Author: wally.kosterman

The capital for North Dakota is in Bismarck. The state capital is very different from most state houses in that it does not have the classic Greek columns so often used to adorn these public buildings. Most state houses emulate the National Capital in Washington. This was once true of Bismarck as well, however the original state house burned down in 1930 and was replaced with a more modern structure with an 18 floor tower as it’s centerpiece. This is not surprising given the early thirties was the period when great skyscrapers were springing up all over the place (The Chrysler Building in 1930, the Empire State Building in 1931). A quick glance over the Bismarck Skyline suggests that it is still the tallest building in the city.

After checking through security we found ourselves on the ground floor where portraits of recipients of the “Theodore Roosevelt Rough Rider Awards” can be found. This award recognizes current or former North Dakotans who have been achieved national recognition in their fields of endeavor. Among the notable current recipients are Yankee Star Roger Maris, entertainer Lawrence Welk, actress Angie Dickenson, author Louis L’Amour, journalist Eric Sevareid and singer Peggy Lee. Less well known perhaps is Clifford “Fido” Purpur who played 144 games in the NHL for the Chicago Blackhawks from 1941 – 1945 and with the St Louis Eagles during their only season in the NHL in 1934 – 35.

The North Dakota legislature meets in the spring of each ‘odd numbered year’. The 2023 session had ended by the time we visited, the house and senate chambers were currently under renovation. The Governor Doug Burgum was in town, but not available, so we met with local legislature support staff to enquire as to the latest legislative issues before the North Dakota house.

North Dakota’s governor recently vetoed a bill that would have required librarians under threat of criminal penalty to screen sexually explicit materials from children, but signed another barring explicit materials from the children’s sections of local and school libraries.

The culture wars seem to have arrived in North Dakota.

Our departure point – Williston ND – is the center of the fracking frenzy that has brought oil dollars to North Dakota the last few years, as oil companies tap into the Bakken formation. The peak time of building infrastructure has passed, but word is that production is continuing to rise.

Leaving Williston and travelling east on Hwy 1804 one couldn’t avoid noticing all the pump pads and small processing plants along the way. Everything looks new and in great shape, reflecting the latest approaches to pump pad layouts and design. The route was scenic with gentle sweepers.

Arriving in New Town we modified our plans. Originally we were to backtrack west on hwy 23 and then take hwy 22 south to Kildeer, and then east again following the southern shore of Lake Sakakawea (a reservoir along the Missouri River). However, we notices signs for the “Lewis and Clark Trail” and followed that instead. This route took us east from New Town to Parshall, then south and then east on 1804 along the north shore of the lake.

After refueling in Garrison, we went in search of a coffee shop. It was Sunday so the town was all but dead but it did boast of a malt shop that was opened that served our needs.

Following Garrison, we picked up hwy 83 and headed south, arriving in Bismarck in good time.

The route was simple. Spend all day heading east on Hwy 2 to Williston, ND. Bearing 90 degrees (give or take) all day. US route 2 is 4138 km in length, starting in Everett Washington and ending in St. Ignace Michigan. It is a pleasant route, serving us on several occasions when we travelled from Calgary to visit family in Ontario,

Weather was great – mid to high 20’s all day – and the smoke started to clear. (it remained hazy but the air was no longer stuffy).

Along the way we saw a variety of signs of economic activity (it the road itself was fairly spartan). Cattle, ranches, wheat farms, oil and gas derricks and plants and mile long freight trains. (and one Amtrak passenger train heading west) .

Two features of the route stood out . One was the recurrence of ‘cellphone pullouts’, which would show up every 50 km or so. Not sure if these were remnants of an earlier time when folks were encouraged to pull over to take a call – for safety reasons – or if these were the few areas in this stretch of Montana where you could actually get a cell signal.

The other were frequent ‘historical sites’ that would show up. Normally a small pullover with a large plaque with embossed brass lettering to hilight some obscure part of Montana history. Recognize that there are some folks around today who seem determined to save western civilization by obliterating all references to its history. I wonder if any of these small monuments were also objectionable, and when the SJ warriors would get around to insisting on their removal. Likely those honoring people of European ancestry would be targets; however the one on the devastating impact of small pox on indigenous populations (see below) might survive a purge. We shall see ….

On our last leg into Williston we were cat and mouse with a long unit train running south of us on it’s journey east. We got ahead of it at one point, only to be delayed by road construction with chaotic traffic control, at which point we ended up arriving in Williston at the same time as the train.

On the road at last! After a three year hiatus due to Covid, the de Tocqueville Tour is underway once again! During the interim period we managed to travel all the way out to Gaspe Quebec (and back) and did trips in Europe and North Africa – but at no point did we go to the US. That would change today.

We started out in mid May under sunny skies in mid 20’s (Celsius) marred only by a thick haze courtesy of extensive early spring wildfires in Alberta. Normally our trips start with a trip to the Chuckwagon Cafe in Turner Valley, but given our southeasterly route today, we opted for breakfast at Smitty’s in High River.

After breakfast we headed south on Hwy 2 until Granum, taking 519 to highway 23 and then from there south onto Hwy3 into Lethbridge. Heading south on Hwy 4 we came to the US border crossing at Coutts. The last time we were at Coutts was on the return leg from our Western states tour in 2019 in mid October. At that time winter had set in and driving temps were south of 0. Much better this time around with temps in the mid 20’s.

