It was hard to get out of the comfy bed with multiple pillows this morning but somehow we managed to be down in the breakfast room at the ‘No-Name’ motel by 6:00am. Allen sleeps better in his sleeping bag, so he slept on top of the mattress and spread, in his sleeping bag and using his own pillow!!!!

Soon we ‘snuck’ out of Fargo, south of Moorhead, and entered MN on 52nd St. No welcome to MN sign or fanfare and from the border,  things looked a lot like ND!!!!

. . . however the county roads here seemed to have fabulous shoulders. Good shoulder, no wind, overcast sky and no traffic . . .it was going to be a good day to be biking in Minnesota (did I mention it is my home state?) !!!!

. . . and a round about!!!!  The last round about I remember seeing was in Coleville, WA!!!!

MN treat their pets right. A Grand Suite for a single dog . . . $28/night. I checked!!!

. . . and we are starting to see some color again instead of just the green, green and more green from corn and soybeans!!!

. . . however I do love riding by wheat fields. Must have something to to with liking to have things orderly and in a row. The wheat grows so uniformly it always looks like the field just had a ‘flat top’ haircut. Butchy!!!!

 

. . .ssshhhhhhhhhhhhhhh  she is sleeping. Beautiful bird.

Oh there is some elevation change in MN. Nice thing about it, is when you get to the top there is usually a turn, some woods or a farm. NOT 12 more miles of straight road as far as the eye can see!!!! (Like in ND and MT)

Our first village out of Fargo/Moorhead was only 6 miles down the road, Sabian. Unfortunately, is was 7:00am on a Sunday morning and nothing was open!!! On to Downer, the next town 15 miles down the road . . .

Not sure what this is all about . . . got to look it up!!!

We rode over Interstate 94 for the last  time as we head to the east coast . . .

Next town down the road was Downer. The Bar and Grill and the C-Store, both in the same converted storage garage were both closed . . . what a downer!!!

. . . there was a sign right outside Downer that was funny. Godfather . . .exterminating . . . cement overshoes . . .

. . . but it ended up being for pests (not the two legged variety)!!!!

. . .some farmers may have not have enough to do once the crops are in the ground and the tilling is done. This farmer must own land on each side of the road, for at least a mile, and has placed old boots and shoes on EVERY fencepost . . .

. . .he must have had some left over because he add extras to phone and utility poles!!!

. . . this was the third Town Hall like this we have seen in the last hour. All VERY orderly and neat looking. The Minnesota way!!!!

We saw several of Dewey’s trucks on the road this morning and here was his headquarters. I didn’t notice the logo on his trucks, but he has it on his corporate sign!!!!

We came upon the first what I consider to look like a typical MN lake. Middle Cormorant Lake . . . only 9,999 more lakes to see down the road!!!!

Right outside of Cormorant was the Covenant Lutheran Church which was having it’s Sunday 10:00am service outside.Nice weather and nice setting!!!!

In Cormorant, at mile 41, Mark and I pulled into the C-store for some Powerade and David and Corvin pulled into the restaurant. You know you are in tourist country by the price of snacks. Since MT, the Powerade (made by Cola-Cola) has been on what seems like a nationwide special, 2 for $3.00. In Cormorant it was 1 for $2.69 !!!!!

. . . across the street was the Cormorant Bottle Shop . . . a typical scene what you might see in WI or just about any other state, except MN until just a a month or two ago. You can see the OPEN sign illuminated which until recently would not have been the case on a Sunday because no liquor was sold on Sundays. It REALLY use to mess up emJay and my visits to MN if we rolled in on a Sunday and need some ‘hooch’. Sometimes we would forget to bring it from WI !!!! One time,coming up from her mothers in DSM, we had to double back 10 miles to IA to buy some vino when we realized we didn’t have any and it was Sunday in MN. Welcome to the 21st Century MN !!!

Things were running smooth until be got on Hwy 9 for the last 20 miles to Pelican Rapids, our home for the night. Two detours that we ended up riding through. The first was through a lake community that was getting a new road and sidewalk. The sidewalk was already in, so Mark and I rode on it for 5 miles until the pavement appeared again . . .

. . . that worked until we were 5.5 miles from Pelican Rapids when the road disappeared. The gravel was hard packed and ready for new asphalt and if one stayed on the side, the riding was OK. AND there were thousands of Monarch type butterflies flying 360 degrees around you to look at. REALLY nice and much better than mosquitos. Only downside is there were many cars cutting through on the road too and the dust was stifling. No wind, so it hung in the air a LONGGGG time.

. . .in fact I started coughing up _____ as I passed this rural mailbox. Funny last name!!!!

. . . but after 59 miles we landed in Pelican Rapids, out home for the night. EVERYTHIG here is all about the Pelican . . .

We are staying in the Sherin City Park, set up on the right side of this reservoir. Nice setting . . .

. . . with our own ‘Brooklyn Bridge’ . . .

. . . nice (even though, as usual, in these settings the bathrooms and showers leave a little to be desired)

. . . what may be the LARGEST pelican in the world, located at the spillway of the lake . . .

. . . even the local FD got in the act . . .

. . . with a Dalmatian pelican.

