Ride to the river

Aug. 21, Velva-Washburn, 70 miles, NW breeze, 82/50—Weather is ideal for my run to the Missouri River and Washburn: trailing wind, mild temperatures, plus straight, open roads—the only kind around here—all the way. One of my stops is tiny Lake Otis National Wildlife Refuge. The lake itself is a few miles away by gravel road, so I crawl under the boundary fence and walk around the dry, rocky hills (the northern Plains are in a 5-7-year drought).

It's my longest day so far. Every day has two big questions, and luckily the answers today are in my favor: are the legs good, and what is the wind doing? At Washburn I drop down the bluff to recreated Fort Mandan, where “Lewis and Clark Slept Here (146 times).” The actual location of the fort was about 10 miles up the Missouri, at a spot now probably underwater. At water’s edge is a giant sculpture of Seaman, Capt. Lewis’s Newfoundland dog. I’m not sure what it is about the Lewis and Clark expedition that inspires hugeness in metal—my non-favorite is expedition figures on steroids at the riverfront in St. Charles, Mo.

In town I flag down a sheriff’s deputy and find out how to register for camping at the city park. The park connects the river and town above by a long, looping exercise trail with benches and great new historical markers. All this sprucing up was for the Lewis and Clark bicentennial, and for my taxpayer money beats a sculpture any day.