Day 89, another reunion

I survived the night at the rest area.

A small airplane woke me up, flying in circles above the site. I didn't notice it the night before, but the house right across the street had a massive garage, only fit for an airplane.

Sure enough, the plane eventually landed on the runway and taxied into the garage. It didn't look like a crop duster - must be a hobby plane. I guess if you live in such a vast area and can fly an airplane, why not have your own runway.

The ride into Pierre was boring, and paired with a nasty headwind, the thirty miles took an hour longer than I expected.

Within minutes of entering town, I noticed an adventure rig I saw a few days ago in the Badlands.

This is a Bremach T-Rex.

Italian made, this rig is owned by a swiss couple, traveling throughout the United States. They had it shipped over, lived in it for a year, and were now heading back to the east coast to ship it back to Switzerland.

It looks far more rugged than the custom Fuso 4x4 spotted in Page Arizona. Regardless, I'd be happy with either.

I rode around Pierre in less than an hour. It is a tiny town, easy to explore. I visited the state capitol, which has a black roof.

By far the nicest state capitol I've seen so far.

Grace, the friend I met in Bozeman for the Fourth of July celebration a month ago happened to be working outside of Pierre for a week and we met up for dinner. It is always exciting to see a familiar face on the road.

Grace and her coworker.

Grace even brought her dog, Session, who jumped in the Missouri river as soon as she could! I met the pair on a camping trip several years ago, where Session stole my orange beanie and tried to eat it. Good times.

They took off, returning to the nearby ranch, and I setup on a grassy field right on the river, recommended to me by Dave (the cyclist I started riding with on this journey).

What Dave forgot to tell me, is that sprinklers water the entire area, starting around 10pm. Thankfully, I had my rain fly on the tent. But everything else got soaked!

No worries though, it will dry out.

Joe