An easy, breezy, beautiful 87 miles spit us out of Montana and into the left elbow of North Dakota today. The ride was mercifully flat and the sun was gentle and marigold, courtesy of a layer of wildfire haze. Old Smoky the Bear must have been out all night line dancing, so we took the opportunity to climb up on some out of commission railcars to survey the horizon in his stead.
Nevertheless, the ride was smoother than a mannequin’s cheeks and we made good time, allowing for a going away dinner for Lela courtesy of her mom, Emily. We enjoyed delicious burgers, Pepsis and jalapeno poppers at Beach, ND’s finest gastropub, and enjoyed the contrast of our sweaty jerseys next to a large family wearing cowboy hats, to which Arthur queried — “Are they wearing them unironically?”
Although we didn’t find the ocean in Beach, waves of mirth and jollity intermingled with the nearby fair’s musical revue, making for a nice environment to catch some 
‘s under the stars. Watermelon, cookies, and sunlight to set up our tents all contributed to the ease with which we nestled into our nylon nooks, ready for an early CST wake up to bang out 60 miles after a pancake breakfast. What will tomorrow hold? Another concentric ring of quadricep muscle added as we plod away under the big egg yolk in the sky. Two more days till we break in Bismarck. It’s been awesome so far.