After the drive, we set off on our bikes.
We had been warned from at least four independent sources to stay away from the Williston area, where the oil and gas operations are in full swing, so we took a more southern route. We had also heard that Dickinson is getting to be a nasty place, and maybe we could ride through there but don't stop. In the end, we decided the best option was for Steve to drive us to the west side of Dickinson, where we picked up a county highway. From there it was a short 35 miles to our campground, with a tailwind, so we made great time. We were quickly out of the badlands area and into the National Grasslands. Lots of wide open views, lots of farm fields.
We stayed in the city park in Hebron, setting up camp in a shelter. We decided to look around town a bit. We rode over to the brick factory, which Hebron seems to be noted for. Although the business was closed, the brickyard was open so we went in and cruised around.
After that we went to see historic Fort Sauerkraut, set on a hill outside of town. The "fort" is basically a fancy sod house, created in the late 1800s when the town had a mass panic from rumors of an imminent Indian attack. They thought all the townspeople would be able to hole up there for a few days until the soldiers came to their rescue. In fact, there was no Indian attack. One of the men who had helped build the fort, a Mr. Krauth, said "Die Arbeit ist sauer"--literally the work is sour. It's not clear if he meant working on the fort or the work that had been done. After that the people of the town decided to call the place Fort Sauerkraut.
After our typical dinner of sandwiches, we amused ourselves with some music--Paula and Lonna on recorders and Steve providing the rhythm section.
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