August 24, 2023
Day 102 - ending near Ashby, MN
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I woke up at 6:00am this morning. It was foggy. I worked on the report some with the plan to upload it at Subway here in Barnesville during breakfast. I also sorted through maps and pulled out the one I'd printed off before I left home of Central Lakes State Trail, which I plan to be on in the afternoon. My final destination is Ashby Resort, just beyond the town of Ashby, Minnesota.
I left the campground at 9:45am, and arrived at Subway 15 minutes later. This Subway, and maybe it's true for all of them, doesn't serve coffee. So I went next door to the connected gas station for that. I was done with breakfast, posting yesterday's report, and my coffee at 11:16am.
The start of Central Lakes State Trail is on the southeast side of Fergus Falls, so that's where I was headed. I was on Highway 52 going south first. I didn't realize what a nice tailwind I had today until I parked the bike and walked north a ways to get a picture. When my noon alarm sounded, I recorded 5.3 miles.
At 1:06pm, I saw a prairie chicken. An 18-foot long prairie chicken! It was in a pleasant little park on the north side of Rothsay. Rothsay was designated "Prairie Chicken Capital of Minnesota" back in 1975, according to the plaque below the statute. I took a break there, sitting on the bench of a shaded picnic table, enjoying the north breeze.
South of Rothsay I was on the same road, but it was now designated Highway 88. Highway 52 had been very flat. There were gentle hills on Highway 88.
I arrived in Fergus Falls at 2:57pm. I was wanting ice cream and something to eat, and saw that Dairyland wasn't too far out of my way. The building is surrounded by statues of Peanuts characters. Their lobby wasn't open today, so I got in the drive-thru lane and was able to place my order, which I ate at a picnic table behind the building. The window attendant offered me a refill on my root beer, and also gave me a brief summary of a book that's just been published about Dairyland from its very start in 1955 until now. The book is titled "If These Walls Could Talk". It sounded pretty interesting. Before I was done eating, a fellow my age came over to hear some about my trip, and what all the devices attached to my handlebars are for. It's always fun to show the rearview radar. Only vehicles are supposed to trigger it, but I can make it trigger by walking fast toward the rear of the bike.
I improvised my way through Fergus Falls to the trailhead for Central Lakes. I had 21 miles left to go to get to the campground. The trail is all asphalt. I'd either forgotten that or never knew that to begin with. The only problem was that at times it had pretty bad seam bumps. There were a fair number of trail users near Ferris Falls. Later there was no one but me. Lakes appeared now and then on both sides of the trail. I was stopping a lot for pictures.
I passed by Dalton at 6:20pm. Not too long after I passed a sign stating, "Purple Heart Chapel. Free Cold Water". I checked it out. There's a small chapel building here filled with military pictures and items. There's also an altar. It's all here to honor American servicemen. There's a refrigerator full of bottles of water outside the chapel. I signed the guest book and drank a bottle of water.
At 7:27pm I passed by Ashby. Just a few more miles now to the campground. I arrived at Ashby Resort at 7:49pm. I checked in with the owner and was assigned site E, which is by the lake and has electricity. The lake, according to my map is Pelican Lake. I had a good view across the lake of the sunset, which occurred not too long after I got to the site.
Scattered showers are predicted tonight and in the early morning. It's already been sprinkling here and I've seen some lightning. Hopefully it will all be out of here before it gets too late tomorrow.
Jeff
Spent: $12.76 plus $2.55 (breakfast) + $2.24 (coffee) + $19.09 plus $1.91 (lunch) + $53.44 (campsite) = $91.99
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https://birdwatchinghq.com/garter-snakes-in-minnesota/#:~:text=Eastern%20Garter%20Snakes%20are%20common,and%20suburban%20lawns%20and%20gardens.
8 months ago
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Today's ride: 55 miles (89 km)
Total: 3,786 miles (6,093 km)
| Rate this entry's writing | Heart | 8 |
| Comment on this entry | Comment | 3 |
Have thoroughly enjoyed your journal and travels. You’ve given us a bit of a view of where we will be in the next few days as we go explore North Dakota and Montana over the next few weeks on our fall trip.
8 months ago
Thanks!
Congratulations on completion of bicycling in all 50 states. What an accomplishment!
I didn't see any bison on my trip. You certainly did on yours!
Sorry this reply is so late.
Jeff
6 months ago
Thanks … still processing the 50 state completion. Not sure what’s next now though a few ideas do float around.
6 months ago