Saturday 11 July, 2009
Fargo to Pelican Rapids
Bill and I saw Rick off to the airport this morning at 8:15 am; then the two of us headed out. In only 15 minutes we’d crossed the Red River and entered Minnesota. You betcha!
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| The Red River forms the border of ND and MN |
Our first stop of the day was at a quaint, old-fashioned general store. The store sold all of the candies and gums we remembered as kids: candy cigarettes, paper dots, wax lips, horehound drops, Sen-Sen flakes, rock-candy swizzle sticks, crows, Double-Bubble and Bazooka bubblegum, Teaberry chewing gum, etc
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| The sun was just wrong to get a shot of the old-fashioned storefront so I took a photo of this sign instead; no, we didn't have banana splits |
We shortened a 60-mile ride by taking a recommended “shortcut”—always risky, but this time it was a pretty good ride—hills, a packed dirt shoulder, and high traffic going to the lakes, but the wind was in our favor and it cut our 60-mile day to a mere 48 miles. The weather has been fine, too—highs in the 70s, lows in the low 50s. Great riding weather. I’m sorry to hear that many of you are sizzling with temps in the 100s.
At about 11:30 am, we stopped at a Dairy Queen, and I had a Caramel Turtle Bowl for lunch. This concoction consists of a waffle cone in the shape of a wavy bowl, its edges dipped in chocolate. The bowl is filled with soft vanilla ice cream, caramel topping, and nuts. With my lactose intolerance this was a gamble, but fortunately no ill effects. Because the soft ice cream pedaled by Dairy Queen isn't really ice "cream"? ‘Twas delicious, nonetheless. What did I say about being able to eat big when cycle touring?
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| Bill living it up at the DQ |
This is a pretty "birdy" town. When we got to the park in Pelican Rapids, the town was celebrating “Turkey Days” (PR raises a good number of the nation's turkeys) selling turkey drumsticks and roast turkey sandwiches at their fair-type concessions. They were also holding an old car rally. There were several hundred people, restored cars, and concessions in the park. Most cleared out by 4, but they are having a street dance and beer blast at the mo (8 pm), and also the nearby swimming pool is still going strong.
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| We had to cross this flag-bedecked bridge to get to our campsite; actually we've already crossed it and set up camp. Now we are going back to join the throngs and have a turkey drumstick |
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| Why we've left our BOBs on our bikes, I do not know--so that they were not stolen from our campsite? |
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| Bill, clowning around with the town's namesake |
We attracted to our campsite two tandem riders (Cori and Henry) who had just graduated from a college in northern WI and were headed west on the AC Northern Tier route. Then a photographer from a Fargo newspaper came over with his wife and 4-month-old golden retriever and shot the breeze. The two of them were motorcycle tourists. Also parked near us are a couple in one of those half-million-dollar RVs the size of a house. They are visiting their children who live here.
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| Bill talking on the phone and snacking at our Pelican Rapids campsite |
So far, the roads in MN are not as good as those in ND and the drivers not as courteous. One guy hustling his boat to the lake today leaned on his horn for at least 30 seconds. I held my line and was not in his way, but this was frightening. Bill told me later that a black lab puppy had come out to chase me and the guy didn’t slow a bit to avoid it. I was unaware of this drama.
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| Bill at a stop en route to Pelican Rapids; get used to this jersey; you are going to see it a lot |
We are going to change our route tomorrow and ride the Central Lakes Trail, a paved Rails to Trails bike trail that stretches from just south of here to St Cloud 100 miles away. Cori and Henry rode it and recommended it to us.
Several of our recent lunch stops have offered Knoephla Soup (dumpling soup) and one today offered a delicious green bean, potato, & ham soup.
Many, many lakes and ponds today. The very first one had a loon on it. Yes, Virginia, we’re in Minn-a-SO-taa. More tomorrow.
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| Internet photo of loon and chick |
PS: It is midnight and the band is still thumping out tunes, the complete lyrics to the present one: “wild side.” It’s to laugh. There seems always to be something that works to delay sleep—trains, fireworks, thunderstorms, howling winds, lowing cows, road traffic, partiers; Tonight? Loud music and people dumpster diving and crushing aluminum cans at the campsite at 1 am . . .
