Today’s hike (backwards) from the Grace City area to Binford was OK. But first, a little about last night. I had a pleasant night camping. Yes, it got a little cold. But since I was the only one in the campground, I set out today’s clothes in the warm bathroom. When I got up today, it was so nice to just walk into the bathroom and put on warm, clean clothes in a toasty room.
After packing up my camping gear, I stopped in at the local cafe for breakfast. My goodness, the place not only had great breakfast food, but they even had a salted caramel latte on the menu! Good folks here. Then Jacquie arrived for my shuttle.
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Heading Back to Binford
As Jacquie drove me to my starting point north of Grace City, she pointed out all of these little marshy bodies of water that I’ve been seeing 
for days now. I said a Minnesota friend called them prairie potholes, and she said that here in North Dakota, they call them sloughs.
Interestingly, the sloughs have been growing in size, eating up farmland. They also attract numerous migratory birds, so Jacquie heard that some migratory pathways have now shifted westward, as the birds appreciate the water.
Windy Once Again
The wind began almost immediately, hammering at me all day. That’s just the way it is here in the Dakotas, they say. So once again I tucked 
down my head and pounded away at the miles, which were all road once again. I spotted some pelicans in the sloughs, but they were always too far away to photograph.
Tonight I’m at a city campground in New Rockford for three nights. These 30 mph (48 kph) winds are supposed to stick around all night, basically until morning. Then rain is forecast tomorrow. Ugh. I was able to set up my tent in this fierce wind, which is kind of ruining the sunny, warm day. Oh well, that’s part of the experience, right?
I also must note that today I heard my first North Dakotan say, “You betcha!”
Snowshoe
ND NCT miles today: 21.4 (34.4 km)
ND NCT miles to date: 248.7 (400.2 km)
Total NCT miles to date: 3,149.7 (5,069 km)
Total NCT miles to go: 1,450.3 (2,334 km)
