Thousand Hills" to the cows
You did not "wimp out" at 12.5 miles! You may not have gone the distance you wanted but you still inspired those that wish we could hike those miles.
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