The Hubub and the Failed Bike Ride

My last weekend in Bismarck I headed out along the Missouri river for a bike ride on Saturday and on Sunday I thought I would try out a trail I'd heard about. However this was not to be. After I took my bike out of my car I realized my back tire was leaking. So I grabbed my spare tubes and then realized they had the wrong nozzely thing and neither of my pumps could take care of it. So I loaded my bike back in my car and stopped at Target to get another set (thinking that they would not have fancy nozzely things). However they did their sizes in inches not the 700x35 sort of way so I grabbed the wrong size. Of course I didn't discover this until I was back at the trailhead. Luckily I had also grabbed a patch kit and so I patched up my old tire. You would think that now I could be on my merry way. This was not to be. Perhaps I was a little zealous in my tire pumping- I do not know- but I was shocked when I heard the loud pop and realized I had put a substantially larger (and certainly not fixable with a patch) hole. I loaded my bike back up and gave up.

Fear not though, I did buy new tubes and on Wednesday I took the trail. I ended up in Fort Lincoln state park (which was one of the first places I visited in North Dakota). Technically I was supposed to pay a fee, but I never passed the station (and I didn't have any money on me either). It was pretty and I stopped to climb up a hill and look at the rolling tree-less hills off in the distance. If I haven't already dispelled the myth that North Dakota is treeless and hill-less let me do so know. Bismarck is surrounded by buttes and small, but steep beautiful hills. Along the river are trees. But in any case, there is something very beautfiul about the rolling tree-less hills- the sky seems so huge and I love it. So that was exciting.

And another exciting thing- the governor came to the museum for press conference. Whatever for you ask? Well the State Historical Society of North Dakota is planning an expansion. In order to do this though the state wanted the society to raise half the money- then they'd match it. So on Wednesday (I think) one big oil company donated the last 2 million dollars to put us over the mark so that they can start breaking ground (there is more money to be raised yet, so if you have a few million laying about...) The western part of the state produces lots of oil and the demand for jobs is high and places for people to live are low and meanwhile oil companies make lots of money. So it was part of political and corporate game, but it was exciting to see all the suits walking around and to see the governor speak. When he asked who drilled the first successful oil well another girl who works in archives with me shouted out the answer- she'd been working with collections of photos- some of oil rigs! And that was the hubub.