Friday, July 20 — Last day in Iowa

Bridge that I will cross in the morning

Thursday, July 19 — Meet Marci

Just a few miles out of Cascade today, I met Marci who was riding her bike towards town on the other side of the road.  She and her husband and four boys live in the country and she rides her bike around 10 miles most mornings.  She turned around and rode with me about 8 miles warning me of an upcoming hill.  She gave me a “tour” of this area of the road which she called Temple Hill.  This is because there used to be a town called Temple Hill, but all that still stands is the Catholic Church.  Marci knew everybody in vehicles coming in both directions.  She’d say, there goes so and so, he works nights so he’s heading home.  There’s so and so, he’s my neighbor.  There’s so and so, she rides with me sometimes.  It was so good to have someone to talk to!  We had to get off the road completely when four trucks came up behind us carrying four halves of two different modular homes.  They are built in Dyersville and she sees them being moved often.  She pointed out a pumpkin patch that a few years back had won an award for the biggest pumpkin.  She identified the beautiful purple wild flowers in the ditch as Chickaree.  We shared some about our faith and became fast friends.  After she accompanied me to the top of the big hill, we said our goodbyes.  Thanks for the tour Marci!

Iowa is quite beautiful and I have been taking pictures all along that I haven’t shared with you yet.  I’ve been waiting for the perfect one to caption: “Is this heaven?  No, this is Iowa”.  Since I will be leaving Iowa tomorrow, I have decided to post the winning photo with this blog.

I rode by a private residence out in the country that had a rather large painting at the entryway.  Quite unusual and I took a picture for you.  I rested there in the shade of the painting for awhile before continuing on down the road.

One other picture that you’ll see only here is one I took at the American Legion Park where I was camped last night.  The sky was AMAZING!  It had just rained cats and dogs for about five minutes and then the storm moved on leaving an orange glow.  Even my skin looked orange and I looked like I had just used some cheap tanning oil.

When I pulled into Bennett (where I am staying for the night), I was stopped on Main Street trying to locate a café, grocery store, or the library and a man pulled up on a tractor of some sort and asked if he could help.  I told him I needed to find a place to camp.  He told me I could stay in the City Park.  Turns out he is the City Public Works Director (Mike) and certainly has the authority to let me stay in the park.  He said he’d unlock the bathroom for me.  Then he gave me directions to the local pub where they served up a good BLT.  One of the customers bought my sandwich and helped me with directions for tomorrow.  Turns out the road I was to leave on is closed for construction.  I hate it when that happens!

I’m sitting in the cool of the Public Library and the librarian is not quite like any other librarian I have ever known.  She’s chatty and friendly.  Of course, you should know that it’s just her and I in the building so I guess that’s why, but of course, I’m starved for conversation so I love it.  There is no wifi here at the library, but no worries because Mike (the Public Works guy) has told me where he lives and says I can come over later and use his wifi.  I suggested he clear that with his wife and he called her right away and got the okay.

I sure wish I could shower tonight (Uggh, two nights in a row with no shower).  Who knows, this town is so friendly, perhaps someone will take pity on me and invite me to shower at their house.  It’s early so plenty of time for that invite   😎

Gotta love these small towns!  Enjoy the pix.

Meet Marci

Wednesday, July 18 — Iowan’s know their Ragbrai!

I wish I had $100 (to give to New Hope of course) for every Iowan who has asked me if I’m training for Ragbrai.  I honestly don’t run into that many people during the day, but I think I was asked a half-dozen times this week.  For those who have never heard of Ragbrai, it is Iowa’s annual week-long bicycle tour.  It’s one that John and I have never done, or I would have known how darn hilly this state is!

Where in the world did I ever get the idea that Iowa was flat?  Was I sleeping in Mr. Bryan’s geography classes?  Good grief!  Today’s hills were not as steep as yesterdays, or anyway, I was able to stay on my mount all day.  But it can and does get old having to granny granny it all day.  Makes for a looonnngggg day in the saddle to cover the miles I had planned the night before.

I woke up at 4:00 a.m. and thought…this is too early and went back to sleep.  I should have gotten up and got after it.  I didn’t wake up again for another 45 minutes and felt like I was under the gun to get rolling before it got hot.  I missed a turn and when I discovered the mistake, I decided to keep going even further south and make the adjustment east later in the day.  I ended up in Strawberry Point at 9:00 at the bank said it was 86 degrees.  My Adventure Cycling Association maps show the route you are to be on and not much else.  So I had to dig into my panniers for my Harley Davidson map to see where in the heck I was and to try to figure out how to get to Cascade (my ending point).  Unfortunately, my Harley maps don’t give much detail so I decided to go into The Franklin Hotel Café and get some advice.  The waitress asked me if I wanted breakfast, and I told her “why yes…I would!”  Now where in the world did that come from?  I had no intention of spending an hour in a restaurant when I should be riding!  After ordering OJ, French toast and very crisp bacon, I asked her what one road out of Strawberry Point is the least hilly.  She pulled out a great Iowa map and showed me what to do.  I ended up taking her complete advice and tipped her quite nicely for all her help (she was actually a great waitress too).  Almost everyone I meet reminds me of somebody I know from back home.  This waitress reminded me of a good friend, Sandy as she had her contagious laugh and mannerisms.  I almost told her so, but didn’t.  I needed to get back on the road!

