Goodbye Wisconsin, Hello Minnesota! Checked out of my hotel and crossed the St. Croix River into Minnesota 5 minutes into the ride. I waved goodbye and was excited to be in a new state with lot's of state parks ahead of me. It was a beautiful morning in the 70's with no wind. Along my ride I came across the Carpenter St. Croix Valley Nature Center. It was a nice place to take a break and look around. Really cool to see a great horned owl so close up! After biking a little ways I stopped at a little ice cream shop and met some helpful Minnesota bicyclists. They gave me some good advise on my route and some friendly conversation. First bikers I have met during the trip. I came across the town Stillwater which is positioned on the St. Croix River and it was jumping with people. Really nice town with lot's of cool buildings, shops, and history. The route consisted of rolling hills and was relatively easy. I reached the town of Marine on St. Croix in the early afternoon and made a stop at the Marine General Store. Met some more really nice people curious about my trip and had some really tasty turkey salad, yum! I found a bike trail that took me directly into the state park and set up camp. Did some biking around the park, check out the river, filled my trailer with firewood, and watched another beautiful sunset. About 11:00 my friends TJ and Kurt showed up to join me for the weekend. Nice to have some good friends to ride and talk with for a few days. Had a nice fire, a few drinks, some good laughs, and called it a night.
Welcome to Minnesota
St. Croix River - Minnesota on left, Wisconsin on right
Red Tailed Hawk
Great Horned Owl
Leopard Tortoise
The Empress - Stillwater, MN
Stillwater, MN on the St. Croix Rover
Nice ride along the river
First park of many in Minnesota
St. Croix River at William O'Brien State Park
Sunset on Lake Alice
June 13th - 40.54 / 507.45 - William O'Brien State Park - Wild River State Park
Headed back to the Marine General Store so Kurt could park his car for a few days and we could ride on to the next park, Wild River State Park. It was a beautiful day in the upper 70's with plenty of sunshine. Fun having Kurt and TJ bike with me and be a part of my journey. We had a pretty hilly route along the St. Croix River with a midway stop at Interstate State Park. This was the last part of the trip that I had been to in the past. From here on out everything will be new to me. Interstate is a great park on the river with high rock bluffs and great views. After checking out the park we continued on and made a stop at the Wild River Bar and Grill in Almelund just a few miles from the park. Met some very nice people from the area and had a delicious cheeseburger, a few drinks, and then headed to the park. We had a camper cabin in the state park which was really nice. Many of Minnesota's state parks offer camper cabins which include 2 bunkbeds, a fireplace, table inside, picnic table, fire pit, and electricity. We lounged in the cabin and got to bed pretty early after a long day of riding.
Kurt and TJ joining in on the fun
A bot of road constuction
It All Matters!
Taylors Falls Princess - Interstate State Park
Overlooking the St. Croix at Interstate State Park ( canoe in backround )
The bikes alongside the road - break time
Ha! I don't know what else to say..
Unique rock formations and potholes at Intestate
Kurt doing a little rock climbing
The beautiful St. Croix River at Interstate
TJ at the Wild River Bar and Grill
Biking to the park
A little rain during sunset
June 14th - 14.08 / 521.53 ( day off - Wild River State Park )
Today was my 2nd day off, meaning no packing up and getting to a new destination. Felt good to sleep in to 9:30 and get a good nights rest. I had read on a sign that there was going to be a snake demonstration in the park at 11:00 so we decided we would go and check it out. On the way into the park Kurt had caught a bull snake and on the way to the demonstration Kurt caught another one and brought it with him to the nature center. They were surprised to see it since it is somewhat uncommon to see this breed in the park. After the demonstation the ranger documented the find and we took the snake back to where we had found it. After taking a short trip to the river we headed back into town for another delicious burger. This time I got a one pound burger with bacon and cheese, fries, and onion rings. I guess you could say I was a little bit hungry. It was so good, if your ever in Almelund, MN be sure to make a stop at the Wild River Bar & Grill. On the way back to the campsite we picked up some firewood and strapped it to TJ's bike. Rich, a kind fellow from town said TJ should carry the weight since I am biking all the way to California. Sounds fair to me! Got back to the cabin, played some cards, had a nice fire, and called it a night.
Kurt with his 2nd catch on the way to the snake demonstration
The Bull Snake that he caught
St. Croix River at Wild River State Park
3 amigos, or stooges, you choose.
Some Minnesota cows
1 pound double bacon cheeseburger - Yes, I did finish it!
The camper cabin
Happy Campers
Oh boy, the park I am headed to after Wild River
June 15th - 73.25 / 594.78 - Wild River State Park - Banning State Park
Longest ride of the trip so far at 73.25 miles. Woke up early and got all packed up. I rode with Kurt and TJ several miles to the gas station and then split ways. They were headed back to the car while I was headed on to Banning State Park. I had a deer cross the road directly in front of me, still amazes me how high they can jump. It was another beautiful day in the 80's with mostly flat roads. Took a break half way and met some more friendly folks at a little park in the town of Rock Creek. When I reached Sandstone, MN I stopped for an early dinner at a nice cafe and then preceeded on to the park. When I arrived to Banning I had reached my 1,000 mile mark for the year. That is including my pre Quest West mileage. After setting up camp and showering I felt really good and set out to do some hiking. I started on the Hells Gate trail which took me to a nice waterfall and then I hiked the Deadman trail which is not recomended for small children. The trail was a lot of fun with some good rock climbing and awesome views of the Kettle River. There were lots of interesting rock formations and some decent rapids. It was starting to get dark so I headed back to camp, had a small fire, and went to bed.