I wrote today’s journal entry in a McDonalds and there were two old boys sitting across from me talking what old guys talk about.  I heard them both say they were both 87 years old. When one of them left, the other tried to strike up a conversation with me. At one point he asked me if I was doing my homework!!!!!  . . . when I looked up I saw he had glasses that looked like coke bottles. I am 64 you know!!!!

Tomorrow is a short 39 miles to my sister Snaren, and her husband Bobs’, home where we will be spending the day swimming, cavorting and lounging. A mini-rolling layover day of sorts. Yipeee!!!

It was going to be a GREAT day. Only 39 miles to Karen and Bob’s house which would leave plenty of time to splash around in the lake . . .

. . . and what a way to start our the day riding along quiet lakes with no traffic . . .

We entered Otter Tail county home of Karen and Bob as well as 58,000 other happy otters and 1,048 lakes!!!!

. . . a typical ‘Mom and Pop’ resort that had it hay day on the 1950-70’s. Many of these type of resorts have been split up and sold of as individual cabins and properties. When we were kids we went to one near Walker, MN name Wi-Wi-Ta. Great memories!!!!

. . . a little library on wheels . . . yeah, a bookmobile!!!!

. . .a blast from the past. I’m sure in it’s day this is where the local fisherman hung out and swapped ‘tall tales’ regarding fishing.

. . . mmmmm, looks like we are out on the western front . . .

I met Jan, Cynthia and Missy out for a morning walk enjoying the quiet morning and cool temps.

Soon we arrived at the Phelps Mill, a must see in Ottertail County. The county took possession in the 1960’s and the facility is very well preserved. Three flours of wheat processing . . .

. . .all powered by a water turbine . . . as time went on an addition was added and a second turbine . . .

. . . amazing craftsmanship. Much of the machinery, including the elevator tubes were made of wood!!!!

. . . back on the road with 15 miles to the lake. You could smell tis guying coming on before you could see him!!!!

. . . sounds like a local issue in OT County. Will have to ask Bob what it is all about . . .

. . . which came first, the Dead Lake or the Dead Lake due to invasives????? Funny name for a lake!!!

Nice to be cycling along the birding trail. In WI we have one of these routes too in the northern third of the state. Brings in revenue to the local service providers from a non-motorized cliental (except for their vehicle of course which they use to drive from site to site)

. . . speaking of driving we soon wheel into the Karen and Bobs’ . . .

. . . they made us feel immediately ‘at home’!!!!

. . . my sister Roxanne had come up from the Mpls too so it was sort of a family reunion for us. They had snacks and food out ALL day, including lunch, afternoon goodies, dinner and dessert. The wine,beer and soda flowed freely too!!!!

David started on a sitting raft . . .

. . . so did ‘Good Mike’ who was also enjoying a Leinees’s beer from WI!!!!!

Denise decide to do some paddleboard yoga . . . and she didn’t fall off!!!!

. . .soon David graduated to the paddleboard . . .

. . . Wade was chilling an grinnin’ . . .

. . . soon the cover came off the jets ski’s and away we went . . .

Corvin and Dr Mike tearing up the lake. They used the yellow keys for the machines which allow them to go up to 70 mph!!!

. . . David got in the act too . . .

Bob brought out ‘Super Mabel’ for her maiden voyage. It is supposed to handle three adult size riders . . .

. . . the three WoJo’s were the first to give it a try . . .

. . . away we went

Bob pulled us with one of the jet ski’s and it was quite a ride . . .

. . .once Mabel planed off it was a wild ride . . . soon Karen and Roxanne said THAT’S ENOUGH AND BACK TO SHORE E WENT.!!!!

Wade, David and Mike then took a ride. Wade got flipped out and soon the plug from the air bladder popped pout and Mabel filled with water. Bob ‘towed’ the whole operation back to shore. We drained Mabel and soon she will be ready for a air refill and more fun!!!

It was time for dinner and Bob was the grill master . . . teriyaki marinated chicken breasts . . .YUM . . .

Karen gives the official ‘Come and get it’ . . .

. . with loaded potatoes, carrots, cheese bread and scmoodie with fresh fruit!!!!

. . . and Mark came back for seconds!!!!!

. . . dishes were cleaned up and soon it was time for our nightly map meeting regarding our route tomorrow. The first 20 miles would be to ‘get us back on track’ . .

Rod gave out a few awards . . .

. . . including a ‘scraper’ he found along the way as a thank you to Karen and Bob for ‘scraping’ something together for us to eat!!!!

We turned out 44th day on the road at Karen’s and Bob’s which marks the half way point of our 88 day adventure. We are at the half way mileage point too. Allison has been carrying candles to mark the occasion and the temps in her panniers has gotten so hot the zero melted!!!

. . .but she bought another one at Larry’s in Battle Lake. then  umbers were added to the brownie trifle Karen had made for dessert . . .

. . . and there wasn’t any left by the time we got done wit hit!!!

We had a GREAT time at Karen and Bob’s and it was a well deserved break off the bike and a GREAT way to celebrate our half way point. Thanks again to you two, and Roxanne for being such great hosts. We didn’t want to leave!!!!