Three barns today had quilt patterns painted on the side.  I haven’t seen this done since I rode across Kentucky in 2008 when I saw it quite often.  It’s quite eye-catching and colorful.  I’ll include the pix.

When I got to Manchester today, I stopped in a Casey’s for a Cherry Coke and asked the manager how to get to Old Highway 20.  She knew EXACTLY how to get there and gave me precise directions.  She told me the road wasn’t hilly, but it was very curvy.    I didn’t think it looked curvy on the map, but that’s what she said so I took her precise directions and headed east on it.  What is so funny is that the road was laid out with a plumb line.  Straight as an arrow.  Isn’t it funny how people perceive things differently?  It’s not like I was on a different road.  Nope.  I wonder if the next time she travels the road, if she’ll see it differently.  Hummm.  The road was actually quite hilly too.

I got to a small community and saw shade under a tree in the front yard of a nice house.  I whipped in and sat under the tree on the sidewalk for a few minutes when out came the mom and six young girls.  They were heading to the pool but not before she ran back in the house and brought me out a tall glass of ice water.  She offered me lemonade, but the water was just what I needed to refill my camelbak.  That was a treat!

Next stop was Dyersville.  On Main was the most beautiful St. Francis Xavier Basilica.  I took a picture for you.  The downtown of this little town was amazing.  Every store was occupied and quite inviting.  I stopped at the local coffee shop for a sandwich and to post yesterday’s blog.  Every employee (three women and one young man) was blond.  Several little girls came in and they were all blond.  It’s been a long time since I’ve seen so many blonds in one place.  I felt a little out-of-place with my ratty brownish/graying locks…but they fed me anyway.  I killed a couple of hours hoping it would cool down a bit and then headed out for the last 15 miles of the day.  It really had cooled off because rain was moving in.  I made it to Cascade dry and am at the American Legion Park where there is a pavilion but little else.  No shower for me tonight.  My phone isn’t roaming though so I will get this posted before I lay my head on the pillow.

Oh, one more funny story.  I was traveling east on Old Highway 20 when I happened on one of those old filling stations that used to be a hopping place on the highways before the Interstates came into being.  I felt a little nostalgic and stopped to take a picture.  I was already passed it too far so I turned north in the driveway to snap the shot.  About that time a pickup with a bearded young man stops and rolls down his window and asks if I’m training for Ragbrai.  No…I say…traveling across the U.S.  Silence for a moment and then he says, shouldn’t you be going east or west then?  Another explanation was in order.  But you know what?  I was suffering about that time and I’m so glad I took the time to stop because after the brief encounter with another human being, I was rejuvenated and happy to be on my mission.  It was a good day.

Enjoy the pix.

Barn on Old Highway 20

Tuesday, July 17 — Picture This

Picture in your mind any old western you’ve seen where the cowboy (Trey) is riding his horse (Silver) through the desert.  It’s just man and his horse.  It’s hot.  The heat is so oppressive that you can see it…rising from the surface of the earth like so much vapor.   The horse dips his head forward almost between his legs as he suffers from the relentless heat and thirst.  The cowboy dismounts, takes the reins and leads Silver through the sand.  He takes out his canteen and lifts it to his mouth only to find it empty less two drops of water.  He unwittingly shakes the canteen in a desperate attempt to shake out one more drop.  The canteen is dry and he throws it to the side as useless.   Poor Silver has dropped and Trey, reluctantly, has to put him down with his revolver.  He removes his saddle and drags his boots as he moves at a crawls pace looking for that one water hole he knows must be there….somewhere…to save him…

Now…picture Traci riding ‘ol Silver through the relentless heat and starts to climb a hill out of the Mississippi River Valley.  It’s hot.  The hill is miles long.  The weight is heavy.  She gears down to the only gear left and she is still in search of just one more gear…somewhere…to save her…  It’s not there and she reluctantly but desperately grabs the brakes and twists both ankles to dismount from ‘ol Silver before they both fall to the ground…  She pushes with all her might…at 2 mph to what she hopes with all her heart is the summit of the hill, only to find out she’s not there yet.  More pushing as she hangs her head to wipe the sweat off her brow before one more drop falls into her eyes burning to the point of tears.  Is that sweat on her neck? Or flies landing knowing her hands are busy and she can do nothing.  Pickup trucks with farmers and ranchers are coming up behind her and driving slow to see what kind of stranger is this and why is she in Iowa….when she can’t even control her mount….what a pitiful scene…yet they are busy and with no time for strangers…