Just a few more to go
Had to take a picture here!
The open road
Wolf Creek
Wolf Creek Falls
Interesting tree I came across
Kettle River
Kettle River - rapids and rocks
Kettle River - so pretty and I had it all to myself
Calmer part of the river
A nice part of the hike
So calm before the rapids
What a name for a hiking trail
My home for the evening
June 16th - 57.62 / 655.40 - Banning State Park - Father Hennepin State Park
It had rained throughout the night so when I woke up the mosquitos were horrible. Needless to say I packed up as quickly as possible and started my next ride. It started out pretty muggy and hot with the threat of thunderstorms but turned out to be a really nice day. I had a coyote cross the road in front of me and also passed 2 dead porcupines. Kind of sad seeing all the roadkill along side the roads. For part of my ride I biked the Munger bike trail but was mostly on low volume roads. I reached Mille Lacs lake, Minnesota's 2nd largest inland lake, and headed South until I got to Father Hennepin State Park. I was warned at the park office that there was a bear sighting in the park and that I should use caution. Another good reason to hang my food other than those pesky racoons. I had a gas station pizza which turned out to be pretty darn good and then explored the park. There was a nice beach on the lake and when I walked out onto the pier I saw 2 bald eagles in a tree nearby. So awesome to here them communicating with each other! I got some good video that will definetly be in the Quest West dvd. After the eagles flew off I started heading back to my campsite and came across an all white deer. Amazing! I asked the ranger about it and they said it was not albino but just an all white white tailed deer that is common in the park. I have never seen anything like it. It started to rain so I went to bed early and got another good nights sleep.
Some horses along side the road
Beauiful park on the very large Mille Lacs Lake
My gigantic campsite
Exciting!
Mille Lacs Lake - near the beach
The rocky shoreline
2 bald eagles
About to fly away
The white deer
June 17th - 30.55 / 685.95 - Father Hennepin State Park - Mille Lacs Kathio State Park
Woke up the white deer just outside my campsite, awesome! On my way out of the park I came across a deer with a red winged black birk on it's head, also quite a sight. The ranger said she has never seen that before, neither had I. Once again there was a chance of storms but it turned out to be beautiful. I rode the Soo Line bike trail most of the way except for the last 6 miles which was a scenic road through the Rum River State Forest. Stopped at the park office and got my key for another camper cabin. On the 3 miles ride to the cabin I came across several more deer and a woodchuck that I chased down the road on my bike. After a nap at the cabin I set out to explore the park and came across many more deer and several painted turtles. Made some soup and met my very kind neighbors, the Kochery family. We sat around the fire, had some nice conversation, and they made me a couple tasty drinks. So nice to have good neighbors!
Red winged blackbird and his deer friend
Too funny!
Cool park sign at Mille Lacs Kathio State Park
Watch out for deer, they are everywhere at Mille Lacs Kathio
One of several painted turtles I came across
Beautiful park and very large at over 10,000 acres
My camper cabin
Inside of the cabin
June 18th - 44.91 / 730.86 - Mille Lacs Kathio State Park - Baxter
Started the morning off right by having coffee and bacon with my awesome neighbors. I had bought some coffee earlier in the trip at the Great River Roasters and hadn't been able to brew any until I met the Kochery family. They let me use there coffee maker and made some bacon as well. We hung out for a bit and swapped stories and then I was on my way. The sky was looking darker and darker as the day went on so I took a look at the radar on my cell phone. It was not looking good with the threat of tornadoes so I decided to abandon my plans of camping and got a hotel in Baxter instead. I raced to my hotel and just beat the rain. Good thing I did because when the storm hit it was a big one! A lof of fun to watch the storm from the hotel room.
Started the morning off right by having coffee and bacon with my awesome neighbors. I had bought some coffee earlier in the trip at the Great River Roasters and hadn't been able to brew any until I met the Kochery family. They let me use there coffee maker and made some bacon as well. We hung out for a bit and swapped stories and then I was on my way. The sky was looking darker and darker as the day went on so I took a look at the radar on my cell phone. It was not looking good with the threat of tornadoes so I decided to abandon my plans of camping and got a hotel in Baxter instead. I raced to my hotel and just beat the rain. Good thing I did because when the storm hit it was a big one! A lof of fun to watch the storm from the hotel room.
So, that takes me up to right now. So far the trip has been nothing but amazing! Full of incredible wildlife, awesome people, and beautiful scenery. I am very thankful and grateful to be given this wonderful oppurtunity and can't wait to see what is yet to come.
Tim Kochery and the newest memebr of the family Luey the dog
Quack quack quack....
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