Occupied tracks

We rode next to a really nice rail trail today. The reason we were next to the trail instead of on the trail was that it's a future trail. For the moment it's still an active BNSF rail line.

Just as soon as these trains leave bikes can take over the tracks.

The predominant trees today were pines. Up to now we have seen mostly hardwoods in Minnesota. We're entering Paul Bunyon territory.

I prefer the old BN green color to the red BNSF color scheme.

The train station in Staples still provides Amtrak passenger service.

We enjoyed a morning break in Staples MN. The railroad was the driving force when the town started. It had a switching yard and roundhouse. As trains got faster, the switching center moved further west, near the North Dakota border.

A rail trail would have been a nice improvement over the road. Not because the road was unsafe, it had an excellent wide shoulder. And not because the road was hilly, it had only enough climbs to provide some variety. The real reason we wanted a trail was to have some trees to block the wind.

We have made it through the windiest pink/purple section of our route, but fighting the wind still felt like a struggle today.

Fozzi kept us company while we took a break from the winds.

Our hotel provides free bikes for guests to use. What a nice amenity, although I plan to take more advantage of the free cookies.

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