My apologies to everyone who thinks we might be dead. All is well, but I for one am looking forward to cooler weather.
This is August 25th, and we made it to Marquand, Missouri this afternoon. It is very hot and humid, and the hills on Tuesday and Wednesday were brutal (today not so bad), so our days have been shorter than we had planned. Tomorrow we will arrive in Cape Girardeau where we will cross the Mississippi River for the last time and head east on the last leg of our trip. We left KC almost 3 months ago, and we’re pretty much on schedule. And, you know, neither one of us misses home. We miss our friends, family, and neighbors, and maybe I miss the cats a wee bit (Dave doesn't, needless to say). It has been hot and humid since Minnesota, so we gave up on camping for the most part. We only camped once in Minnesota, twice in Iowa, and once here in Missouri a couple of nights ago, because of the heat. So far, we have crossed the Mississippi River 8 times, and we’ll cross it one more time at Cape Girardeau.
Here’s a summary of our Minnesota trip.
Fargo to Minneapolis days 40 – 45 July 22 to July 27
Fargo to Pelican Rapids 66.1 miles
Pelican Rapids to Alexandria 82.2 miles
Alexandria to Holdingford 59.1 miles
Holdingford to Milaca 55.4 miles
Milaca to Osceola, WI 79.1 miles
Osceola, WI to Eagan, MN 65 miles
The first day out of Fargo started out flat, but it got hilly in the last half where there were a lot of resorts; muggy and buggy. On day two about 25 miles down the road at Fergus Falls, we got on the Central Lakes Bike Trail and rode on it the rest of the day to Alexandria. In Alexandria is the Kensington Rune Stone, which some people believe proves that the Vikings reached Minnesota in the 1360’s. There is a paragraph chiseled in the stone written in the ancient Nordic language stating what had happened to them in the year 1362. It was unearthed in 1898 by a Swedish immigrant as he was clearing land near Kensington, MN. Scholars dismissed it as a hoax, but it was exhibited in the Smithsonian in 1948 and described as “probably the most important archeological find yet found in North America.” But linguists and historians say is it’s a practical joke played by an early Swedish immigrant.
The next day, we continued on the Central Lakes Bike Trail to Osakis, then got on the Lake Wobegon Trail to Bowlus, MN. We rode on those two trails for 106 miles. Both were paved trails, and all of the towns along the trails had green spaces with benches and flower gardens. It was great. One of the towns we went through while on the trail was Sauk Centre, the boyhood home of Lewis Sinclair.
The route then had us go north of Minneapolis, across the St. Croix River to Osceola, Wisconsin. Along the way, we went through Sunset, MN, the boyhood home of Richard Widmark! More significantly, there was a great little ice cream place in the old bank building. We spent the night in Osceola and it’s a neat little town. Our ride from Osceola south to where we crossed back into Minnesota at Stillwater was really fun. We were on mostly untraveled county roads on the bluffs above the river. We ran into some construction, so we had to make our own way. And it was funny, out in the middle of nowhere, we met a car, and the man asked us directions, as if we on loaded bikes would know where we were. The weather looked more threatening as we crossed the St. Croix into Stillwater, which is a very busy tourist town, so we stopped for lunch. It poured while we were eating, so we split a hot fudge sundae to kill time. The rain stopped just long enough for us to put on our rain gear and get on our bikes. It poured while we rode into and through the twin cities, all on bike trails. Getting through town took a good 2 to 3 hours, and the rain did stop about half way. Along the way, we caught up with an older man (yes, even older than us) who had ridden cross country over several years, and he invited us to stay with him. We've met nothing but kind, generous people on this trip. Eagan is a suburb on the south side of town, and Dave’s nephew John and his wife Krisi put us up while we were there. They arranged a family get together (15 people!), including Dave’s aunt Dorothy, who is 90. Great fun. We stayed three days, and it was a much needed rest, at least for me. I had too plead for that third day off. We went to a Twins game (rode the light rail to the stadium), and visited the Mill City museum (Minneapolis used to be the flour milling capital of the United States).