Everyone slept VERY WELL last night as they scattered their pads and sleeping bags about the house. The only one to sleep outside was Allen, who is always more comfortable SLEEPING IN HIS OWN SLEEPING BAG, with his own pillow in his own tent.

Allison and I had kitchen duty today so we went shopping yesterday for breakfast and lunch goodies. No need for the French presses this morning because Karen has a 30 cup percolator. Wade is ALWAYS an early riser and was the first one down for the . . .

. . .  5:30am morning ACA tour ‘rush’. Easy to manage this morning with the ample counter space.  A nice change from trying to serve breakfast and lunch off a single picnic table . . .

. . . when I went to empty the percolator there was no coffee left!!!! I wonder why?????

. . . soon we all said goodbye, gave Karen and final hug and Bob a handshake and we were on the paved trail into Battle Lake . . . nice start to the morning!!!!

. . . we said goodbye to the ‘Big Chief’ who looks out over Battle Lake.  The name of the town and lake comes from the frequent Indian nation battles, between tribes, that occurred in the area . . .

. . . quiet in BL as we rolled through at 7:00am . . .

We are hoping as we roll further east we see more and more of these type of early morning, second breakfast, options . . .

. . . including ones like this . . .

. . . YIKES, who have it all!!!!

Saw this old bug on the way out of town, across from Larry’s Supermarket. Reminded me of the ‘bug’ I had in high school. many, many years ago  . . .

. . . I guess if you take the local ‘make up’ class . . .

. . . you can work wonders like this restoration!!!!

. . . nice scenery as we rolled west on Hwy 78. Plenty of time to look around because we had a headwind for the first twenty miles of the day and the last ten miles into Sauk Centre . . .

. . . too far off the road to get ‘inspired’ this morning . . .

. . and I had my own moment of ‘inspiration’ when as I passed the sign above the master link on my chain broke!!!!

. . . have never heard of that happening before, but I guess after 2,000+ miles on a 60 pound loaded bike, any thing can happen! A replaced link inserted and I was on the road again.

The middle 40 miles of todays ride was on the Lake Wobagon Regional Trail network, part of the MN ‘Rails to Trails’ program . . .

. . . nicely paved trails that were wide, paved and in good shape. WI could take a lesson here . . .

. . . and with trees lining the trail, they helped keep the headwinds to a minimum . . . nice!!!!

Corvin has become quite the ‘American junk food junkie” . . . he seems to live on Gatorade and chips. How many bags of chips can you see in this shot????

Soon we got West Union where I met Sue and her grandchildren Megan and Logan. We had a nice chat about touring and Sue was very interested in our adventure . . .

. . .I went in the store to get some Gatorade and met Florence, who at 93 years young, is still helping stock the shelves at the store she once owned. It’s still in the family and Florence still shows up everyday to help out. What an inspiration!!!!

. . back on the trail it looked like there had been a recent running race . . . Lover Boy and Hot mama . . . mmmmmmmmmmm

We pulled into Alexandria for a little break and found out about the Rhunestone. Evidently there is a theory that the Vikings discovered America early on and left an inscribed stone describing the whole journey. Evidently the theory hasn’t caught on nation wide, but the Chamber of Commerce is happy to provide you with a museum tour for $7.00!!!!!

After 72 miles, we finally reached Sauk Centre, our home for the night. Good Mike has a Bassett hound at home in Phoenix and quickly made friends with this pooch . . .

Sauk Center is the home of the US author, Sinclair Lewis. The town has a real ‘Main Street’ feel . . .

. . . with lots of GREAT murals

. . . oh yeah, you know you are back in the Midwest when you see meat raffles!!!!

We no more got done with the map meeting last night when sever weather moved in with thunder, lightning and high winds. Everyone scattered to their tent and brought everything in they could. It didn’t last long though and the winds subsided, lulling us to sleep . .

. . .since we were right in town several groups decided to head downtown for a second breakfast before we left town!!!!! Only 39 miles to Bowlus, our home for tonight so there was plenty of time to dawdle.

I headed to the library but there was really no place good to sit outside and it didn’t open until 10:00am . . . so off to the local McDonalds. Sitting outside working on a computer is uncomfortable,. buggy and worst of all is the constant glare on the scree. Sitting inside takes care of all those problems. At McDonald’s there is always free, and fast wifi, good coffee, clean restrooms and after the morning rush . . . very quiet!!!!

Alice, a stringer for the local paper, stopped by to get our story. She provides stories to the paper of biking groups coming through during the  summer. She asked what my favorite snack was and I said “gorp”, Nuts, raisins, M&M’s everything you need on the bike in one handful!!!!

Soon I was down the road and around lunch time pulled into Melrose. I was going to check out this beauty of a church but the doors were locked. A Ma and Pa pair stopped by to tell me the interior had been destroyed by an arsonist last March and the authorities’ had still not caught the culprit. The locals want the church rebuilt but the Bishop in St. Cloud says it must come down. They asked where I was from, and I said Madison, WI. They seem surprised I had not heard of the fire . . .

The town smelled of turkey and here is why,. a BIG processing plant taking up several blocks If you serve a Jennie-O at Thanksgiving, good chance it comes from Melrose!!!!

