Minneapolis Rocks!

Before I got stuck!

Downtown Minneapolis

A great day of visiting with Cathy and Jeff and making my first visit to Minneapolis!

I couldn't quite make it to the top of the intermediate wall at the REI store today, but maybe tomorrow will try again.

A tour of downtown Minneapolis and the Stone Arch Bridge Festival was more relaxing!  There was an amazing little wild bit of park down by the river right downtown that we explored when we got tired of looking at the art-vendors' stalls.

The Stone Arch Bridge

The Wood Lake Nature Center had tons of wildlife visible even in the middle of the afternoon on a lovely 2-mile loop of a trail.  This marsh used to be more of a regular lake until in the 1960's they accidentally partially drained it while constructing a highway--it was later designated as a nature preserve and has a beautifully restored area of various habitats including woods, wetlands and prairies.

Wood Lake Nature Center

Painted Turtle on Log at Wood Lake

Mall of America

After all that outdoors stuff, I felt that my first visit to Minneapolis would not be complete without a trip to the Mall of America.  It was incredible, especially the amusement park in the center and the Lego store!


Besides all this, we went to the food co-op and I stocked up on groceries in preparation for my departure on Monday.

Fortune Cookies Don't Lie

Super fortune cookie at the delicious Mongolian BBQ place this evening!

Earlier in the day ... Minnehaha Park is only one of the many lovely sights on the Jeff Bender tour of the south side of Minneapolis, which also included the four main lakes of the city and lunch at the Midtown Global Market.

I needed some gloves because my hands were sometimes getting really cold riding in the rain and cool-ish temperatures up here in the great North, so we went to the REI store.  While we were there, we climbed the climbing wall--the beginner wall was so much fun that we're intending to go back tomorrow and try the wall that's the next level of challenge!

Arrival in Twin Cities; Itinerary Adjustment

Dry weather for the past couple of days made for a pleasant ride into the Twin Cities.



My chain broke again when I was nine miles from reaching Cathy and Jeff's house, so Jeff had to come and pick me up. I had the chain replaced at Penn Cycle so I'm hoping that the chain problem is completely resolved and won't come up again for the rest of the trip.

Cathy went to the hospital not feeling well yesterday morning--it seems (fingers crossed) as though she may be fine and get out of the hospital today and be able join in weekend fun.

I'm thinking about modifying my itinerary to cross the Great Plains through North Dakota and Wyoming rather than going up into Canada. This will allow for a more pleasant pace of riding and allow for more rest days!

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Three three three days in one!

After more thunderstorms overnight which don't even bother me any more, the first thing today, there were more hills...



But it was worth it....




Then there was the fastest and longest and most exhilarating downhill yet (no picture of that) into Hager City, WI followed by another crossing off the Mississippi into Red Wing, MN, which is quite the little metropolis with a lovely downtown.



The only bad part was another chain break on the way out of town, but I fixed it and only got rained on a little bit while making the repair.

I soon forgot my troubles once I started riding on the Cannon Valley Trail, an amazing twenty-mile paved trail through a magical woods along the Cannon River. It was so beautiful that I barely noticed that it was of course uphill all the way! And more rain showers throughout the afternoon!





58 miles today.... I think that's the most so far. Looking forward to some rest time at Cathy and Jeff's!

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Little Tent in the Big Woods...

Well, Little House in the Big Woods, the birthplace of Laura Ingalls Wilder, the author of the "Little House" books....  I never knew there was a whole series of "Little House" books (in fact I never knew there were several "Little House" books--I only knew the Little House on the Prairie TV show).

I had some extra energy and extra time, so I decided instead of going straight towards the Twin Cities, I'd detour back into Wisconsin a bit.  I had a full day of rolling hills--I could not find a picture or pictures that would tell the story of the agony (in a good way LOL) towards the end of the day when I kept coming to the top of one hill only to see that there were three more ahead of me.  This is probably good early conditioning to get me ready for the Rockies, and it's telling me I need to see if there is anything I can take out of my packs--it's a good thing I have a couple of months yet before those big mountains.

One benefit of the hills is that I got some nice vistas--this one pictured below is actually in Minnesota, before I crossed back over to the Wisconsin side of the River.

I ended up at the end of the day in Spring Valley--grocery store, dollar store, and hardware store!  Plus dry weather.  And there seems to be a cave around here with some bats and things that is a bit of a tourist attraction.  I am planning to rest here for the day, then brave the hills again to cross back into Minnesota tomorrow on my way to visit friends Cathy and Jeff near the Twin Cities just a couple of days from now.  Although I was caught in a brief thunderstorm yesterday, I've managed to dry out--it is so good to be dry!

The Big Mississippi River!!

Yesterday I rode through some beautiful wetlands on the Wisconsin side of the Mississippi River before spending the night in Perrot State Park.

Today I crossed over into Minnesota at Winona....  It is still midday, and I don't have a campsite reserved for tonight, but I am thinking of going to the Kruger Campground in Minnesota to spend the night tonight.

Today at lunch I met a fellow on his way to Alaska by bicycle!