We left Minneapolis on Sunday, July 28th, exactly two months after we left KC., rode southeast and crossed the Mississippi into Wisconsin…….
sorry, no pictures tonight.
Thursday, August 25, 2016
Sunday, August 14, 2016
Days 36 to 39 July 17-20, 2016 Bismarck, ND to Fargo, ND 262.3 miles
Days 36 to 39 Bismarck, ND to Fargo, ND July 17-20, 2016
Day 36 Bismarck to Napoleon 76.2 miles
Day 37 Napoleon to Gackle 40.4 miles
Day 38 Gackle to Enderlin 81.5 miles
Day 39 Enderlin to Fargo 64.2 miles
I am way behind, so this is a summary, and maybe I’ll be able to get caught up.
When we left Bismarck, we headed east toward Fargo and left Lewis and Clark’s route. We’re now on Adventure Cycling ’ s northern tier route. The terrain is flatter, with some nice rolling hills, and Dave commented that it reminded him of riding in southern Johnson County. We had a good tailwind out of Bismarck, so it was an easy day to Napoleon. The Lawrence Welk highway (he was born near there) took us through Hazelton, where we ate at the Road Hawg Café, the only restaurant in town. It was much, much better than the average small town place. The potato salad was just like Dave’s mom’s, and I had a rhubarb kuchen for dessert that was wonderful. We camped at the city park in Napoleon, showered at the pool, and watched a beautiful sunset. Although it’s getting hot during the day, the evenings still cool off for good sleeping.
Our ride to Gackle the next day was even flatter, and we started seeing natural ponds and small lakes, indicating that we were approaching Minnesota. Our stay in Gackle (named after the man who founded that town, I had to ask) was at a place for cyclists called the Honey Hub. A young couple set up their walkout basement with two beds, a small bathroom, and a washer and dryer. No charge, but they did accept donations. We were lucky to be the only ones there, so we got to sleep on a bed. The young man is a bee keeper (which explains the name of the place). They bring their bees to North Dakota in the summer, and in the fall take them to central California and live there
The road to Enderlin from Gackle was straight and mostly flat except for a curve going down to the Sheyenne River and then up out of the river valley. We passed only one town that had a restaurant, and we rode 81 miles because it was the next town with accommodations. We saw a lot of wheat and soybean fields, and our first fields of sunflowers.
Our ride to Fargo was hot, and we were looking forward to a day off in Fargo. I had a flat tire in the afternoon, on the front this time. The tire was shot, so Dave had to put my spare tire on. And, again, another kind soul saw us and stopped to see if we needed help. He lived nearby and filled our water bottles with ice water. The instructions for getting into Fargo were good, so we had no trouble getting into town. Our first stop was at the bike shop downtown, where we arranged to have them check out our bikes on our day off. (I ended up buying two new tires.) Found a great little inexpensive hotel right by downtown, and we were set. Dinner was at Sweeto Burrito, and it was very tasty. A nice change from the small town fare. We had a fun day off, went to a nice little bar in the evening and listened to some music. There was an IPA on the menu called the Woodchipper, which seemed appropriate for Fargo.
Canola field
Old dead combines by a wheat field
Day 36 Bismarck to Napoleon 76.2 miles
Day 37 Napoleon to Gackle 40.4 miles
Day 38 Gackle to Enderlin 81.5 miles
Day 39 Enderlin to Fargo 64.2 miles
I am way behind, so this is a summary, and maybe I’ll be able to get caught up.
When we left Bismarck, we headed east toward Fargo and left Lewis and Clark’s route. We’re now on Adventure Cycling ’ s northern tier route. The terrain is flatter, with some nice rolling hills, and Dave commented that it reminded him of riding in southern Johnson County. We had a good tailwind out of Bismarck, so it was an easy day to Napoleon. The Lawrence Welk highway (he was born near there) took us through Hazelton, where we ate at the Road Hawg Café, the only restaurant in town. It was much, much better than the average small town place. The potato salad was just like Dave’s mom’s, and I had a rhubarb kuchen for dessert that was wonderful. We camped at the city park in Napoleon, showered at the pool, and watched a beautiful sunset. Although it’s getting hot during the day, the evenings still cool off for good sleeping.