They are doing the right thing along the trail with their own ‘yellow bike’ rental program  . . .

. . .a little further down the road from Melrose I came upon Memoryville. I would have liked to wander around in it a bit but all the gates were closed and I could not find anyone around . . . .

Soon I arrived in Freeport. emJay and I have driven by this little burg many times on the way up to Karen and Bobs’ and always mention how we should stop . . . to much in a hurry I guess, but I always liked the happy face on the old water tower . . .and now I was here!!!

There is a BIG sign on the Interstate for Charlie’s, so even though I had eaten my lunch I wheeled in for a piece of pie. There were Corvin and Hugh just coming out after having eaten with Bob from Sacramento, CA and Dave from Yorkshire, UK.

Bob and Dave are doing the NT too but with their wives driving a SAG RV hauling all their gear. They all sleep in it every night. Sounds  COMFY!!!!!

I stopped in at the local church,Sacred Heart. It was open and  . . .

. . . a beauty

. . . back on the trial I came to the ‘fork in the trail’ just north of Albany. On to the Lake Wobagon, – Soo Line spur that would take us to Bowlus.

. . .inspiration messages . . .what a great idea!!!!

. . . and the county or MDNR do a great job marking where there are problems with the trail. You can see a lot of fresh repairs . . . I think they get on them for repair, right away!!

. . .GREAT design for a blue bird house

. . .first time I have seen these signs specifically for Fall or Winter biking. Good idea!!!

. . . just before Bowlus we passed this place on the trail. Got to see if the bike is ‘advertising’ a Warm Showers participant!!

Last town before Bowlus was Holdingford and they had a covered bridge. We stopped for one more Gatorade.

Downtown Bowlus, pop.202. We are staying in the city park tonight. Nice site with large shade trees. No showers . . .

. . . but Yahn and Jen are Warm Shower hosts, so we walked a block to their house took showers and enjoyed a beer under their vine covered gazebo . . .

. . . great people and very generous. They own the MN Trails magazine concentrating on non-motorized trail sports.

Mike and Hugh have cooking duty tonight but we all decided to go across the street to Jordie’s Restaurant where it is all the chicken and fixin’s you can eat for $9.99. They still need to buy breakfast and lunch goodies so . . . why not just roll the cart over to the park rather than bilking over and filling your panniers. Nice living in small towns!!!!

Jordie’s is right across the street from the park and they were ready for us at 6:00pm!!!

. . .an eclectic mix of goods for sale . . .

Jordie and Beka, our server for the night.

The boys didn’t need a second call to dinner!!!!

Broasted chicken with all the fixin’s . . . I made two trips!!!

Jordie stopped by to give us the history of the place, Very interesting and creative!!!

Easy sleeping after our BIG chicken dinner last night in Bowlus . . .

       

. . . soon we were on Nature Rd which we would follow 35 of our 65 miles today.

   

We are not going to Itasca State Park, which of course if the source of the Mississippi, but it did run near Bowlus and the trail we were on this morning.. Jordie had said Morrison County does not put up signs on any of their rivers, streams or creeks . . . could this be it????

 

… or this one? Jordie had said there was a dam involved but who knew it was this large  . . .

. . . it had a major spillway and you were not going to step across it like you can at Itasca .  . .

. . . BIG

. . . and the river was big too. No little stream. Too far south . . .

. . . but Connie and I did cross it.

. . . funny pruning job along the way!!!!

VERY tidy farms here in MN . . .

. . . some with great murals!!!!

Soon a bunch of us pulled into the Ramey store, about half way to Dalbo, for liquid refreshment.

oh yeah . . .you are up nort’ here in MN . . .

Hey emJay, TNC doing the right thing here in MN too . . .

Tonight we are staying right outside of Dalbo, pop.80, at Don’s ACA Bunkhouse. He has been providing lodging to bikers on the Northern Tier since 2006 . . .

We are staying in a converted  . . . with AC !!!!

. . . including a special tent for our meals . . .

. . .this is the lower level of the barn . . . everything you need to RELAX . . .

. . . off the main room are four bedrooms with . . .

. . .  built in dual cots set up for sleeping. Just roll out your sleeping bag!!!!

. . . and this is the second floor that can accommodate MANY more bikers.

. . . a nice kitchen and the refrigerator was stock with soda and Gatorade . . . a few can goods too if you do not come with provisions. Mark and Corvin borrowed Don’s car to go shopping in Cambridge for our viddles!!!!

, , , everything you need, and well organized!!!!

. . . an outdoor shower and outhouse round out the amenities

Don stooped by to visit and brought watermelon. His hospitality all started in 2006, when during some road road construction I,on front of his house, two weary riders came through pushing their bikes though the sand and asked I they could pitch their tents in his yard . . . the rest is history!!!

Four of us decided to ride the additional half mile into Dalbo when we heard the Dusty Eagle had a $2.00/beer happy hour from 4-6pm  . . .

sort of non descript from the outside but A LOT going on inside . . .

. . .we sort of hid our bikes in a side alley so as not to sully the ACA reputation in case we got out of control . . . and it was close!!!

. . .after our first beer, we tied up with the  . . .