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Oh, I made it to the top finally, but my legs were beyond tired and although the road was a kinder grade, I was still climbing and was never able to ride faster than 8 mph.  I came upon the farmers who saw me earlier struggling up the hill. They were at the home place hooking up a trailer to the same pickup truck.  The younger one had tore off his white tee-shirt and was wiping his face with it.  The older one said to the younger “well, I’ll be darn, she made it”.  I heard and added “slowly but surely”.  They chuckled and I continued on up the road leaving them to their important work of feeding America.  As I approach the town of Monona, I saw in my rearview mirror there was a tractor coming up quickly behind me.  I dug in deep and mustered another three miles per hour to beat the tractor to Main Street where I turned off and disappeared out of sight.

The bank sign reads 100 degrees and I have no idea what the humidity is.  I’m not hungry, and I know that’s a result of the heat.  I should eat anyway.  So here I sit at a Subway attached to the local convenience store.  I still have 20 miles to go, but it’s now 3:00 and I can’t make myself go back out and ride.

I’m going to flash back to this morning.  I woke up at 4:45 and started rustling around.  By 5:00 I was out of the tent and packing up.  Before leaving camp, I took a picture of the Red Barn Resort and Campground.  Such a great place to stay.  I was riding by 6:30 and it was a steady climb all day.  Beautiful scenery of the river on my left and great bluffs on my right.  I stopped at one point and four dogs came out of the forest to bark at me.  They were young dogs and afraid of my voice; but if I wasn’t talking they barked and moved closer.  When I would say something, they would cower and back away.  No threat to my safety with these mongrels.  I even had to slow the cars as they rounded the corner descending the hill so they wouldn’t hit the dogs.

As I approached Marquette (and as Donna from yesterday had warned me), the road narrowed and it became a tight squeeze with the cliffs on one side and the train directly on the other side of the road.  Not much room for me and the trucks coming through.  Marquette is the town where I left the Mississippi until I reach Muscatine a few days from now.  And it is directly after Marquette where I met the hill I spoke of at the beginning of this post.  It took me over an hour to climb….

To be continued as I try to climb back in the saddle for the last 20 miles to Elkader, Iowa…

I turned off too early (where a sign pointed to exit to Elkader) and rode all the way through town unnecessarily.  The city campground and park was another mile down the original road and I would have been here in a moment rather than 20 minutes later and having to ask for directions.  Very nice place with showers, but no wifi.  My phone is roaming again so I can’t use it as a hotspot.  I’ll try to post tomorrow.  Enjoy the pix.

Red Barn Resort in Lansing, Iowa

Monday, July 16 — Vital Statistics

Lakeside Drive-in in Wynona where we had ice cream more than once 😎

12 Hours of driving x 2

11 Times we crossed the Mississippi

10 Toes that look much better

9  Meals eaten in new and special places

8 Walks hand in hand

7 Conversations reliving recent memories

6 Conversations reliving long-ago memories

5  Times we treated ourselves to ice cream

4  Feet in the Mississippi making new memories

3 Days

2 Full and heavy hearts as we parted Monday morning

1 Life-time marriage

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Our plan was that on Friday morning, I would ride towards Wynona and John would ride to meet me.  But…when we woke up, it was raining heavily so I sent him a text and asked….”come get me?”.  It was not hard to convince him and he drove the 60 miles to pick me up in a short time.  Seeing the Yukon turn the corner towards me was the best sight EVER.  No more details are necessary 😉

I do want to mention that we had such a wonderful breakfast on Sunday morning at the Bed and Breakfast with two couples who were in Wynona for the Summer Shakespeare Festival and also with Karen and Craig who own the B&B.  Such a great place to stay!  Such great people!  Thank you everyone for letting me tell my story….

Fast forward to this morning and we had one last breakfast together.  John changed my back tire and helped me load my panniers and after hugs and tears, he drove south and I rode east.  I rode with the Mississippi to my left absolutely all day.  At La Crescent, I turned south as did the river.  Sometimes, I could not see it through the trees.  Sometimes, the only view was of the Upper Mississippi Wildlife Refuge.

I entered Iowa at New Albin with only 12 miles to go.  However, it got HOT!  Can I start complaining about the heat yet?  I went into a café and met a wonderful couple who offered to buy me lunch, however, I was too hot to eat but they did buy my Diet Coke.   Thank you Bob and Carol!  After about 45 minutes, I re-lubed with sunscreen and headed further south to Lansing, Iowa.  I stopped several times in the shade of the Elms that were hanging over the highway.   When I got to town I stopped at an ice cream place where I met Donna who was traveling through.  She listened to my story and told me hers.  She grew up around here and studied my maps quite thoroughly.  She even bought me a bowl of ice cream.  I have been so blessed with wonderfully nice people on this trip!

