I Could Have Been A Librarian

June 2, 2016

Governor Knowles State Forest, Wisconsin

Sometime in the middle of the night I was awakened by a group of three or four owls going totally nuts in a tree very near my tent. One of the owls had perfect pitch, but I think a couple of them were young owlets because they didn't quite have their "hooooooot-hoooot-hoot-hoooooooooots" perfected yet. They tried their best, but it came out more like obnoxious squawking. It was probably the owl equivalent of the babbling of a human toddler.

I prepared a cup of coffee at my campsite and made the mistake of trying to take it with me on a short hike. I thought it might be nice to drink my coffee on the banks of the scenic St. Croix River. I should have known better. As I stepped over rocks and exposed tree roots down a steep slope, coffee was sloshing around the cup and spilling down the sides. Luckily my cup has a large handle or my hand would have been scalded many times over.

I never did make it all the way to the St. Croix River, but I did get this picture of a little stream cascading its way down there.

When I got back to my campsite, I made another cup of coffee to compensate me for all of the coffee I lost on that trail.

Highway 87 North out of the town of St. Croix Falls was a big improvement over yesterday's Highway 35. The small shoulders continued, but it had much less traffic. The road was calming and pastoral and pretty, which added to the pleasantry provided by this morning's lovely headwind.

I sat on the stairs of this abandoned building and had a nice snack.

As soon as I got to the town of Grantsburg I went straight to the public library, parked my bike out front, and was immediately greeted by the librarian at the front desk.

"Hi! Are you here for the DNR {Dept. of Natural Resources} training?"

"No," I replied, "I was just hoping to use a computer for a while."

"Oh, okay. We're hosting a training today and you looked like sort of a rugged, outdoorsy individual."

"You mean because I rode up on a bike?" I laughed.

"Yes, exactly!"

Like 98% of the librarians I've met in my bike travels, she was exceptionally friendly. I think I could have been a librarian because I'm one of the friendliest people I know. A secondary qualification is that I also like books.

I spent and hour-and-a-half at the library. Using yesterday's notes, I entered my account of yesterday into this journal today. Confusing? You can pretty much assume that I am always a day behind in my posts. Don't get worried if I fall two or three days behind. If it extends to four or five days, call out the search and rescue parties.

As I said, an hour-and-a-half passed between the time I planted my rugged outdoorsy butt at the computer table and the time I got back on my bike, and in that span of time the weather changed from cool, cloudy and windy to calm, sunny and hot.

I rode four more miles to the Governor Knowles State Forest campground, which has nice private sites situated on a bluff above the St. Croix National Scenic Riverway. Immediately after setting up my tent I was greeted by a couple of horseflies, a wasp, some mosquitoes and, most disturbingly, several ticks. I do not have a good history with bugs but, in keeping with my new complaint-free attitude, I'm making an attempt at a peaceful coexistence with my insect friends. However, that doesn't mean I can't defend myself if they become the aggressors in our little cold war.

Then I discovered a bunch of anthills. In the past, I might have cursed the ants. Today, with patience and tolerance, I sat and admired the handiwork of nature's architects.

Today's ride: 33 miles (53 km)
Total: 87 miles (140 km)

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