July 22, 2023 to July 23, 2023
Day 36 and 37: Hello from Wisconsin!
Mille Lacs Kathio State Park to Danbury, Wisconsin
Sunday, morning, July 23:
We left Fritz”s Resort on Saturday, July 22 at 10:00 am, the latest we have ever left camp! It was so nice to have a lazyish morning; although, it didn’t feel fully lazy but it was at a slower pace than normal. Our day’s mileage was only fifty-nine miles and around 1,000 ft of climbing, so we were not in a total rush.
The day started on the Paul Bunyan Trail until outside of Brainard, and then we were on county roads most of the day after that. We had to pay attention to the navigation after the trail, but we started to use the Map With GPS Offline version of our maps; this has been a game changer. Why didn’t we start earlier, I don’t know. Maybe for one, we did not have a handlebar phone holder for the phone; however, we bought one in Billings on our anniversary day. I forgot to tell you about our anniversary trip to REI. We stopped in for supplies such as the phone holder; however, we also bought a long pair of pants for sun protection for me, and Mike finally gave in to getting the arm cooler, sun protectors. I know he was really going for the human jerky look and loved basting himself with old Nivea sunscreen, but he finally gave in to my nagging of skin cancer and aging skin. They appear to be working for him.
Anyway, we camped at Mille Lacs Kathio State Park last night. I called ahead about reservations as I knew they might be booked on a Saturday night, and well they were, but the Minnesota State Park system has a “no turn away policy” for cyclists, so they will always put you up somewhere. I talked to nice Ranger Nate a few days before, so he was expecting us. When we arrived, he had no problem putting us in the day-use area at 4:30 pm. This is a pretty special as there is no one here this morning, only the biggest birds I have ever seen with their trumpet calls, tweets, and songs. It is a little misty this morning and pretty moist here; we are by a small “swimming” pond, which is loaded with frogs. The mosquitoes are having a lazy Sunday morning, so they are not up for breakfast yet. The park is rich in history: this area has been farmed for wild rice for thousands of years. We have had a few wild rice products from the area; it’s a thing. Last night after we showered - we had to walk about a quarter of a mile to the campground, we went the interpretive center for an evening presentation from an astrophysicist. He was from the state university, and he enlightened us on exoplanets, and then we were able to view the moon through a massive telescope. That was the highlight of the day besides the chocolate covered freeze dried mango bites - a wonderful gift from Cheryl and Brad. However, another highlight was that Mike did not crash into me during the day. We had a little dirt yesterday, and some areas were a little deep. Mike decided to follow behind me and got a little close; after turning a corner, I decided to stop - Mike says too abruptly, and he had a little mishap. There was no blood or mechanicals, but Mike blamed me…If I hit him, he would blame me as well…just saying. It turned out to be a fine day.
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Sunday evening, July 23:
We left Mille Lacs Kathio SP at about 8:00 am; we thought we had a ninety mile day but turned out to be more like eighty-something. It was a pretty uneventful day; kind of lackluster, actually. The air was a little smokey, so it had a haze that kind of created a gloomy atmosphere, and then the scenery after Mille Lacs Lake was just kind of bland: trees, grass, some agriculture, no cute towns - well one kind of cute town, Wahkon, with a big chair. Other than that, and one more big chair, it was uneventful until we arrived at Eagle’s Landing Campground in Danbury, Wisconsin. Yes, we are already in Wisconsin after a few short days in Minnesota, and we will be in Michigan in two days, I believe.
Well, when we arrived at camp there were some other bike tourists already here, and that is always nice, and then the site only cost $12.00! But the best part was that we could use the casino pool just a short walk from the camp! There is a casino close by, but you would never know it; anyway, we swam in the pool - no one else was there, used their towels, and then took showers there. Amazing, I know…all for $12.00! Afterwards, I played a slot machine with the intention of only spending five bucks. Mike said I would lose because that what is supposed to happen, but I stopped at $9.00 adamant about proving him wrong. So, I won $4.00, and this means camping only cost us $8.00.
Tomorrow we venture further into Wisconsin and closer to the Upper Peninsula which I am dry excited about.
Good night,
Team Bean
Stats
- Cribbage Game Wins: Mike 6, Dawn 6
- Tortillas Eaten: Mike 98; Dawn 42
- Jars of Peanut Butter: 4
- Flats: Dawn 2, Mike 1
- Bike Haters: 4 (We had our first one in Montana yesterday.) None in North Dakota that we know of.
- Bags of Salad Consumed: 14
- Dog Encounters: 2
- Beers, too many to count
- Bags of M&M’s: 5 of various sizes
- Fritos: 8 of various sizes
- Bear Encounters: 1
Today's ride: 140 miles (225 km)
Total: 2,391 miles (3,848 km)
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