I’m staying at the Red Barn Campground.  This is one nice campground!  They have absolutely everything on my list to give it four stars.

I have lots of pix to post.  Enjoy.

My heart skipped a beat!

Thursday, July 12 — I’m Going Off the Grid

Caught my eye

Thanks to Dave of the bike shop, I was able to escape Minneapolis/St. Paul in only a couple of hours.  He mapped out the route for me, however, he couldn’t find a map of downtown St. Paul to get me through there so I was on my own.  The whole entire area was under construction including sidewalks.  I had NO idea of where to go once the bike path ended.  I wandered around and looked at maps and wandered some more.  I asked a lady directing traffic and she sent me to where she knew there used to be a bike trail.  THAT was a lot of help.  I leaned my bike up next to an office complex and was going to head in to ask some questions and low and behold, two bike cops came up to me and offered their assistance.  They gave me the correct directions and I was on my way…down by the river and on my way out of the city.

Confession time.  Yesterday, when I was trying to find the bike shop, I was so frustrated because the trails would split off in a Y and I wouldn’t know which path to take.  I would take one, and then second guess myself and back track and take the other.  It was like I was in a maize.  WELL, today I experienced the same problem and was constantly apologizing to someone for being stopped on the trail looking at the map or looking at street signs.  A woman came up to me and said “you really should be on the bike path”.  I didn’t understand her meaning and said “I just need to get down to the river and out of town and my directions are to use the bike path”.  That’s when she showed me that when the path split into a Y, one was for pedestrians and one was for bikes.  They would split like that temporarily and then meet up again in a short distance and be a combined path again.  She pointed to the sign to show me what she was talking about.  Two small signs side by side: one with a figure of a bike and the other with a stick figure of a person.  OMGosh,  I felt so stupid!  I saw the signs yesterday, but just assumed it meant that each path was open to bikes OR pedestrians.  You can take the girl out of the country but you can’t take the country out of the girl.

I crossed the Mississippi twice today:  once in Minneapolis and once at Prescott.  From my motel, I had to get to the other side to enter St. Paul and then to get to Prescott, Wisconsin, I had to cross again.  The Adventure Cycling maps had me going into Prescott, Wisconsin and riding for 10 or 15 miles in Wisconsin and then crossing the river again and coming back to Minnesota.  But…Dave at the bike shop recommended that I stay in Wisconsin because the scenery is more beautiful and there is less traffic.  So I did that today and am spending the night in Bay City, Wisconsin.  Tomorrow I will continue on Highway 35 for another 65 miles and the cross back over the river into Minnesota to Winona and thus I’ll be back on the official Northern Tier route.  Clear as mud?

Hills today, steep and long.  Dave had warned me there would be some hills, but…jeemanee!  He also said though that the further south I go, the flatter it will become.  So if he’s right, I should be able to make better time tomorrow.  I had about a 15 mile per hour head wind today anytime I was riding south.  The scenery was breath taking and Wisconsin has some new wild flowers for me to capture 😎

My story to tell you from two days ago…I will title: bee panic

When I was a young girl, too young to drive…I was driving a hay truck on our farm.  I’ll never forget the day that Daddy asked me if I wanted to start earning $200 a month.  Duh.  We jumped in the truck and he taught me how to drive a stick shift in an old Ford Truck with a tall box on the back (about 30 minutes worth of driving education).  We were custom cutting 1,600 acres of alfalfa (hay) four or five times several summers in a row.  We were chopping so much hay that Warren Spikes put scales on our property so we could have a faster procedure.  He made feed pellets out of the hay.  My brother Mitch started the process by swathing the hay.  My other brother Terry, and a neighbor boy Peter, ran the choppers.  Me and Peter’s brother, Gary were the truck drivers.  My dad ran the whole operation from his pickup and was the mechanic to fix anything that broke.  Usually the hay would be dry enough by 10:00 a.m. to begin chopping.  We’d eat a big breakfast before that and then begin work for the day.  By supper time, Mom cooked and brought a full meal out to the field to feed us all.  That’s meat, potatoes, a salad or veggies, bread and dessert.  After we’d inhale supper, we’d continue working until mist on the hay made it too wet to chop.  We’d shut it down and head home and fall into bed exhausted.  The boys had to get up super early and head to the field to service the equipment before we’d start the whole process for another day.

