4:00 ST
14.3 avg
[If you haven't read yesterday's post yet, it's below. We had no WiFi last night so I couldn't post until tonight.]
"Gray skies are gonna clear up...."
I tentatively pulled back the curtain this morning and ...hallelujah!....blue skies! For the first time since Watertown, SD.
It was only 48 degrees so we waited a while for it to warm up, leaving about 8:30.
Leaving Larimore. Look at that blue sky!
As we headed straight south with a WSW wind, we perceived quickly that we were climbing slightly. Ok, we knew we had to leave the Red River Valley at some point.
We also noticed MANY construction trucks going both ways. Down the road about 11 miles where we needed to turn west, we saw a lot of those trucks turning east. Yay!
Oops, short-lived. The remainder of those trucks were going our way to the fresh oil and loose gravel somewhere ahead. Most of them pulled out to pass us. Most of them. Uh, yeah... we got run off the road again.
The semi (tanker) was coming from behind and a pickup was coming toward us. Neither was going to give in. So we did. Again, we were thankful that the ditch was fairly shallow and forgiving. The most annoying thing about this is, a few miles up the road, we saw the semi just sitting, waiting his turn to refill the oil-spraying trucks. Really?! You couldn't wait seven seconds for that pickup to pass then pull out around us?
Then a mile or so after that, a gunshot rang out underneath me. Or a tire blew. Yeah, that one.
We have never had a tire blow up like that. It really WAS like a gunshot, it was that loud.
It blew a big hole in the tube and blew out the side of the tire. This tube and tire were changed out almost 700 miles ago and we have no idea why it would blow like this. There was nothing in them to indicate what caused it. Every day we pray that, if it pleases the Lord, we won't have a flat or bike problems. Well, today it pleased Him for us to have a flat. We have no idea why, but it doesn't matter - it pleased Him.
Seventeen miles of construction zone and still climbing, then we finally turned south again. And we came to real hills again.
This picture doesn't really show the valley we dropped into and then had to climb back out of. (I KNOW, you're not supposed to end a sentence like that.) Just believe me when I say it hurt. I guess we left our climbing legs in Kansas.
How's this for an idyllic scene?
We arrived at Cooperstown around 2:00 this afternoon and are resting in preparation for our last push to I-94 and Jamestown tomorrow. ("Civilization!")
Thank you, again, for your continued prayer on our behalf. We believe we would not be where we are without it.
In Him,
Pat
1 comment:
Glad that blow up didn't happen when that truck was not going to give. Also, that isn't a real little horse is it? AND...is your butt sore yet? How is Gerry's shin? How are your ears? How is your chafing? How is....ummm your...left elbow???
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