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!!!