June 17, 2003 We made a significant adjustment to our plans for today. Originally, we were going to travel from Platte to Fort Pierre, SD - a distance of some 135 miles. (BTW, the locals pronounce the name of this town as "Fort Peer", and they are quick to tell you!) When we woke up this morning, our bodies were yelling for rest. We got all set to go, and went into town to eat - thinking that maybe some breakfast would put us in a different frame of mind. Well, it didn't, so we headed back to our motel to set up to spend another night. While in the process of checking in, LaValle kiddingly mentioned that if we could find someone with a pickup truck who wanted to make a few bucks, we would go on to Chamberlain to cut the next ride down to size. The guy said, "I think I know someone." In about 15 minutes, Russell, a senior in high school, showed up with his truck, and we were off. On the way, LaValle made us reservations, so when we got here, we had coffee and started our "rest day." Tomorrow we will ride to Fort Pierre (80 miles plus or minus), and we will be on schedule. Hopefully this day off the bike will help the sore butts and general fatigue. We have been keeping a really aggressive schedule - particularly in view of the heat we have been experiencing. Russell is a really nice guy. His dad is the local dentist, and the two of them are major league outdoorsmen. They hunt, fish, camp and boat the river. It was fun talking to him. He is the star of his high school basketball team, and has ambitions to attend college. Currently he is in a good position to go to SD State on a basketball scholarship. He is also a bit of an entrepreneur - he owns his own bate shop right beside the motel we stayed in, and he works part-time at the local furniture store. He says the latter sucks, since he has to spend four days a week in the school weight room, and really doesn't need additional lifting. He probably will come back to Chamberlain when he finishes college. Chamberlain is right on the river, or what is the river now. The Army Corps has been here, and the river at Chamberlain is actually a reservoir. It is pretty, but not what you would expect a river to be. The town itself is fairly prosperous, but like a lot of towns with populations in the 15-1800 range that we have gone through, it is difficult to find food we can eat, and other services are lacking. Well, the people who live here like it, so that is what really counts. We had coffee this morning at a bakery, and there were six guys who were very friendly, and highly interested in our trip. It was fun telling them our stories. One of the guys had moved here from Portland, so he could tell us to the mile just how far we have yet to go. It has been a long time since we checked in with Lewis and Clark. When we lost the computer, we also lost our source of L&C trivia. Lewis and Clark spent quite a lot of time in Sioux City. It was here that the Corps of Discovery lost its only member - Sargeant Floyd, who suffered fatal appendisitis. From August 24 to August 27, the Corps traveled the route it took us one day to cover: Elk Point (Gass was appointed to replace Floyd - utilizing a unique democratic process.), Vermilion (Where they ran into their first sand storm.), Yankton (Where they entered Sioux Territory for the first time. They camped on the Nebraska side, and sent the Sioux an invitation to council.) and Springfield. On September the 7th, they arrived in Pickstown where they "discovered" the prairie dog, and then on September 17th, they arrived in Chamberlain, where we are today. This is beautiful country today, and one can only wonder at what it must have looked like 200 years ago. It was certainly harder to travel upstream in a large flotilla than ride a bike, and much more difficult to forage for food than crossing the street to the local McDonald's. However, the pristine nature of the river at that time must have been something to behold. Ron Note from LaValle... Rest days are good whenever they happen. Today my rest is at the keyboard and seeing if I can upload photos. I love my laptop almost as much as I love my bikes. Thank you Craig for letting the "C" list know that we are partially operational. June 17 is an important date for me because it's Bill's birthday. I've left instructions with Fellini, the cat, to be extra nice today and maybe share some catnip with his dad. Also, today was my son's first flight in Qatar. He was the weapons officer for the squadron commander; his report was that the flight went well. Tomorrow he has his first flight to Iraq. ... Late night note...I'm now able to add photos to our site and have uploaded photos to today's photo page. You'll also find photos on both the Journal page for June 16 and the Photo Page for June 16. Both Ron and I hope you enjoy them. About the two photos below: Russell left so fast I wasn't able to catch him for a photo. He's in there though, backing that truck up so he can drive to Platte and go to work. The other photo is of a cute sign we saw along the Missouri River. There are any number of bicyclists, mainly on mountain bicycles and all without helmets!!! Russell in his Chevrolet truck Nice sign, no helmets in sight!