Well, one day I was sitting in my truck with the door open and had my eyes on Terry’s chopper because once the truck he was pulling was full, I was to hustle with my truck and switch them out.  I felt something on my legs and looked down and a swarm of sweat bees had landed on my white knee socks (hey, I thought they made me look sexy).  You need to know that I was petrified of bees.  PETRIFIED.  Always have been, always will be.  I let out a blood curdling scream that Terry heard over the sound of the tractor he was in at least 200 yards away.  He could not possibly know what I was screaming about, but he came running.  When he got to me, he kind of freaked out too to see so many bees on my legs, but he started slapping and squishing as many as he could before I got stung to death.  I was stung a half dozen times before the whole calamity was over.  Needless to say, I never donned another pair of white knee socks in the field after that incident.

Two days ago I was riding along and was swarmed by what I first thought was the exact same type of bees.  Black bodies with yellow wings and stingers the size of small nails.  I did not panic, I did not let out a blood curdling scream (I was afraid I might swallow one).  I started peddling faster because the motion of my legs seemed to keep them from landing on me.  They were buzzing around my head and I could even feel them bouncing off my helmet in an effort to get in my hair.  I’m sure I must have looked like a woman possessed flying down the road with my legs moving faster than a speeding bullet.  Well, they were not sweat bees.  They were big flies with yellow wings.  I’ve never seen any like them before, but I had the same panic attack as back when I was 11 or 12.  I am so proud of myself for not crashing…for not screaming…over some stupid flies for heaven’s sake!

Well friends, I am going to close and go off the grid until Monday.  My hubby is coming to see me!!!  He is on his way tonight to Winona and tomorrow morning he will leave from there on his bike and meet me as I come towards him.  I will be taking Saturday and Sunday off from biking to have a post-anniversary holiday with my man…  Please be prepared to endure some mushy talk next week as I will briefly recap the weekend for you.

I can’t get my pix to load tonight.  Will try again later.

ps:  My bike is working better than ever and is quiet!  Woot Woot!

Wednesday, July 11 — Frustration Leads to Tears

I got a very early start this morning because I was anxious to get to Calhoun Cycle in downtown Minneapolis.  They are a Bacchetta dealer and I was in desperate need of a new seat pad.  Also, I was hoping they could help me with that ever present creak and my rear derailleur needed some adjustment as the chain was skipping more than occasionally.  It was 40 miles to the edge of the city and then another 22 miles of bike paths.  I kept getting lost.  I’d come to a fork in the path and there would be no sign to indicate which way to go.  I asked several people throughout the day for advice on getting downtown and I would get the response of why didn’t I go to a closer bike shop.  I would patiently explain each time why I needed Calhouns and no other bike shop would do.  Several of these people out and out gave me the wrong directions.  Others would admit they had no idea.  Start and stop.  Start and stop.  I’d pull out the maps that Donn copied for me and try to figure it out.  It took me from 11:00 to 3:30 to get from the edge of the city to the bike shop.  REDICULOUS!  I was tired, my back was hurting, I was hungry, I had let myself get sunburned.  It was just so darn frustrating that when I finally got to the bike shop I was crying as I struggled to get my wide load through the front door.  A customer who was standing at the counter, came over and held the door open for me.  Once I was in, the employees just couldn’t have been nicer and that brought on more tears for some reason.

The bike shop smelled like coffee!  As hot as I was, the smell of coffee made me want some RIGHT NOW.  I soon realized that the large bike shop shared a space with a coffee shop.  As soon as I turned my bike over to the mechanic I headed over for some yogurt with granola and a cup of coffee.  As I set eating my yogurt, I tipped my coffee a bit and spilled quite a bit on the floor.  I was just like a bull in a china cabinet!  Still crying.  I’m trying to think through where I’m going to spend the night.  There was no camping in the city so I was pretty sure I’d have to get a motel room.  But here I am in a trendy part of town that might have expensive hotels, but certainly not a Best Western.  I actually don’t remember seeing any fancy hotels either.  So I asked a man who was working on a cross-word puzzle if he was local and if he might know where one was.  Of course, I couldn’t even harly talk for the shaking in my voice and the red eyes and tears.  He got right on it though and made some phone calls and found the Metro Motel about five miles away.

The mechanic found all my problems in one fell swoop with a bad bearing in my back wheel hub.  Once he replaced it, the creak was gone and my bike started shifting crisply again.  He took it out for a test ride and found it to be fixed.  I then remembered that my front brakes were about to fall off so he tightened them for me.  About that time, the Manager (Dave) came over where I was sitting in the coffee shop and offered to buy me an ice tea/lemonade drink.  He wanted to know my story and offered to help me with maps to figure out how to get out of town and to get back to the Northern Tier.  An hour later, I had my maps and instructions and a bill for only the price of the seat pad.  He didn’t charge for any labor or the new bearing!  I tell you what…that manager was just the sweetest man and the mechanic was a good listener and great at his job.  I could not have asked for better customer service from Calhoun Cycle.  After bonding with Dave, he invited me to ride down to the local park to listen to his wife perform (playing guitar and singing) at a fund raiser for the neighborhood.  I thought that would be relaxing and so I met Dave’s wife before her set began.  A super sweet young woman with a wonderful voice and amazing talent.  I stayed for about four songs and then had to get to the motel to get settled in for the night.