Thirsty Thursday ladies group who are there every Thursday!!!! WE could not buy a beer . . .very time we set one down,another appeared. What a GREAT tradition and a GREAT gang of friends. They were very interested in our trip and what we had experienced. The town is hosting a group of 70 Swedes in a few weeks who are visiting some of their relatives homesteads.

. . .

Rod even met one of his old classmates, he had not seen for 40 years!!!!

What a great time we had at the Dusty Eagle, LOTS of laughs . . .  but soon it was time to pedal back to Don’s for dinner and our map meeting . . .

Before we did leave though, Katie told us about breaking her arm while getting out of her blue jeans . . . as she said, ‘There was alcohol involved’!!!

Comfortable and quiet night at Don’s Bunkhouse and we hated to leave. Great Hospitality, Thank you Don!!! On to the GREAT State of Wisconsin!!!

We are entering lake country again after several days of riding through ag country.  Nice scenery around every corner!!!

. . . going to have to look this one up!!!

Who knew . . .

. . . boy, now that is a ‘stretch’ for fame, even for the Village of Sunrise. Who was Frank O. Lowden? see the end of this entry.

We crossed Interstate 35 as we head for the Minnesota border . . .

Around this corner we came upon this 40 acres of solar panels . . . wonder how many megawatts it puts our????

Don had told us about a great restaurant in Harris, so of course we had to head in for a second breakfast . . . here was the place to be in Harris after 8:00pm. Mingle, Dance, Lounge . . . not necessarily in that order!!!

Kaffe Stuga was a hopping place. We tied up with Dan who recognized the ACA maps on our bikes and joined us for breakfast. He had ridden up from Mpls.

. . . typical of our group, after a full breakfast, several had pie!!!!! (no names mentioned to protect the innocent!!!)

Janie was MORE than willing to help us out . . . bring it on!!!

. . .  other highlights of Harris included this tattoo parlor right next to the Kaffe . . .

. . . with another repurposed VW bug!!!

. . . Anne arrived with might have been the ‘find of the day’  . . . nice patina on that spring!!!!

. . . as we vacated our space at the Kaffe, the second crew rolled in just in time!!!

. . . riding sweep is tough business and even Allison had to stop in for a piece of pie!!!!

Lots of Swedes in this area . . . and lots of Swedish words to say “CLOSED”!!!

Here was sort of a unique place for sale . . .  sort of  a ‘handyman special’, considering there had been an EXPLOSION in the house . . .

. . . wonder if it happened before or after it was listed??????

. . . we entered Taylors Falls, MN and had our final climb of the day into Wisconsin.  Here we are sitting in MN . . .

. . .  looking across to WI where we had a BIG climb up to Interstate State Park, on the Wisconsin side, our home for the night. It was a lot steeper than it looks, averaging 8-10% on the way up . . . after looking at it and plotting our strategy for about 15 minutes, it didn’t seem to be getting any less steep so we headed up . . .

. . . half way up I had stop to get this shot. Looks like we are still  ’Open For Business’ . . . not very unique. Allen has a photo of him entering the state of Florida and they have the same type of sign . . . I wonder if Scott Walker is still Governor in WI?????

We are staying at Interstate Park, which probably is the hilliest park in the Wisconsin system, nothing is flat. We are in the group campground on the south side of the park and the showers are two miles to the north in the park and up and down 6 hills.  Had to ride in granny gear back to camp after a shower so you didn’t get all sweated up again.

Only two days until Smoochie ties up with us in Hayward . . . YIPPEE!!!!!

Who was Frank O. Lowden? Frank Orren Lowden (January 26, 1861 – March 20, 1943) was a Republican Party politician from Illinois, who served as the 25th Governor of Illinois and as a United States Representatives from Illinois. He was also a candidate for the Republican presidential nominations in 1920 and 1928.

Very quiet in the park last night and the skeeters were not too bad!!!

Some touch climbs out of the park so early in the morning . . . the paddleboat was still in the Dalles . . this time in early morning light . . .

This is ‘old downtown’ St Croix Falls sort of a ix of tourist and local needs . . . quaint

Here is the dam right above town . . you can see the dam itself in the center of the photo before it curves to the left where it looks like a endless pool . . . don’t go over!!!

Sort of a sign of the future for small towns. You would think a little tourist town like this could support an American icon like a Dairy Queen . . but no. Instead it has moved 4 miles out of town to where the Walmart, McDonalds, Menards, etc etc are all located!!

Here is an ‘original’ sculpture entitled ‘Fish’ . . .

. . . not sure which side it looks best from.

The back story is it is located at the WDNR Fish Hatchery in St Croix Falls. When ever a new state building is constructed, or a major addition added, a certain percent of the funding for the building must be spent on ‘original’ art. Funny . . .this artist isn’t even from WI!!!!!

We rode out of St Croix Falls on the WDNR ‘Gandy Dancer’ trail. In WI the trails are not paved and you need to buy a special trail pass!!!! Not quite as user f\friendly as in MN where the trails are free (there is no free lunch  . . .someone is paying for them) but they are also paved!!!

