Woke up early, had some breakfast, packed up, did a little bike maintenance, and hit the road. It was another battle against the wind but at least it was warm and sunny. The scenery was very nice with rolling hills, some lakes, and lot's of deer. Met another bicycle tourist heading from Washington to Maine who was waiting for his friend that was far behind. I didn't even see him until about 20 miles after I ran into the first guy. I arrived to Pekin ( Pee-Kin ) in the afternoon just as the town was wrapping up it's art show and town party. Set up camp in the very relaxing and peaceful city park. After relaxing for a little bit a man from town came over to talk to me and show me around the park. He was full of good information and I really enjoyed talking with someone from the area. The park that I was camping in was a memorial park where they planted a different type tree for each person from Pekin that has passed away. The park also holds Minnesota's tallest blue spruce, a beautiful tree. The whole town is like one giant park and it couldn't be much more peaceful and pleasant. I learned that about half the town is retired and most of everybody else farms as well as some businessmen. After going through some photos and paperwork I fell asleep to the sounds of many different types of birds. It was a tough day battling the constant wind but such a peaceful night in Pekin.
The road to Pekin
One of several lakes
Not as flat as you might think
Entering Pekin
Sunset at the campsite
June 29th - 64.42 / 1,272.66 - Pekin - Grahams Island State Park
Chilly morning in the upper 40's. I was invited to join the coffee club at the community center so that was first on my list for the day. I joined 6 retired guys from town for cake, coffee, and wine. I think that may have been the earliest I have ever had wine but I just couldn't turn it down. I spent about an hour having interesting and sometimes very funny conversation with the coffee club and had several refills. Not bad for 50 cents. It was still chilly when I hit the road but starting to warm up a little. Saw a pair of pelicans shortly after leaving town and stopped to take some pictures. I am pretty amazed by the amount of pelicans in North Dakota. It was wonderful to not be fighting the wind for a change, makes a world of difference. A short ways into the days ride I entered the Spirit Lake Nation and was soon surrounded by water as far a the eye could see. I have been told by several people now that North Dakota had one of the worst winters on record and some really bad spring floods. It was quite apparent as I was biking today that the water was high, sometimes even reaching the road. I made a stop in the town of Warwick for lunch and was the only customer at Darrell's Bar. Had a pizza and some good conversation with the friendly cowboy bartender. Really interesting to here his take on things in life and living in North Dakota. Everyone in the state has been so nice and just about every passing car waves at me. I ran into a van supported tour of high school kids making a trip across the country and exchanged business cards. The group was very nice and refilled my water bottles and gave me a large piece of watermelon which totally hit the spot! I crossed a couple lakes and eventually arrived to the town of Devils Lake. Made a stop at the chamber of commerce where I got plenty of information and directions to Grahams Island State Park. The road leading to the park is just above the water and was really neat to ride in on. Checked into my awesome cabin on a bluff overlooking the lake and relaxed for the evening.
Pelicans
Pelicans landing
One of many lakes
Love the town motto - "Escape the city, Bring your dreams"
My cabin for the night - just kidding
Flooding - many ND farmers getting a late start to this years crop
Road between the lakes
Many dead trees in water
Garter snake
Devils Lake - risen 26 feet in the past 13 years
Flooded farm
The cabin at Grahams Island State Park
4 beds and a loft
The view from the cabin
Front yard of the cabin
Another pretty sunset
June 30th - 0 / 1,272.66 - ( day off at Grahams Island State Park )
The cabin got really dark with the blinds closed and I ended up sleeping in until 11:00. I guess I needed the sleep. It was a perfect day in the 70's and sunny with just a light summer breeze. I went for a hike along the lake and through the prairie, had a picnic lunch, and relaxed at the cabin overlooking the lake. Devils Lake is North Dakota's largest natural body of water and is rated one of top fishing spots in the nation. Today was the first day of the trip that I didn't get on my bike at all. Just a day to relax and be at peace.
Baby beaver
Devils Lake
Seagull in the front yard
July 1st - 84.03 / 1,356.69 - Grahams Island State Park - Rugby
It's July and it was a beautiful sunny day in the 70's with little wind. Awesome! I biked to the western side of lake and made a quick stop in the town of Minnewaukan. Got some breakfast at the grocery store and talked with a few people from town. I was informed that the water is 8 feet closer to town than it was 20 years ago. Many people in the area are sure that the levee is eventually going to break and flood out the entire area and all the way to Fargo. They predict that the Walmart in the city Devils Lake would be 24 feet under water. I was offered a free stay and dinner by someone in town but I wanted to push on seeing as I was only 18 miles into the ride. Made a stop in Esmond and had a good lunch at the cafe then proceed on to Rugby. The scenery was beautiful again with more rolling hills, lakes, and valleys. I got to Rugby 84 miles later at about 5:00. This was the longest ride of the trip so far but I felt great. Rugby is the geographical center of America. After a trip to the chamber of commerce I was greeted by a biker who gave me a bicycle tour of town and told me everything I could possibly want to know. It was a lot of fun and very interesting as well. I set up camp and met all kinds of people at the campground. On one side of my campsite was a writer and his wife. They were from Prescott, Wisconsin and biking home from Washington state. On the other side of me was a group of construction workers from Minnesota. They were having a really good time blowing off fireworks, cooking out, and partying. I was invited over to have some beers and ended up staying up until about 2:30. One guy in the group was by far the funniest person I have ever met and had tears running down my eyes and nearly made my pee my pants from laughing so hard. Another guy was making "sparkler bombs" which are very fun by the way! He had made a delicious tater tot hot dish and they filled a plate for me, very tasty! It was a really fun night with good neighbors all around.
The road leaving Grahams Island
My shadow
Closed flooded road
House in the woods
More pelicans
One rolling hill after another
Great scenery and little traffic
The great Northern plains
Loving the ride today
Rugby, ND - The geographical center of North America
July 2nd - 69.68 / 1,426.37 - Rugby - Minot
Woke up about 8:00 to a pretty big thunderstorm. I checked the radar and saw that it would pass in about an hour so I got some coffee and took my time getting ready for the days ride. Met some more bikers from Florida and talked about our trips and then began the ride. It turned out to be another great day in the 70's with the wind at my back, woo-hoo! I felt for the bikers I passed going West to East who were battling the Eastern winds. Todays ride was mostly flat with a few big hills towards the end. I got to Minot in the afternoon and made a stop at the visitor center which is also the Scandanavian Heritage Center. There was a really nice park with lots of homesteads and really cool statues. Minot is a pretty good size city with a population of 36,500. That's quite a few considering the entire population of North Dakota is 641,500. The population of Milwaukee County where I am from is 953,000. I checked into my hotel, ate some dinner, and that brings me to right now. After I finish updating the blog I am going to take a dip in the hottub and work on my plans for the upcoming week. Until next time, cheers!
Minot train yard
On the bike trail into town
Visitor Center - really nice building
Scandanavian Heritage Center
One of the many statues in the park
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