Day 49 Gackle, ND to Napoleon, ND 37.4 miles Total 2,335.9 mi

 The ride today was short, again due to the lack of services along the way.  Steve had a peanut butter and jelly sandwich for breakfast.  We packed up the camping gear and started towards Napoleon.  

I did check out the nearby town of Streeter, and if we had any interest in attending a church, we would have had three choices.  Otherwise, I did not see anything in the way of a gas station, quick stop or restaurant.  By the way, Nicole said she shops for groceries in Jamestown, about 40 miles north.

Steve, riding across the prairie

At one of Steve's stops, a man in a pickup stopped to tell Steve that he loves to see the bicyclists who go by each summer.  He expounded a little on the local farms that grow beef cattle, wheat, corn, or soybeans or a little of each.  There are only two dairy farms in the area.  There used to be may more. He says there are all sorts of city people moving out here where the houses are cheap, but that many aren't trained for farm work.  According to him, they are beginning to see lots of South Africans who come here to live and work.  At first they were legitimately from farms, great workers, but now he believes they misrepresent themselves, because they seem to have no experience in farming.  Labor is a problem across America. 

Anyway. prairie and more prairie.  I saw a few prairie dogs.  I have loved prairie dogs from the time I was little and had a great book about them.

We did come across this interesting row of "Dinosaurs of the Prairie," marching across the horizon.

They are actually antique threshing machines, collected by John "Custer" Grenz.  In their day, these machines were an important part of agriculture, changing a hard manual job into an efficient technology, but now replaced by modern combines.

Arriving at our destination.  Dave, the proprietor, was a voice on the phone only.  Nonetheless, he was very nice and accommodating!