A picture perfect riding day in WI. Low traffic, good road, just enough elevation to keep things interested . . . Wade and Doc Mike take the lead.

and the first predicted tailwind we have had since he we started 50 days ago. What a welcome to Wisconsin!!!!

First stop was the quaint town of Balsam lake. Nice water tower, clean streets lots of plants  . . .

. . .and what’s this . . . Have things changed since I left WI ?????

Really sorry we are not staying in Balsam Lake tonight . . .I would have REALLY like to see TaTi, the Island Boy, and even sample a few Leine’s!!!

Right outside of town was Ole and Lena’s Moose Theater featuring the Lutefisk Marching band . . . not sure what the giraffe was all about!!!!

The skeeters have jot been too bad yet . . . but it looks like there has been rain and puddles like this are breeding grounds . . .

. . . for the GIANT version as depicted here. They have been know to fly off with small dog and children!!!!

. . .must be a sad place . . may be the sister lake to Dead Lake in MN!!!!

We have the WDOT/County Rustic Road program in WI honoring great country rides. The kind families used to enjoy in a time past on a nice Sunday afternoon drive with a stop at the local drive inn. Not sure people do that anymore. Some of the roads are still recognized though . . .

. . .including Hunky Dory Rd!!!

First one of these I have seen in WI . .  haven’t seen any roadside fatality markers yet. It would be wishful thinking that signage like this was actually working . . .

Tonight we are staying in Cumberland at the City park. A REALLY happening place. Hope it quiets down tonight. To bad it is not a rest day . . . the Tower House looked very inviting . . .

Local mascot at the elementary school . . .

Oh, those Cumberlanders do have opinions!!!!

Tomorrow onto Hayward and a layover day . . . I started my career in 1977 with the State of Wisconsin, Department of Natural Resources, in Hayward as a trainee. It will be interesting to become reacquainted with it!!!

Noisy in the campground last night. People were still chopping fire wood after midnight!!!

Camping formula: City Park+Weekend+Nice Weather = Noisy Night.

On the road heading our 62 miles to Hayward we encountered this ‘Midwest Nice’ version of rumble strips . . they lay them out in the gravel shoulder so as not to create too much noise or cause vibration . . . go figure!!!

ummmmmm . . .effective in northern Wisconsin in the peak of summer? . . .would like to read the fine print on the contract!!!

We passed under State Hwy 63 today which I believe is the first time we have passed under a major road since Hebron. ND . . .  the night of the fly attack!!!

The first Christmas tree plantations we have seen in the Midwest . . . more to come I’m sure.

I don’t know . . . I just liked the name of this farm. Sounds homey . . . Garrison Keillor style!

We had some big climbs today that seemed to go on forever, shades of ND . . .

. . . but what a view these people had at the top of this one. Not a good representation in the photo but wide open vistas of WI elevation in the distance.

. . . our first town for a break this morning was Haugen. Handsome restored school. The whole village was spotless!!! The map said there was a store there but our experience has been they are usually not open early on a Sunday morning . . .

. . . but Hill’s store on Main St was open at 8:00am . . .

. . .and manned by no one other than Jim Hill himself who has been behind the counter for over 50 years!!!! There is a little of everything in the store. He told his wife, Yvonne, when they were thinking of purchasing it he would only buy it if they could stock it with enough of what people needed that they wouldn’t need to leave town.  And he has ever since  . . . even had nice, fresh produce. Jim had been an Emergency Fire Warden for 40 years and worked with two of the Rangers from my Class of 1977.

. . . and he had EFW Appreciation Awards through the years from four state foresters to prove it!!!

Outside we met Al, a local historian who filled us in on the local Bohemian Cemetery that has one civil war veteran buried in it. He spend over 4 months researching genealogy records to find the soldiers name. Abraham Lincoln purchase property and turned them into cemeteries all over the north in order to provide final resting sites for his soldiers . . .

Al is one of the Bohemian and Czech settlers of the area . . . can you tell by his name????

Wade found this biking jersey along the road and has vowed to keep loosing weight until he fits into it!!!!

. . . a great looking barn we passed along the way. I really like the stone and the door . . .

Our lunch stop was 52 miles into the ride at Edgewater, on Big Chetek Lake.The thermometer said 90 degrees!!!! The Gatorade was flowing . . . no beer yet.

As we continued on to Hayward, we passed a unit of the Washburn County Forest. Interesting that the sign STILL says Wisconsin Conservation Department. The name was changed to Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources in the early seventies, wedding the conservation activities with the regulatory environmental activities (air, water, solid waste, etc.), much to the chagrined of many people. I wonder if some of them are on the the County Forest Advisory group and are STILL in protest!!!!!

. . . oh, we were in BIG fishing country now!!!!

Hey it looks like our own mbbt member Jim Miller has returned to his roots in Sawyer County for a second career of  . . . ‘taking care of all your earthly needs’. You go, Jim!!!

As we rounded the corner in Stone Lake and were heading down the final 12 miles to Hayward we passed this closed ‘supper club’ I went to several times during the 5 months I was a trainee, in Hayward, for WDNR in 1977 . . . a lot has changed in the world, and my life, since then . . . including the passing of this place!!!!

. . . oh we had a hill or two left . . .