Our ride to Gackle the next day was even flatter, and we started seeing natural ponds and small lakes, indicating that we were approaching Minnesota. Our stay in Gackle (named after the man who founded that town, I had to ask) was at a place for cyclists called the Honey Hub. A young couple set up their walkout basement with two beds, a small bathroom, and a washer and dryer. No charge, but they did accept donations. We were lucky to be the only ones there, so we got to sleep on a bed. The young man is a bee keeper (which explains the name of the place). They bring their bees to North Dakota in the summer, and in the fall take them to central California and live there
The road to Enderlin from Gackle was straight and mostly flat except for a curve going down to the Sheyenne River and then up out of the river valley. We passed only one town that had a restaurant, and we rode 81 miles because it was the next town with accommodations. We saw a lot of wheat and soybean fields, and our first fields of sunflowers.
Our ride to Fargo was hot, and we were looking forward to a day off in Fargo. I had a flat tire in the afternoon, on the front this time. The tire was shot, so Dave had to put my spare tire on. And, again, another kind soul saw us and stopped to see if we needed help. He lived nearby and filled our water bottles with ice water. The instructions for getting into Fargo were good, so we had no trouble getting into town. Our first stop was at the bike shop downtown, where we arranged to have them check out our bikes on our day off. (I ended up buying two new tires.) Found a great little inexpensive hotel right by downtown, and we were set. Dinner was at Sweeto Burrito, and it was very tasty. A nice change from the small town fare. We had a fun day off, went to a nice little bar in the evening and listened to some music. There was an IPA on the menu called the Woodchipper, which seemed appropriate for Fargo.
Old dead combines by a wheat field
Our stuff outside the Honey Hub
Wednesday, August 10, 2016
Day 35 July 15, 2016 Washburn, ND to Bismarck, ND 48.9 miles
Bismarck has a really nice riverside park with a bike trail, and that’s where we came into the city. A nice young man told how best to get into town, which is up on the bluff above the river, and we found a hotel . Tomorrow is going to be a day off. We have shopping and to do, and sleep to catch up on.
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| Sculpture of Lewis, Clark, and Indian outside interpretive center |
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| Riverside park in Bismarck |
Day 34 July 14, 2016 Hazen, ND to Washburn, ND 45.5 miles
We were celebrities today! The restaurant where we ate breakfast was next door to the town newspaper, and we were interviewed by the editor of the Hazen Star, a cute young man who had been out of college for just a year. He even took a picture! It was a pretty good article, but it made me realize I should be careful how I word things in case I get quoted. It was nothing bad, but I used the word ‘stuff, ' and it made me sound like an idiot. Not that I’ll ever be interviewed again.
A much better ride today with some sightseeing, which is always fun. We stopped in Stanton, considered the home of Sakakawea, even though she was a Shoshone captured by the Hidatsa Indians when she was 12 years old. She and Charbonneau were living near there when they were hired by the expedition. We visited the Knife River Indian Villages National Historic Site, where the remains of the earth lodge villages are. The remains are circles with raised edges where the walls fell. They’ve done a lot of aerial photography, and it’s amazing how many lodges there were. There's also an earth lodge built as an example.
Then on to Washburn, where once again we camped in the city park (this one was along the Missouri River) and showered at the city pool.
City park in Washburn
A much better ride today with some sightseeing, which is always fun. We stopped in Stanton, considered the home of Sakakawea, even though she was a Shoshone captured by the Hidatsa Indians when she was 12 years old. She and Charbonneau were living near there when they were hired by the expedition. We visited the Knife River Indian Villages National Historic Site, where the remains of the earth lodge villages are. The remains are circles with raised edges where the walls fell. They’ve done a lot of aerial photography, and it’s amazing how many lodges there were. There's also an earth lodge built as an example.
Then on to Washburn, where once again we camped in the city park (this one was along the Missouri River) and showered at the city pool.
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Earth lodge |
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