Moorhead, MN - Monday, July 3

Minnewaukan, ND - Thursday, June 29
This will be one of the more memorable days of the trip I think. We had a pleasant 59 mile day with a mild quartering tail wind, 92 degrees, and lots of sun. We arrived at the town park. Like most small towns, the municipal park either had no fee, suggested a donation, or had a small fee. The amenities vary from no water, to a covered shelter and swimming pool. Minnewaukan's park had a covered shelter and a shower. If you look on a map, you will see that the town borders a large lake. The lake is popular with fishermen.

There were three RV trailers set up when we arrived, and the 3 couples were cleaning fish. They offered us some fish, which we quickly accepted. Linda & I were cooking that night. They also gave us some breading for the fish, and allowed us to use one of their propane burners when they saw that we were having trouble frying fish on just our two gas stoves. We had a lot of pleasant conversation, and then one of them gave us some home-made venison jerky. Yummy. A very memorable evening with 3 pleasant couples from Fargo, ND. We got their names and addresses and Ann will send them Adventure Cycling thank-you notes.

Then we went to the bar across the highway and enjoyed the company of another group of fishermen. We will long remember how the big guy wanted Cal's new Tillie hat, and how he bought us all a drink of Peppermint Shnapps and Brandy. We had a light rain during the night, but it was not a problem.

Tolna, ND - Friday, June 30
We had a choice between the Tolna town park and a resort 19 miles further on. Tolna had no showers, and we had a mild tailwind, so we opted for the Red Willow Lake Campground & resort. So we had an 80 mile day with an 87 degree high. During the ride, I saw my first fields of Soy Beans and Corn. Until now, we have seen only grains - mostly wheat I suspect. We had also seen a few fields of blue; we learned that these were Flax.

Cal had 3 flats, and Ann, Hans, and Andy worked on his tubes that evening. The resort was built in 1926, and is a popular place in the region. It has a pavilion with a large roller-rink & dance floor. There is a list of the musicians who have played there, and it reads like a who's-who of music.

Hope, ND - Saturday, July 1
This was a perfect riding day. It was short because we had pushed on beyond the schedule the prior day, had a mild tailwind, and the temperature was only 82 degrees. On the way, I came upon a farmer working on his tractor in a field next to the road. I stopped to ask about some earlier fields of a beautiful yellow crop: what was it? He confirmed my suspicion that it was Canola. Then he asked me if I could help him. Turns out he was having trouble hitching a mower to his tractor because he had forgotten to bring along chocks. That made the hitching process a two man job. I was adequate to the task, and we exchanged high fives before I left.

We stayed at the town park: it had a pool (which we enjoyed), and cold showers (which are better than no showers). I made a 'beer run'; I bought beer and ice to keep it cold. The beer and ice fit in my front pannier perfectly, and the ice lasted long enough to keep the beer cold til the very end.

Moorhead, MN - Sunday and Monday July 2 and 3.
The terrain is beginning to look more like Northern Indiana, Ohio or Illinois. Nearly all the fields are corn, beans, wheat or hay. Hills are few and far between. Fargo, ND and Moorhead, MN are sister cities, separated by the Red River. We are staying at a nice KOA campground just south of Moorhead. This is the biggest city we have been in since we left the Seattle airport over a month ago.

Nearly all the cities and towns in the flatlands number their streets and give them a 'St' or 'Ave' designation. Thus you have a 28th St. and a 28th Ave. One runs north-south and one runs east-west. I used my GPS to go to 4396 28th St. SE. I should have gone to the campground at 4396 28th Ave. S. Luckily, I only went about a mile out of my way.

Linda & I were cooks, but the nearest grocery store was about 4 miles away, down a gravel road, so we ordered 3 pizzas delivered. Mmmmmmm good.