A bit of a storm keeps Bud and me waiting snug in the tent until 11:00. But since things don't appear to be changing, we finally head out. The intention is to make the relatively easy 13 miles into Fort Rice, where we can stay for the night. However, the reality ends up becoming a 45 mile adventure which sees us arriving near Fort Yates at 3 o'clock in the morning.
It's a long story, but sufficed to say, we find a place to stay on the Standing Rock Reservation with a really great Lakota guy I'd just happened to meet while stopping at the Prairie Knights Casino on the way. Around 1:30, Tokub was heading home after finishing his shift and he spots me pushing Buddy in the cart, and he must recognize me as the guy who'd been asking about camping several hours earlier cause he pulls over and asks if he can be of assistance. I explain that we're heading to the campground at Fort Yates since there hadn't been anywhere suitable before, and he offers to let us pitch our tent in his yard which is five or six miles ahead and much closer to the highway than the campground.
Well count me in! I'm really grateful for his suggestion, and although I'd also love to take him up on the offer to ride in, I figure I've got five more miles left in me. Besides, a mist has begun setting in and it provides a cool contrast to the heat of the day.
My Indian friend gives good directions, and by 3:30 the tent is pitched on his lawn. I don't bother to change clothes or even unzip my sleeping bag. I simply collapse and fade from consciousness.
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| Buddy wasn't happy about this 2 am photo op. |
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