Biking For Wishes and Quest West: June 23rd

June 23rd - 20.83 / 961.54 - ( day off at Itasca State Park )

Woke up to another hot and sunny day. On my way into the park the day before I had noticed they had a bike and bait shop not too far from the campground. I decided to see if they had tires for my trailer since mine were getting pretty worn and also wanted to have them take a look at my bent axle. I was able to get new tires and the mechanic thought the axle would be fine. On my way back to the campsite to put on the new tires I popped another tire, this time on the trailer. I guess I really did need to replace them! After doing some bike and trailer maintenance I made a stop at the park museum and at this time a huge storm was making it's way over the park. I made it back to my tent just in time and took shelter from the storm and ended up falling asleep. By the time I woke up the storm had passed and it was beautiful out again. I then took another trip back to the Mississippi headwaters which was packed with people. It reminded me of the crowds at Old Faithful in Yellowstone National Park. On my way out of there I saw another bald eagle flying down the river, awesome. Found a nice picnic shelter in the park and did some relaxing and just enjoyed the beautiful day. Made a trip to the Pioneer Cemetery where some of the early settlers in Itasca are buried. It was a nice spot right on Lake Itasca. After checking that out I made a trip to get firewood and found out that I could get internet access at the Douglas Lodge so I headed for the lodge where I did my last blog update. It was a really nice place to think and work and made a great office for the night. On my way back from the lodge I was nearly struck by a deer jumping across the bike trail. Scary! Had a nice fire when I got back and as I was adding some more wood I noticed a very large raccoon right next to me. Another close encounter with wildlife. Made some chili, checked out the stars, and got a good sleep.

Lake Itasca State Park Museum

Great Blue Heron

Headwaters of the Mississippi River

Great place to relax

Really nice picnic area

Boat tour at Itasca State Park

The old store

Close up shot of the vegetation at the Pioneer Cemetery

Park bike trail

Didn't see a bear but I got nice and close with a raccoon

The very tall pines along the bike trail

Douglas Lodge lobby - my office for the night

Lake Itasca

Fishing pier

Lake Itasca

Douglas Lodge

Nice campfire

June 24th - 60.83 / 1,022.37 - Itasca State Park - Detroit Lakes

Very hot and humid, in the upper 90's. Stopped at the visitor center and got a nice shirt for $6, what a deal! On my way out of the park I past 10 lakes, the park has over 100. I would recommend making a trip to Itasca State Park if you ever get the chance, there is so much to do and it is beautiful. Midway through the ride I came across another bicycle tourist who was making his second cross country trip. He was riding from Washington to Maine and we talked for a bit. Nice to meet someone who was doing the same thing as me, even though it was opposite directions. I was chased by two dogs but got away from one and the other was called back by it's owner, scary nonetheless. 38 miles into the trip I hit the 1,000 mile mark for Quest West, that was a good feeling. I think the trip will be near 4,000 when I get to the Redwoods. When I arrived at Detroit Lakes I checked into my hotel and went out for dinner. Had some delicious Stromboli and a couple gigantic beers. The town of Detroit Lakes is a lot of fun and the people really like to party. The beach is a mile long and is a big tourist attraction. I made some new friends at one of the bars, Sam and Ashli from Minneapolis. Made plans to play disc golf in the morning and stumbled back to my motel.

One of the many lakes at Itasca State Park

Another lake

Detroit Lake

June 25th - 34.60 / 1,056.97 - Detroit Lakes to Buffalo River State Park

Woke up feeling pretty tired from all the fun the night before but it was a beautiful day and I had a short ride ahead of me. Had some coffee and met Sam at the disc golf course which was a lot of fun. As I was biking to the park I had noticed that the scenery was changing and there was much less trees. It may be this way for a while from what I have been told. Near the park I ran into some road construction that I was able to bike through but it wasn't the most enjoyable experience. Got a $5 footlong from Subway which hit the spot and then made it to Buffalo Rover State Park. Met some nice people at the park office, showered, checked out the pool, and did some hiking through the prairie and along the winding Buffalo River. Got back to my campsite just after sunset and listened to the sound of the woodpecker. What a cool sound! Really enjoyed my last night on Minnesota.

West!

Great billboard

Huge birdhouse in Audubon, MN

The long road ahead, becoming treeless

Haha!

The prairie at Buffalo River State Park

The windy Buffalo River

Buffalo River - quick moving water

Sunset at the park

June 26th - 72.65 / 1,129.62 - Buffalo River State Park - Page, North Dakota

Woke up to another beautiful day and was excited to enter North Dakota! I changed my route a little but to avoid the construction and ride a safer road. It ended up getting really hot in the upper 90's and was very windy but it was at my back so I was able to enjoy it. I crossed a toll bridge into North Dakota but was told bikes don't have to pay, awesome. Saw a large snapping turtle on the Minnesota side of the bridge and stopped to take it's picture. ( picture below ) When I arrived to North Dakota I was in Fargo and found a really nice bike and coffee shop called Great Northern Bicycle Company. I had the mechanic look at my trailer and he was able to fix it for me ( free of charge) so that was a relief. Also had some very tasty coffee, turned out to be a great stop! I even met a Fargo police officer who told me about his trip across America last year with the same bike trailer. Stopped to do my laundry and charge my phone and then headed out of town. From this point on I will be following Adventure Cycling Maps all the way to California. Prior to this point I had designed my own route and I was quite pleased with what I had planned and ridden. When I arrived to my destination in the town of Arthur I ate lunch and checked on the weather. I had planned to camp in town but when I heard there was a tornado warning for the area I decided I would try to find a room for the night. Arthur doesn't have any lodging so I pushed on to the next town, Page. I called ahead and reserved a room and bike the 20 more miles to town. I'm glad I pushed on because the weather did get pretty nasty late at night and the room I got was really nice with a great shower.

Snapping Turtle

Smile!

The toll bridge connecting Minnesota and North Dakota

June 27th - 42.71 / 1,172.33 - Page - Cooperstown

Woke up to very dark clouds and extreme winds out of the West. I checked the weather forecast and found out that the winds were up to 35mph out of the West, it was going to be a tough ride! There was also a chance of thunderstorms but luckily I avoided those. It was somewhat chilly in the morning at 55 degrees but warmed up to 75 by afternoon. The winds were brutal and it was a challenge just to keep the bike upright and moving forward. I passed 4 bicycle tourists and was jealous that they had the wind at there backs. Stopped for lunch and some coffee in the town of Hope and that gave me some energy to push on. After biking a little bit I was attacked by a red-winged blackbird that pecked at my helmet, that was pretty crazy! Passed the Sheyenne River which was the most scenic part of the ride. Just past the river I broke my chain and had to learn how to fix it along side the road. Took me a while but I got it and pushed on to Cooperstown. It was still incredible windy and had started to rain. I got a cheap motel, did some grocery shopping, ate, dinner, and worked on this blog entry. Hope everyone is enjoying reading my posts and looking at the pictures! Also hope you are all having a wonderful Summer!! ( I have posted many more public pictures from the trip on my Myspace page and everyone can view them )