Canada 2016 - Grand Forks to Hillsboro

Thursday - July 21
Heard some thunder some time last night but it is all clear this morning.

The elevator was a busy place this morning. No rush this morning though. We got on the road at 8:15, an hour later than yesterday.

 It was sunny and 63F, with no wind at all.

Today we plan to follow Highway 81 south. We were standing at this intersection trying to decide which way to get there when this local cyclist stopped to ask if we needed help. He gave us the best route out of town. We forgot to ask his name but loved the route he sent us on.

Grand Forks is a 2 water tower town. It is so flat that we could still see the one at the north edge of town. We rode through a lot of newer suburbs with wonderful bike/ped facilities.

Sugar beets and really dark Red River Valley soil.

Some of the crop damage from Tuesday night's storm.

Some of the shelter belts are a little worse for wear too.

Not much of a shoulder but not very much traffic either.

We assumed all those overpasses the last couple of day were connecting paved roads. Turns out most of them are only paved on the overpass itself.

There is a detour sign on Highway 81 at Buxton that said the road was closed to all but local traffic. We figured it was a bridge issue and bikes don't float very well so we took the detour. What a lot of pipe!!

Going back on Highway 29 for a few miles. 

It did up our max speed for the day :)

Are we already in Oregon???? We are still getting used to the idea that we are back in the United States.

This sign at the south end of the detour was more specific and confirmed our suspicions 

The Rahr Malting Company

And a little farther down the road, American Crystal Sugar....must be where all those sugar beets are going. Bet this road is REALLY busy during the harvest season.

Our destination for the day and it is only 12:30. What a difference the wind makes!

The county court house.

These were in a pot on the front steps

This Veteran's Memorial is next to the court house. Everyone from the area who has in the military is listed.

Doug counted 91 people with the last name of Hanson.

The Hillsboro Heritage Park reflects the major role of agriculture in the area.

All his friends flew off when we walked up but we guess he found us interesting so stuck around just long enough for Donna to carefully lift the camera.

The motel hallway was filled with artistic sayings but this one seemed the most appropriate given the amount of rain we have seen on this tour.