Much more could be said about today and I still have a story from yesterday to share.  But here I am at the Metro Motel and it’s way past midnight.  I have some exciting news to tell you about in tomorrow’s blog.  Stay tuned…

Looking a little tired there Traci

I’ve been calling these Aspens, but Donn says they are more accurately Poplars

Holly Hocks out of Sherry Olson’s yard

Tuesday, July 10 — The Mighty Mississippi

This day was so full of interesting news for you that I barely know where to begin!  First, I must tell you how much I enjoyed staying with my warmshowers.org hosts, Jan and Jen from Bowlus.  They did everything possible to make my stay enjoyable.  It all started with a super place to pitch my tent in their beautiful back yard.  I felt safe and slept like a baby.  It ended with a real cup of java or two or three and I left camp about 7:30.  I didn’t go far though as I went back to Jordies Trail Side Café to take pictures of her outside dining room/garden.  I would have loved to stick around for breakfast, but I was most anxious to get on the Soo Line Trail and head to The Mighty Mississippi and Blanchard Dam.  First I stopped at the Bowlus Depot and went inside for a little self-guided mini tour.  I jumped on the trail there and headed northeast.  The trail is wider than I expected it to be with lush vegetation and Aspens on both sides for the entire four miles.  I stopped a dozen times to take pictures both with my camera (for this blog), but also to send off to John to show him in real time where I was at.  Did I tell you that this trail goes on for 160 miles?  When I approached the river and the dam, it started getting deafening loud.  The bridge over the river is wood slats bumped up so you can’t accidently fall through; and there is a tall chain fence on both sides so you can’t accidently fall off.  The water being let loose from the dam was causing a very heavy mist to rise high onto the bridge.  Looking to the west is the dam and looking east is the river passing under your feet and flowing in the distance till it bends out of sight.  Wow Wow Wow!  It’s wide and it’s wild!  It’s loud and it’s powerful!  It was just about as exciting as anything I have ever seen.  I lingered for as long as I thought I possibly could and then reluctantly got back on my bike and rode an additional mile to catch a county road to get me back on the official Northern Tier.

Today’s scenery was a little dryer than yesterday’s, but still very beautiful and flat for the most part.  There was absolutely no wind at anytime today.  Bazaar!  I played leap frog with a rural mail carrier.  That was a bit dangerous for me and more than a bit annoying for the mailman.  What I mean by playing leap frog is that he would stop (in his Jeep with the steering wheel on the right side) to put letters in a mail box and I would go around him.  In a minute, here he would come around me to get to his next customer’s box.  I would have to go around him while he’s stopped.  We did this for probably five miles until I finally just stopped behind him while he delivered to a house and then I let him take off first.

Six…count them…six…dog chases today.  None of them were close calls, but they got my heart rate up!

Kyle sent me a text that my maps were ready and delivered to my hotmail account so I stopped in Milaca to spend some time at the library printing them out.  The librarian and another lady asked me lots of questions about my story.  I never tire of telling it.  I got directions to the print shop and the owner stopped what she was doing to make me 60 more business card as I was down to my last one.  I have been giving them out since day one and have had to conserve here lately.  But she got me all fixed up and I have a full stock again.  EVERYBODY is going to know what I’m doing.

When I left there, I stopped at the post office to mail a few cards then went in search of a café or restaurant.  I ended up stopping at a Subway right as I left town.  After ordering and getting my food, a couple came over and asked about my story.  We visited for at least 45 minutes.  Turns out he is the pastor at a church nearby.  He prayed for me.  Never get tired of THAT EITHER!  Thank you Pastor Stan!

I was at Milaca for several hours and then headed to Dalbo to spend the night at a rather famous Bunk House ran by Donn and Sherry Olson at their farm.  This is a well-known stop for bicyclists and now I see why.  My goodness, these people have thought of everything!  We can stay in the bunkhouse or tent out in the trees.  My solar shower was quite toasty.  I’ve had two ice cream bars, two small packages of Oreos, and a pizza and coke.  There is a coffee pot for in the morning and the greatest thing…Donn is coming back (after his city council meeting) and is going to show me on maps how to get to a certain bike shop (that sell Bacchettas)  in downtown Minneapolis via bicycle trails.  This man provides all of this out of the goodness of his heart.  Like I said, he’s quite famous amongst touring bicyclists.  A couple of different times, people have provided video about this place on UTube.  Donn is a retired army helicopter pilot and is the real deal as far as genuine and friendly and helpful.  After inviting me into the house to make copies of maps, he sent me on my way with some milk for cereal in the morning.  No other bicyclists have arrived so I have this whole place to myself.  Although he provides wifi, my computer won’t pick it up so I’ll have to post this tomorrow from Minneapolis.  I wish I had time to tell you more about Donn and Sherry.  They are the real McCoy’s!!!