. . . and a cooling little shower from a head on this irrigation boom that was stuck watering the road!!!!

Soon we entered the greater Hayward city limits . . . where there is some outdoor activity for most everyone and most of the visitors seem to come from the Twin Cities,

. . .it’s a layover day in Hayward tomorrow and emJay is coming up to join us for five days. YIPPEEEE. She booked us into the cozy Riverside Motel , , ,

. . . no sleeping for me on the lawn of the church tonight . . .  (in fact most of our gang decided to motel it over the next two nights in Hayward)

. . oh the vino will be flowing out on our deck tomorrow  night!!!!

Yesterday after visiting West Dairy with Rod I was returning to the Riverside when I saw Denise coming across at the traffic light . . .

When Mark and I stopped at the Edgewater for lunch he  mentioned Denise had had a MAJOR blowout in her back tube. Sounded like a shotgun blast. He and Allen helped her change it, she took the bike for a loop or two, it seemed fine and she told them to go on as she added her panniers and stuff. She had still not landed at the Edgewater by the time we finished our lunch. Why . . . because she had a second BIG blowout!!! On closer inspection the sidewall of her tire had failed. She put on her extra tire and was soon down the road . . .

. . . this is the second Schwalbe Marathon PLUS tire she has side wall failures. It’s the same tire I purchased in Medora to replace my Continental Contact. I guess the Marathon PLUS’s are supposed to be puncture residence but it looks like they need to do a little reinforcing of the sidewalls. I’m keeping my fingers cross with mine!!!!

Slept GREAT at the Riverside and walked across the street to the Norske Noon or breakfast. Although they are know for their mile high cream pies, they have a great breakfast too!!!

Time to do a little touring around Hayward to see what has changed since I was a trainee here in 1977. I biked out to the ranger station base. As you can see  . . . part of it has been turned into ‘estates’!!!  . . .

The historic ranger station was moved across town and is now the Sawyer County Historical Center.  Good use for the old building and it is well maintained. Steve Early and I had desks on the second floor during our stay there over the winter of 1977-78 . . .

. . .this is the old Fire Control building now used as storage. As a trainee I had to help shovel coal into the cast iron stove in the basement to warm the place in the winter. That was anew one for a youngster from Mpls!!! The height of the newer sized fire fighting rigs made these building obsolete. Built in the CCC days, they are now usually used for storage . . .

. . . I can see the construction of bear traps has not changed much since ‘77. Lure the bear in with bait, the door closes and the bear gets mad!!!! The holes on the sides are used to aenethtisize the bear with dart guns before they remove it from the trap!!!

About the time I was retiring the WDNR had gone through a ‘reorganization’ , probably the third one I had experienced during my 33 year control. We no longer had the traditional Ranger Station where you could drop in anytime during business hours and get info. The Ranger and his family lived above the Ranger Station on the second floor so there was usually someone around 24/7. The final reorg before I retired brought about consolidated ‘service centers’ where we met with our ‘customers’ (formerly know as the public, in a very controlled environment.

. . . as you can see, the customer service is now only available 11-2, Monday – Friday!!!! Like a lot of customer service provided now a days, the trend is no personal contact but a website and 800 number. At least the 800 number is still answered by someone sitting in Madison . . . but very little local contact. If you need to speak to one of the local resource managers, you need to make an appointment!!!!

Near the old Ranger Station, on Hall of Fame Dr,  is the home of the ‘Freshwater Fishing Hall of Fame.’ Last time I was here you had a clear view of the ‘World’s Largest Musky’ from just about all angles. Through the years greenery has been strategically planted to limit the free view of the Musky without paying the entrance fee of $8.00. Sort of creepy looking.

. . . I think they should have used a Disney designer to make it look more ‘friendly’!!!!

. . . watch out for that tail!!!!

. . the Lumberjack show is still running, a great family venue. We just missed the Championships by one week!!!

Down the street, and across from my first apartment in 1977, West’s Ice Cream store is still operating. Founded in 1954 . . .

. . .  the staff uniforms and interiors have been updated  . . . but you can’t really improve on the creaminess of their ice cream. Rod and I stopped for some on the way into town . . .

. . . across form West’s, was the first apartment I lived in after leaving home and moving to Hayward for my trainee period. I lived on the second floor, heated with one central space heater. There were a few drafty areas in the middle of a January cloudless night!!!! It has now been tuned into ‘Dakota Cigars and Swanky Things’ . . . my, how some things have changed . . .

. . . including the addition of McDonalds.  No fast food when I was here. I’m sure the City Zoning had something to say about the ‘log cabin’ design required in order for MC to build here. But . . .there is also a huge Minneapolis based Marketplace Grocery store . . .and of course a Walmart. A LARGE percentage of Hayward’s visitors are from the Twin Cites in MN. Many travelers like having  some of their normal creature comforts close by when traveling. For those who do not . . . try traveling cross country on a bike!!!!!

. . . sadly the DQ that was on main street closed in 2009, relocated near the WalMart and is now a Brazier, selling food too. When I was here in 1977, it was a great hangout on the main drag with everyone getting a cone and chattin’ it up with the neighbors from the hood . . .