Coutts had been the seen of protest surrounding Covid mandates and restrictions. The crossing was effectively blocked by truckers, and a weapons cache was found. Our Premier is embroiled in a controversy around her inadvisable interventions to affect the prosecution of some of the protesters. While the crossing was ‘back to normal’ for our passage, it still took 25 minutes to get across.

We headed south on I-15 to Shelby before taking Hwy 2 east . Shelby is a major container hub for BNSF (Burlington Northern Sante Fe) Railway, so no surprise we were delayed at an RR crossing. We arrived in good time in Havre for the night.

Leaving Utiel we continued northwest on a variety of roads that took us through the highlands east of Guadalajara and through the Parc Nationale de la Serrania de Cuenca. The riding all day was terrific. A mix of twisties, bumpies, sweepers and straightaways and goat trails. We were treated to views of mountains, lakes and dams. There was never a boring minute. Only problem is .. we were having so much fun riding we didn’t stop to take enough pictures!

Leaving in the morning we took A-319 along the shores of the Guadalquiver reservoir, a fabulous road with many twisties and beautiful views. We picked up the A-317 at Horos and continued on to Siles. In this stretch we encountered a police officer who instructed us to stop. Moments later a bicycle road race came through. After it cleared we were allowed to proceed.

Continuing on past Riopar we took the CM3203 through to Ayna which is a small enclave nestled in the hills with twisty roads up and through it.

From Ayna we continued up into Penas de San Pedro where they have the Castle de San Pedro, which despite being inland quite a bit is very close to sea level in altitude. Continuing on CM-3203 we encircled Albacete before arriving at our hotel outside Utiel. This ‘hotel restaurant was typical of many in this part of Spain where it is roadside and somewhat remote but equipped with its own restaurant. Ours happened to be hosting a local party which proved entertaining while we had our meal.

Leaving Malaga we started out on route A-7000, a terrific newly paved twisty road that took us north towards Colemenar. Shortly thereafter we encountered our first bit of rain of the entire trip. A bit refreshing after two weeks in Morocco.

The surrounding hills were all covered with olive trees – virtually every hill in this part of the country seemed to be dedicated to this one product. Row upon row of cultivated olive trees. The sights remained picturesque when we stopped for our espressos along the way.

Amidst the olive groves we also saw a couple of old castles. We passed on by without stopping so cannot say what their names were nor the period of history where they were relevant. Perhaps on a return trip.

We experienced another ‘Garmin Gremlin’ as we neared our destination at the Hotel Sierra de Carzola. To save a few seconds Garmin took us on a steep back alley that branched into a main road at the top of the pitch. Upon reaching the intersection I had to stop quickly, but when I put my leg out to balance the bike, the pitch was so steep I couldn’t hold the bike up. So down it went (again). That’s the fourth spill of this trip! Hopefully the last one.

In consolation the hotel was beautifully situated on a ridge with commanding views of the surrounding hills – olive covered of course!

You meet the nicest people on a trip like this and some are also extremely helpful . The previous night Steve needed some cigarettes and asked the hotel attendant where a shop might be found. Off he went to return minutes later with the requested cigarettes. We didn’t have to leave the hotel at all.

Ferry reschedules meant a late departure for Tangier, so we arrived at the Tangier Ferry terminal with time to spare. While there we met an engaging merchant named Abdul who had lots to offer but nothing we were particularly interested in. Undaunted he produced some traditional Morrocan garb and we all dressed up for a quick photo op. Lots of fun while othewise standing by.

While on the Ferry we met a Canadian Expat family from Calgary (they were thrilled to see our Alberta plates). The parents had just finished a six year assignment teaching english near Rabat to expats and wealthy Moroccans and were enroute to Singapore for their next stint of teaching. They had twin boys accompanying them.

We took the ferry to Tarifa and from there to Boxer Motorrad Dealership in Algeciras to see if they could help with our various motorcycle ailments. ( Steve had a sudden loss of air on one tire that we topped up and I had the starter problem where the bike would only start in neutral). We showed up unexpected about 4:00 in the afternoon hoping for the best. It turned out that the dealership was closed however the service operation was open so we explained our situation and went from there. An hour or so later Steve’s bike was verified ok with respect to the tires and top ups of air, oil and coolant for both bikes. And I also had my starter problem fixed (a faulty clutch switch that provided the start permissive when in gear). And my broken mirror was replaced at no cost (they had a spare mirror from a previous wreck and couldn’t process a transaction for it so it was gratis).

Carrying on from Algeciras with fully functional bikes we made a bee line to Malaga for our hotel and the end of a long day of travelling.

Leaving Fes we proceeded northwest following N4 and then R413 where the countryside took on a pastoral beauty reminiscent of Tuscany. From there we jumped onto one of the few toll roads in Morocco A5 and proceeded quickly up the coast.

Stopping at a road side rest area we noticed a concrete monument typical of those found in the old USSR that was further despoiled by graffiti. While there we were approached by a local youth who’s sole purpose and industry for the day seemed to be bum cigarettes from any tourist stopping for a smoke.

Continuing on to Tangier we arrived at the Hotel Chellah – the last of the venues set up by our guide Abdellah. As with all our other bookings, our arrival was expected and the hotel was able to provide us with secure parking per our instructions. So secure that we were alone in a backlot where the garbage was parked. Unusual but definitely met our requirements.

The hotel restaurant was quite good providing us with perhaps our best meal so far on this trip.