Bemidji, Minnesota

As you can see, we made it to Minnesota! We really blasted through North Dakota, but I am a little sorry for it. Fargo was a really nice town, with a lot of cyclists and a cute downtown. We spent about 5 hours total at the bike store, talking the patrons into bike touring, hitting on the bike mechanics, and of course, buying lots of stuff. We have all now replaced our rear tires and Sarah and I have purchased matching tops, but I bought it first back in Minot and green is better.

Yesterday leaving Fargo was an exhausting day. We had headwinds, a climb, unpaved road, and hills. Suddenly 50 miles in, we were out of the prarie! We camped in the Tamarac Wildlife Refuge by a lake and were really exciting to go swimming.

Today we went through Itasca State Park, which is the location of the headwaters of the Mississippi river. It is just a tiny little stream when it comes out of Lake Itasca. On the way to the headwaters, we got to go on the coolest bike path. It was like a narrow roller coaster through the woods. Actually, it was kind of like Super Mario Cart + jungle safari + roller coaster. We tried not to terrorize the amateurs we passed at 20 miles per hour. When we passed the woman pushing a stroller we slowed down to at least 14 mph, so don't worry. When we were at the headwaters, we saw a touring bike but never identified the owner. We hung out for a while looking for him, not least because he had these toys strapped to the back of his bike. You know the one where the 2 plastic robots punch each other? Those. Totally weird and mysterious. I left him a note with my phone number. If he calls I will definitely debate packing priorities for the trip with him. Round One: Robots versus Frying Pan.

Now I am alone at the library working on route planning while my sisters are at the campground. I hope there will be dinner left for me when I get back. I think they are making stir fry, yummy.

Tommorrow, 89 miles to Grand Rapids, a long day!

-Liz