I needed to stop at the Moccasin Bar, THE landmark in Hayward (especially since the old hotel on the corner burned down) and get a shot of the BIGGEST musky ever caught . . .

. . . but alas even the bar was closed on Monday, just like the local brewery. Guess everyone needs a day off . . . but the Moccasin will be open at 9:00AM tomorrow morning!!!!!

. . . I took my group gear out to the Weslyen Church, ‘our official residence’ in Hayward. Too bad we are not staying here on a ‘regular working’ night. We could have made great use of the kitchen and all the facilities!!!!

I was down at the Riverbrook Bike shop at 10:10am, they opened at 10:00am, and Allen and  . . .

. . . Corvin were already ahead of me in the service department. Rest days are a great time to get the bike retuned. I was having shifting problems and ended up needing a new chain. Only lasted 2,300 miles but they were loaded miles with LOTS of climbing . . .

. . . Allison was having trouble with her right STI shifter. The cable broke right where the shifter cable end passes through the mechanism. She had to perform ‘minor surgery’ three days ago to try and get the small barrel end out of the shifter and may have ’altered’ a few parts during the procedure.  . . . we’ll see how the ‘open heart’ surgery goes. Usually there are no ‘customer serviceable parts’  in the shifter. Might be time for bar ends!!!

It was a beautiful, lazy day for us in Hayward. Catching up on sleep, bike work, shopping and laundry. Just about everyone passed through this ‘dream spot’ today at one time or another. Local laundromat with a coffee shop right next store. A match made in heaven!!!

emJay has joined our group of happy bikers for the next 5 days . . . everything in my life is now good!!!

It’s always hard to get back on the road after a rest day, especially one like the layover in Hayward. Everyone found  something to do and had a good time.

As we were leaving the church last night after the map meeting, Rod grabbed this shot of me and my twin Matt who was also leaving the church.

He thanked me for letting him be part of my day . . . nice!!!

Breakfast was set up in the church kitchen at precisely 6:00am by the chefs.

Mark and Allen were the first in line . . .

On rest days, and with a kitchen available, there is time do do a little more for the gang like cutting up fresh fruit and making hard boiled eggs. Nice job Wade and Bernie!!!

Soon we were out the door and on the road . . . right out of town there was this place for sale. You’d think the owner might have taken down the “Depressed Fisherman’ sign!!!!! . . .

Oh yeah  . . . there are turkeys up nort’ . . .

. . and cranes. I’ve heard their prehistoric call several times in the last few days of biking but this is my first sighting!!!

. . . more Christmas trees. Shearing needs helps employee a few folks each year . . .

. . . as does the collection of boughs for making Holiday wreaths and other decorative hangings.

Most of the days 55 mile ride was though the Chequamegon Forest which has their own Scenic Byway!!!

. . . and we were seeing more color too . . . nice!

. . . nice ‘Mom and Pop’ fishing place along the way on Round Lake!!!!

I had to make a ‘nature call’ by stopping my bike. No need to get off though . . . as I did, Rod rode up along side me and ‘tagged’ me with a clothes pin on my ACA Triangle. We are playing a new roiling game where each of us has a clothespin with someone else’s name on it. One needs to snap it on the persons triangle while they are off the bike or ‘out of the saddle’ as I was. I need to get an ‘official ruling’ from Allison if it was a ‘legal tag’. I had to go!!!!

. . . this sounds like a fun place to live . . .

there has been an Elk reintroduction program on the Chequamegon Federal Forest property and one needs to look out for them in this area. Even when on a bike!!!!! The herd is growing  and the reintroduction sounds like it is going to be a succeeds. No hunting season yet . . .

. . . the thing I can’t figure out is how do the biologists train the elk to only cross the road, at these crossings . . .???????

. . . by the number of these signs we saw along the way it looks like they have developed a goo working relationships with local landowners. It would be great to wake up, get the first cup of coffee of the day and look out the window at an elk!!!

. . . this is the only elk we saw today, in Clam Lake, our halfway point and rest stop, as we cycled through the forest. Maybe next time!

WDNR has got out of the fire tower detection business, going with strictly citizen reporting and aerial detection, and is in the process of removing the towers. Looks like the Fed’s may still have a tower program on the Chequamegon National Forest.

We are staying in Glidden tonight. The gang is overnighting in the high school rather than the local park because there is rain predicted tonight and tomorrow. Bad news on food though, the only grocery in town has closed. There are several C-stores and chef’s Good Mike and Rod are going to see if they can rustle us up some grub . . . otherwise we will be eating out (three taverns in town!!!) I think the last time we had to rely on C-store provisions for dinner was in Concrete, WA where chefs Wade and Denise made us ‘Tuna Surprise’  with what they could find . . . and it wasn’t half bad!!!!!

Glidden has really done a great job honoring all veterans from the area who have served through the years . . .

throughout town there are murals with a star for each soldier . . .

. . . and life size painting of some . . .

. . . with their names, theater of activity and rank. Very Nice. It is amazing how many served from this small town of 200 people!!!

. . . emJay and I are staying up the hill at the Schroeder Hotel/Motel . . .

. . . nice clean place, only $50/night, and Connie gets her own bed!!!!