Beginning of the End?

President Donald Trump declared war on Harley-Davidson on Tuesday, saying it's decision to shift limited production overseas would be the “beginning of the end” for the iconic motorcycle company.  He also predicted he would suffer little fallout for his aggressive tweets. "The people who ride Harley-Davidsons are not happy with Harley-Davidson,” Trump told reporters.  "Their employees and customers are already very angry at them,” Trump said in an early morning tweet....REALLY?  Maybe he needs to go for a ride on a Harley and actually listen to people.  After spending the last two weeks traveling across this beautiful country, meeting and talking with bikers, HD employees, and by the way riding an  incredible machine, it is impossible for me to understand where this crazy, illogical, thoughtless rhetoric comes from.

It saddens my heart when an iconic American company is threatened and attacked in such a reckless manner.

be strong, be safe, Talon

HWY 83 - Day 11 - Magic City

Good sleep in Westhope in the bank building last night.  It was FDIC insured and secure.   Breakfast at a four table cafe.  Invited to join a table with the local folks and share stories.  Before I knew it we were all laughing and chatting like long lost friends.  Could only happen in a small farm community.  Rode back south to Minot to drop off the LowRider at Magic City HD.  Good folks.  Had a hard time putting the kickstand down for the final time.

Shared a beer with a friend, Arlen, from North Dakota tonight.  Special way to end the ride.

Couldn't help but think about some Bison advise I had read at Standing Rock Reservation.  Lessons of the road.

 Cherish wide open spaces

Stand your ground 

Have a tough hide

Keep moving on

Have a strong spirit

Let the chips fall where the may

Roam wild and free

Wingin' my way back to Santa Fe in the morning.  Via the friendly skies.  Be missing the road with the wind on my knees and the sun on my back.

 

Roam wild and free, Talon

HWY83 - Day 10 - Knife River Indian Villages, End of the Road, Sleeping in a Bank

For centuries the Upper Missouri River Valley was a lifeline winding through the landscape.  It's wooded banks and rich soil became the home of the Earthlodge people.  They hunted bison and other game but were essentially farmers living in villages along the Missouri and its tributaries.

Alisha is Chief of Interpretation and Cultural Resources at the Knife River Indian Villages.  She is a direct descendant of the Mandan and Hidatsa Earthlodge people.  "The Knife Villages had been established for over 500 years at the time of contact with Europeans.  The Hidatsa arrived in the area around 1300.  Archeological evidence shows that the Knife River area has been occupied for more than 11,000 years.  In 1837 a smallpox epidemic transmitted by the Europeans reduced the populations by 90 percent.  In 1885 the US Government forced the remaining tribes to move to the Fort Berthold Reservation."

Hand painted buffalo robes depicted and celebrated important events.  They were placed within a sacred area of the Earthlodge.  Cooking fires were in the middle.  Buffalo hides were wrapped around the upright beams to give thanks and respect for all the bison provided for the people.

Walking through the villages and along the Missouri River this morning I was filled with a sense of peace and tranquility.  Agriculture with gardens of corn, squash, beans, and sunflowers were the main crops.  The women of the Mandan and Hidatsa nurtured their gardens as they did their children.  It was here in this village Lewis and Clark met Sakakawea who traveled with them to the Pacific Ocean.

A short 85 miles further north brought me to the end of HWY 83 at the border of the United States and Canada.  At one time the road gently curved into another country. Today it is all about passports, immigration, forms, and government regulations.  2211 miles from the Gulf of Texas to the border of Canada in North Dakota.  Across vast grass plains, sand hills, headwaters of mighty rivers.  Through disappearing Americana and history that formed this country.  Folks I met in small towns and big cities, chatted with, heard stories, and drank coffee with.  All part of the Last American Highway, a journey through time.

Lookin' for a room for the night.  Pulled up to the Gateway Motel in Westhope, ND just 6 miles from the border.  It was a bank at one time.  Now the city hall, library and a motel with 16 non-smoking rooms.  Entered the building.  Sign with a phone. "Call this number if you need a room".  Called the number.  Jim answered.  Told him what I needed.  He took my information, gave me the combination to a key box where I found my room key. "Don't forget to leave your key on the dresser in the morning.  If you don't we are goin' be charging you for each day the key is missing."  Got my attention.  Key is laying on the dresser.  BTW 15 additional rooms still available tonight.

Tomorrow ride back south to Minot.  

Kickstand down Weshope, ND 210 miles

be strong, be safe, Talon

HWY83 - Day 9 - Standing Rock, Sitting Bull, Mandans on the Missouri

Rode to the Sitting Bull Monument this morning.  Chief Sitting Bull, or Tatanka Iyotake, was a Hunkpapa Teton Sioux spiritual leader. In the 1870s, Sitting Bull had relocated to the Standing Rock Indian Reservation.  He became a great spiritual leader and organized a resistance movement against US expansion on treaty-reserved lands. On December 15, 1890, nine years after surrendering to the US government, he was shot to death by government police.  The police had been executing an arrest warrant in order to prevent Sitting Bull from attending a Ghost Dance ceremony.  The location overlooks the Missouri River. Quiet, peaceful, overlooking the country he loved.

Clear skies and dry pavement were my companions today.  Leathers finally beginning to dry out.  Into North Dakota sections of the original two laner share the true feeling of the original road.  Passed through Strasbury,  home of a bandleader and musician who became a household name with his popular TV show in the 1950's, Lawrence Welk. 

At Washburn turned west to meet the Missouri River.  The Mandan people, who lived along the river, provided food, supplies, and shelter for Lewis and Clark's Corps of Discovery.  Fort Mandan was built in 1804 and the men of the Corps wintered over there until April of 1805.  Lewis and Clark met Sakakawea at Fort Mandan.  It was here the Corp made their final preparations for the push into the unknown American West toward the Pacific Ocean.

Met Charles, a recent college history grad and park ranger at Fort Mandan.  "We're not too busy at the moment.  If you like I'd be happy to provide you with a personal tour of the Fort.  It is build of local cottonwood trees.  This is a reproduction.  The original fort was built down river from the Mandan and Hidatsa villages.  The exact location of the original fort has been lost.  It is most likely covered by the Missouri River now.  This replica was built in 1972."  Nice to have a personal local expert to share the history.

Pulled up to the Coal Country inn to check on a room for the night.  Unique, industrial type of motel...discovered it was set up for working crews at the local coal power plant.  Complete with it's own store, cafe, and laundry.  Took my boots off as instructed.

Kickstand down at the Coal Country Inn, Stanton, ND. 240 miles

be strong, be safe, Talon