Twister!

Ron and Aileen Luethe invited us to stay at their Purple Martin palace in Bismark, North Dakota. Ron is a renowned birder, trail builder, soils scientist, a mapping wizard and the IMBA state rep.

We visited many of the 10 parks that Ron is helping to develop multi-use trails on. We met Jason and Dale of the Badlanders on the Crooked Crane Trail, near Patterson Lake. It's a beautiful shore-hugging pathway with hundreds of species of waterfowl. The trail has been laid out well, thanks to the Badlanders understanding of trail design and past visits by TCC1. Jason's greatest challenge is that there are 7miles of rolling grassland single-track and he has no one to share it with! We suggested hosting multi-user events and also getting local high school and university athletic teams involved.

On a beautiful Saturday 12 volunteers from the Roughriders joined us on trails at Pioneer Park in Bismark. We looked at trail design improvements and layed out two massive rolling crown swithcbacks. Both switchbacks were on a 50% sideslope; therefore the crib walls will be at least 5 ft tall! Passers by were curious about our project and two news teams stopped by for interviews. This section will help link three miles of scenic trail, over-looking the Missouri River.

Loren and Jennifer Morlock own the stellar Dakota Cyclery bike shop in Bismarck and a satellite store in Medora. They are a colossal influence on cycling and multi-use trails in their state. We saw more of their work at the Prairie Knights Marina trail system southwest of Mandan. Prairie Knights Casino and Lodge is on Sioux reservation land. Steamer (president of the Roughriders), Loren and Ron have an excellent relationship with the land managers, designing a 3-mile race course and interpretive hiking trail. We were very impressed by the sustainable design and found many great additions to the course and interpretive loop.

Our final stop on this tour was the famous Maah Daah Hey trail, a 120-mile remote single-track linking the North and South Units of Theodore Roosevelt National Park. Scott Fitzwilliams is the District Ranger for the Medora Ranger District. Scott envisioned the creation of a long distance trail that traverses the fantastic Badlands and the Little Missouri Grasslands. He designed a trail that really shows off the diversity of the state.

Near the midpoint at Devils Pass we saw desert-like formations and around the bend we coasted through lush groves of aspen and pine. The Roughriders have adopted a southern section near Medora that we felt was awesome! Jennifer, Ron, Scott and many others are part of the non-profit Maah Daah Hey Association that will develop this into a world class trail system.

As we left the Maah Daah Hey heading for the highway, the sky turned black and menacing. Minutes later the dark cloud formed into what Ron called an ---kicking tornado! It never touched down, but we were certainly close enough to see and feel it's ominous power. Experiencing a twister after riding the Maah Daah Hey trail was a perfect end to a perfect birthday.

Thank you,
Joey and Kathy, TCC2

The last wispy tail of what was an ominous tornado!

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	Twister! Ron and Aileen Luethe invited us to stay at their Purple Martin palace in Bismark, North Dakota. Ron is a renowned birder, trail builder, soils scientist, a mapping wizard and the IMBA state rep. We visited many of the 10 parks that Ron is helping to develop multi-use trails on. We met Jason and Dale of the Badlanders on the Crooked Crane Trail, near Patterson Lake. It's a beautiful shore-hugging pathway with hundreds of species of waterfowl. The trail has been laid out well, thanks to the Badlanders understanding of trail design and past visits by TCC1. Jason's greatest challenge is that there are 7miles of rolling grassland single-track and he has no one to share it with! We suggested hosting multi-user events and also getting local high school and university athletic teams involved. On a beautiful Saturday 12 volunteers from the Roughriders joined us on trails at Pioneer Park in Bismark. We looked at trail design improvements and layed out two massive rolling crown swithcbacks. Both switchbacks were on a 50% sideslope; therefore the crib walls will be at least 5 ft tall! Passers by were curious about our project and two news teams stopped by for interviews. This section will help link three miles of scenic trail, over-looking the Missouri River. Loren and Jennifer Morlock own the stellar Dakota Cyclery bike shop in Bismarck and a satellite store in Medora. They are a colossal influence on cycling and multi-use trails in their state. We saw more of their work at the Prairie Knights Marina trail system southwest of Mandan. Prairie Knights Casino and Lodge is on Sioux reservation land. Steamer (president of the Roughriders), Loren and Ron have an excellent relationship with the land managers, designing a 3-mile race course and interpretive hiking trail. We were very impressed by the sustainable design and found many great additions to the course and interpretive loop. Our final stop on this tour was the famous Maah Daah Hey trail, a 120-mile remote single-track linking the North and South Units of Theodore Roosevelt National Park. Scott Fitzwilliams is the District Ranger for the Medora Ranger District. Scott envisioned the creation of a long distance trail that traverses the fantastic Badlands and the Little Missouri Grasslands. He designed a trail that really shows off the diversity of the state. Near the midpoint at Devils Pass we saw desert-like formations and around the bend we coasted through lush groves of aspen and pine. The Roughriders have adopted a southern section near Medora that we felt was awesome! Jennifer, Ron, Scott and many others are part of the non-profit Maah Daah Hey Association that will develop this into a world class trail system. As we left the Maah Daah Hey heading for the highway, the sky turned black and menacing. Minutes later the dark cloud formed into what Ron called an ---kicking tornado! It never touched down, but we were certainly close enough to see and feel it's ominous power. Experiencing a twister after riding the Maah Daah Hey trail was a perfect end to a perfect birthday. Thank you, Joey and Kathy, TCC2 The last wispy tail of what was an ominous tornado!


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