 I have another story to tell you about today, but it’ll have to wait until tomorrow.  Sleeping safe and sound tonight in a bunk house with a lock on the door.

My warmshowers hosts, Jan & Jen

Jordies Trail Side Cafe

Interesting sign of trail info

Just a sample of the Soo Line Trail

The trail bridge over the river

The Mighty Mississippi

Another view without having to stand on my tip toes

Blanchard Dam

Typical scenery of today

The Bunkhouse

One of the beds in the three bedrooms

Outhouse and solar shower

Part of the front yard where I could have set up my tent

Olson’s soy bean crop sitting just outside of the back yard

Flower of the Day taken in Sherry Olson’s garden

 

Monday, July 9 — What’s not to love?

After a scary night in the tent, I was up and out early.  The ride today was picture perfect.  Blue sky, tail wind, and scenery that just doesn’t get any more beautiful.  The road was hilly, then it was flat and I’d ride along for a few miles, and then it would turn hilly again.  Hills with personality, not hills with attitude.

I stopped in Long Prairie because there was a bike shop (but it was closed) and decided breakfast was in order.  I had the absolutely best blueberry pancakes that I have ever had at Mikey’s Downtown Diner.  The two waitresses were superb and I enjoyed my breakfast as much as I enjoyed the whole day!

When I got to Bowlus (pop. 300), I went to the café and wrote a few cards, ate again, and visited with the locals.  Bowlus is quite the hub for bicyclists because the Sooline train tracks have been converted into a paved bike trail (160 miles of it) and it comes through town right across the street from the café.  So this café is open seven days a week and stays quite busy.  It’s such a quaint café too.  Gift ideas abound.  It has two different inside dining areas and a large outside garden with more tables.  I entertained myself about two hours while waiting for Jon and Jen to get home from work.  Tomorrow morning I will go back by there and take some pix of the garden.  I just loved the place.  I wish they opened sooner than 8:00 a.m. or I might have had to see what was on the breakfast menu.  It’s run by a mother/daughter duo and the taco salad I ate tonight was delicious.

Jan (pronounced Jon) and Jen are warmshowers.org hosts.  I don’t know how many hosts there are across the country and worldwide, but what hosts agree to do is have an area to pitch a tent and provide a warm shower.  The hosts can expand on that as much as they want based on how they feel about the bicycle guests.  So here I am sitting in my tent in the backyard of my hosts (and I feel completely safe!).  I took a shower and did my laundry in their washer and dryer.  Jsn has encouraged me to take the bike path tomorrow as far as the Mississippi River and then told me how to get back on the Northern Tier after that.

John and I are hosts in Dodge City and if we feel good about the character of the bicyclists, we might even offer to let them sleep in the house and I’ll wash their laundry.  We’ll provide supper and breakfast and John almost ALWAYS ends up working on their bikes for them.   You know…from reading my blog…that being able to stay at someone’s home as opposed to a park or campground is much more ideal for my well being.

I have a dilemma with my map situation.  There are eleven separate maps to cover this route I’m on.  I only brought the first six with me thinking John could send me the other five when he sends out another care package.  The problem is that my sixth map is going to run out in two days and I forgot to have John send the others.  So…Kyle (our IT guy at the dealership) will scan the next map for me and turn it into a PDF file and send it to my email.  I’ll then have to go to a library to print it out.  What a hassle, but I just wasn’t thinking far enough ahead.  Thanks Kyle!

Well, one thing about staying with hosts is that you do a lot of visiting and don’t have much time for blogging.  It’s after 10:00 and I’m very tired and sleepy after not getting any sleep last night.  Just know I had a great day and I have the tired legs and pictures to prove it 😎

The park where I stayed last night outide of Parkers Prairie

That’s some water pressure!

Um ya, another barn

My breakfast place (Mikey’s)

I’d love to know the history of this old place…

Flower of the Day

Sunday, July 8th — Large Mosquitoes or Small Hummingbirds?

What is that humongous insect hovering in front of my face?  Last night as I was trying to download pix and finish my blog, the mosquitoes came out in full force and effect.  They were the size of small hummingbirds.  John sent me an Off ClipOn Mosquito thingee and I had it running right beside the computer on the picnic table about 8 inches from my face.  The mosquitoes would fly between it and my face and hover like helicopters.  They were so big, it would block complete words for heaven’s sake.  So, the good news is it kept them from biting my face and hands, but they went after my back and feet.  I bought some new spray repellent too but the stuff is so strong smelling that it ruins the taste of anything I eat or drink even hours after spraying it on.  Anyway, if my post last night doesn’t make sense it’s because of my fear of West Nile Virus!

