1 September 2006 – Wolf Point, MT to Alexander, ND

Shortly after I left Wolf Point, Route 2 turned into a cracked, bumpy, crud of a road – for the next 80 miles. Yes, that is an eight with a zero after it. In addition, the winds have turned. I am heading into winds that vary from head to cross and the going is pretty tough. I am beginning to regret my previous two days of second guessing myself at the end of the day. I actually set three goals for today. My first goal was Fairview, MT at about 100 miles. My intermediate goal was Alexander, ND at about 122 miles. My far goal was Watford City, ND at about 140 miles. I got to Fairview and thought I could get to Alexander but not to Watford City. Of course, I turned right into headwinds after making that decision. I pushed on and did make it.

As I rolled into Alexander, I heard country and western music an saw a chuck wagon and lots of people walking around the town with beers in their hands. It is beginning to look like I made the right decision in pushing on to Alexander. I spy the local sheriff and ask what is going on. Apparently, this is the weekend that Alexander celebrates its Old Settler’s Weekend. So there are a lot of “Old Settlers” in town. The town is pretty full but he tells me that I can camp in the town park but I should park at the edge so I don’t interfere with the set-up of booths tomorrow morning. I Pitched my tent next to some teepee frames and went off to find dinner. The café is closed as is the grocery store and I don’t have something for dinner so I went to the local bar for a pretty unsatisfying burger and fries. There is no such thing as a non-smoking section in this part of the country.

When I returned to my tent, I found it surrounded by a group of Mandan-Hidatsa Indians from the Fort Berthold Reservation (New Town). They asked me to move so they could finish putting up their teepee without having to work around me. I did so and then watched them put the cloth covering on (it is traditionally a bison skin but they are using cloth). The freams are constructed by lashing three lodge poles together, lifting them and then spreading them. These form the rearmost pole and the primary poles that go on each side of what will ultimately be the door. A rope of rawhide is left attached to the three lodgpoles and then more poles are leaned up against the original poles and the rawhide is wrapped around them from the ground. The Indians have sewn pockets into the cloth covering and they put two long poles into the pockets and use the poles to lift the covering onto the frame of lodge poles. Once the top is up high enough, they pull the sides around and then fasten the flaps closed with sticks or bones. They then stake the sides down. The hole in the top can be closed somewhat by pulling on long strings (traditionally rawhide) to pull the top flaps toward one another.

I called Tac and went to bed. I am glad I bought some ear plugs back in Missoula. I slept well but it was cold.