Day 51 Bismarck, ND to Hebron, ND 71.4 miles Total 2,480.9 mi

 Every day is different, but Steve does like to start with a good breakfast.  Today he rode and I walked to Kroll's Cafe.  There we had the pleasure of meeting Lucille, a lovely lady from Glen Ullin, a nearby town (50 miles away) who had come into Bismarck to do her shopping.  She was very interested in Steve's trek and we enjoyed our conversation with her.

The next time we met up was in New Salem.  A small town with a cafe!  Yay.  Steve had already ridden 30 miles and it was only 10:15.  But they were happy to serve lunch.  The waitress found a huge piece of blueberry pie for Steve.  She lives in Hebron, our destination today.  Steve asked if there was anything to do in Hebron, and she said, "No, why do you think I work here?"  She explained that there was the Pizza Pantry for supper from 5-7pm.  

Steve had been riding on Old Highway 10.  The Red Trail was the original cross-country roadway and became US Hwy 10 in 1925, originally extending from Seattle to NewYork City.  It was this same trail Custer used on his trek westward to Montana. 

I decided to go visit Salem Sue, the world's largest Holstein, because she was visible long before I reached New Salem.  A gravel road near the fairgrounds had an entrance sign, so I followed the long, winding, narrow and steep road to the top.  Salem Sue is in fine fettle, 38 feet high, 50 feet long, and 12,000 pounds of reinforced fiberglass, glossy and shiny. 

View from the Cafe

The view from Sue

At this point, Steve was riding on the Interstate highway (down by that big rig at the right of the picture).  The bike route actually takes riders on the interstate because the alternative is 10 miles of gravel road.  I was very nervous, but Steve reports that the breakdown lane was plenty wide on the inside of the rumble strips.

After learning from the internet that I was only 29 miles from Center, ND, I decided to make the trip.

The marker sits at the end of an "alley" of fencing that extends into a prairie pasture...in current use, as evidenced by sightings of fresh cow patties and the distinct smell of manure.  One, inexplicably inside the alley, i.e., outside the pasture.

There have been a couple of claims regarding the "geographical center of North America," one from Rugby, ND and one from Robinson, ND.  

Geek alert:  To calculate geographic centers, Dr. Rogerson, a geography professor at the University at Buffalo, uses azimuthal equidistant projection, which accurately shows distances and angles from its center, at the expense of shape and size toward its edges. With accurate distances, Dr. Rogerson can calculate the point at which the sum of squared distances to all other points in the region would be smallest — the mathematical definition of a geographic center.

Surprisingly, when Dr. Rogerson did his calculations, he came up with a point 4.4 miles north of a town called, you guessed it, Center, ND!  There remains controversy over the location, as well as the rights to be known as the "Geographical Center."  As you can see, the marker in Center calls it the "Scientific Center."  Regardless, I'm confident I came pretty darn close today.  

Beautiful!

Twin buttes outside of Glen Ullin

We arrived in Hebron and checked into the Brick City Motel and RV Park.  Tracy told us that the ground around here is clay and that they have a brickworks here, thus the common usage of "Brick City."

Remembering the Hebron waitress' warning, we ventured down main street by 6pm so as not to miss supper.

Steve, ordering our "Flamethrower Pizza", pepperoni, black olives and jalapenos

View from the main street across the tracks

Down the street the other way was a very popular ice cream truck (gone before we finished our pizza)

This block houses the newspaper, the Brick City Senior Center, and a defunct hotel

This is the red crushed rock called clinker or skoria, used for roads

Just a street in Hebron

Neighbor mowing his lawn at 9:15pm

The sun went down at 9:46