And…what is that noise?  This town has a constant blowing/fan noise.  Or perhaps it sounds like a train in the distance.  But it’s constant.  I became aware of it sometime yesterday and now it’s driving me crazy.  I know there is a turkey processing plant in the city; so is it coming from there?  I hope to find out before I leave town this morning.

Parents, do you know where your children are?  There were about a hundred (okay, maybe 10) teens here in this park last night…way into the wee hours.  There is a circle gravel driveway that unfortunately I pitched my tent about 20 ft from.  There is the lake where the noisy fireworks were the destination.  The children walked all around my tent talking and carrying on like it was the middle of a Saturday night at the carnival.  They were not around when I zipped up for the night about 10:00, but they came soon after their parents were in bed.   Oh well, that is what I get for camping in a city park during the summer.  I have some neighbors with a fancy Honda Goldwing and I’m assuming they were a tad worried about it.  Although I did not have my bicycle locked up, I had it covered by the tarp that doubles as an alarm system in addition to keeping the water off the drivetrain and out of my seat bag (that is if the wind doesn’t blow the whole shebang over in the middle of the night).

For supper last night, I had two packages of Cherry Pop Tarts.  I know there is absolutely NO nutritional value to those high caloric pastries, but I did not feel like eating anything else.  By the time I went to bed I was regretting it because I was hungry again.  So this morning, I hope to find a waffle and some very crisp bacon to take me down the road.  To be continued…

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I am now camped at Lake Adley Park just outside of Parkers Prairie and reflect on the day.  It’s a little difficult to concentrate because there are about 15 contestants practicing for the Miss Parkers Prairie Pageant.  There are little ones say…approximately 6 years old all the way up to perhaps 17 year olds.  It’s so darn cute!

The day was glorious!  Slight tail wind (yes, I said tail wind) from the northwest.  Sunshine for 90% of the ride and the scenery was hilly and green.  There was no where to eat breakfast, so I rolled on out about 8:00 and it was already 84 degrees (so the bank said).  I stopped exactly 10 times before I got five miles out of town, just to take pictures.  It was obviously going to be a start and stop kind of day.  I can, and do, take lots of pictures while riding, but on many occasions it requires stopping to get the right angle.

I knew it was going to be an awfully hilly and windy fun road when I saw six or seven Harley’s heading out.  Turns out there was a poker run so I saw motorcycles all throughout the day.  The first steep hill, I was asking myself “why did I buy that can of chicken and new jar of peanut butter.  Couldn’t it of waited one more day so I wouldn’t have to climb with the extra weight in my bags?”

At one point I was stopped at a Y in the road and was studying my map.  About that time two women on bicycles came by and I stopped them to ask which of these roads leads to Amor.  They were not from that area either, but they helped me figure it out.  Turns out they are staying at a friend’s cabin and are training for Ragbrai.  Rhonda asked where I was heading and I told them my story and gave them one of my cards.  She says “that’s awesome” and asks how old I am all in one breath.  She asked Jane to take my picture with them so we all squeezed together for a head shot and then they were off like a flash.  I felt like a rock star for exactly two minutes 😎

More barns today…even a round one.  I wish I had parked my bike and walked into the driveway to get a better picture… opportunity lost forever.  In Amor, I got a picture of the Sheriff’s pickup and boat.  Yes, the Sheriff has an official boat.  I wonder if elections are hard fought every four years?

I was riding along and I could see a man on a horse up ahead.  About that time a foreign car with very loud pipes came up between me and the horse.  The horse handled the loud pipes fine, but when he saw me, he about bucked his rider off.  The cowboy (I wish he was wearing a cowboy hat rather than a baseball cap) says “he’s never seen one of THOSE before” referring to my bike.  Yes, I’m an oddity…especially to equine and cowboys.

The day was getting hot and I decided it was time for a rest break about the time I saw shade beside an old country church.  I actually fell asleep for a few minutes.  I rolled into Parkers Prairie about 4:00 and found a hamburger/ice cream place open and went directly inside for protein and dairy.  I got to the campground just ahead of a thunderstorm.  Whew!  So now I share the shelter with all these giggling girls.  It’s great and I don’t mind at all.

I’m set up under the shelter and am quite comfortable, but it’s a little weird being all the way out here alone (about a mile from town).  I had instructions to call the police to let them know I am camping and so I did that while I was eating.  A little while ago the Police Chief came out to check on me.  I had my head under the faucet with suds in my hair at the time.  He was patient and waited until I had my towel wrapped around my head and then we visited a bit.  He said he’ll drive out several times tonight to make sure I’m okay.  Right now there are two old guys fishing.  It’s great to listen in to their conversation. ..Most of it is about me.  They evidently don’t realize that I can hear every word they say.  They think I’m riding to raise money for Muscular Dystrophy.  Don’t ask me where they got that idea.  All is well so I’ll say goodnight.

Beautiful old country church