Plains to Lakes
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Week Two



June 16 - Roscoe SD - Frederick SD

Up at 4:30 a.m. (as usual). Ate cereal for breakfast. Pastor Win and Carol and their younger dog Pepper (a Rhodesian Ridgeback mix) bade us farewell after a group prayer.

Just a mile east of town, we crossed a causeway which had just been re-opened yesterday. That area got flooded and the road was damaged. Traffic had been routing around the area.

40 miles to Aberdeen, pretty flat. We are following the Yellowstone Trail. Ipswich was the first little town we came to. Population 943, much more "upscale" than Roscoe. There was a golf course and a Subway fast food restaurant. Road had a nice wide shoulder on which to ride. Gary likes to stop in a local restaurant every day, for a second breakfast (B2) and to chat with the locals.

No other towns right along the highway (saw signs for "mina" pointing away). Continued on to Aberdeen, the regional commerce center. We met up with Pastor Galen Sylvester when he spotted Charlotte near our van, which sports "Bike For The Cure," a Colorado license plate which says "Cure 4HD" and "Huntington's Disease." I went to the grocery store for a few needed supplies. The hospital is the largest employer there. Two colleges (Presentation and Northern State University), a Wal-Mart, restaurants, motels, etc. Passed a nice park for children called Storyland, on the way out of town. Another smooth highway with wide shoulders going north. There was some road construction for a few miles but everyone made it through OK. Arrived in Frederick, one of the northernmost towns in South Dakota. In 1883 Frederick was named for a Finnish immigrant/sales clerk named Kastaa Frederick Bergstadius. In a few days, the town is hosting "Finn Fest."

We are staying at the St. Paul's Lutheran church. When we went downstairs, we found a fruit and a veggie tray, plus cheese and crackers. This was provided by the Ladies of the church. They also left a donation check for $40. Church is 125 or so years old. Pastor had arranged for us to be able to shower at the town school. Very appreciated!

Dinner was Ramen noodles/canned chicken for me and Gary, and peanut butter/tofu sandwich with Romaine lettuce for Charlotte. there was even some homemade ice cream in the freezer. Of course we had to indulge.

Early to bed.

Ride Round-up:
Charlotte - 40 miles
Marie - 32 miles
Gary - the whole way!

With love from Northern South Dakota, our last full day in SD,
Marie


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June 17 - Frederick SD - Gwinner ND

Up at 4:30 a.m. Per usual, breakfast, prayer, then "On the Road Again." 8 miles north we crossed the border into North Dakota. An historical marker described N and S Dakota as the "twin states." When the Dakotas became states in 1889, it was not specified which was the 39th and which was the 40th. North Dakota was arbitrarily designated the 39th because it came first alphabetically.

First town in ND was Ellendale, which is the home of Trinity Bible College, 10 churches, and a Chevy dealership. Gary stopped for his B2 at the Prairie Wind Motel/Restaurant while Charlotte and I forged ahead. A sprinkling of rain worsened into a downpour. We re-adjusted the gear in the van to be able to get both bikes inside. Not knowing what Gary's plans would be, and with spotty cell service we drove back to check in with him. He said he wanted to ride, and that he did, complete with a lightweight rain poncho and a plastic grocery bag on his bike bag.

Gradually the rain let up, so I was able to remove my poncho, whose sleeves were flapping wildly in the wind. When the highway changed directions to the north, it was easier to ride. Passed a black silhouette cowboy leaning against a stove with the oven door open. Sign on it said "The Open Range." Lunch in Oakes in Hockenberry Park. There were peonies all along the edge - so fragrant! Bought gas for the van. It got 28 mpg which is great for a fully loaded vehicle of this type. Gary got a $20 donation from the owner of a little cafe at which he stopped for coffee.

Continued N on Hwy 1, then E on Hwy 13. It was 21 miles of the hardest riding so far on this trip. Headwind and hills were really taxing.

Arrived in Gwinner. Population 753. The biggest employer in town is Bobcat. Tried to wait on the street corner where we were to turn, but the flies were biting me too bad (drawing blood) so I rode the 5 blocks to the home of Ruth Asche. She will be hosting us tonight as the Zion Lutheran Church is having a wedding rehearsal. Lovely lady, 92 years young, baptized, confirmed, and married in the same church. Charlotte arrived driving the van. Gary rode in, as he rides the whole way every day

Ruth fixed us a lovely dinner of baked chicken, home canned green beans, baked potato, and salad. Banana bread for dessert. God to do a load of laundry. The Pastor of the church, Rev. Kirk Douglas, dropped in to visit us. Later, Ruth's son and daughter-in-law dropped in to visit, too. They had just returned from bicycling on some Rails to Trails near Brainerd MN.

Everyone was tired from the ride today.

Route Round-up:
Charlotte - 44 miles
Marie - 31 miles
Gary - the whole distance
Road change - I found a dime!

With love from North Dakota,
M

arie
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June 18 - Gwinner ND - Wahpeton ND

Up at 4:30 am. Ruth slept in, but left us a pan of cinnamon rolls, to complement our cereal. Such a sweet lady!

Temp was 58 degrees when we left at 6:00 a.m. Basically a straight shot east on Hwy 13. The road shoulder has been good, with a carved rumble strip alongside the road, but there's also a rumble strip down the center of the road, so cars make quite a racket when passing. Scenery is very agricultural; different smells, too. I smelled something like home perm solution for awhile (perhaps ammonia), then something like an outhouse later on. Lots of soybeans growing, some sugar beets, and corn. Lots of standing water alongside the road from an excessive amount of spring rain.

Arrived in Wahpeton about 11:30 a.m. Wahpeton is at 965 feet. The population is about 10,000. It is located where the Bois de Sioux and Otter Tail Rivers join, forming the Red River of the North. This is one of the few north flowing rivers in the US. The Red River of the North forms one of the most fertile valleys in the world. On the other side of the river is Wahpeton's twin city, Breckenridge MN.

In 1869 this small community was called Richville because of the soil. In 1871 the town's name was changed to Chahinkapa, meaning "the end of the woods." Two years later, the county was formed and called Chahinkapa County. Later that year, the county was re-named Richland and the town renamed Wahpeton, an adaptation of the Dakota name of the local Native American population, the Wahpetonwan. In 1889 the Red River University was established. It later became the North Dakota State College of Science (and Technology). In 1904 the US Government established the Wahpeton Indian School (now called Circle of Nations School) for the education of Native American children from Northern Minnesota, North Dakota, and northern South Dakota.

Within Chahinkapa Park is the Bois de Sioux Golf Course, the only course in the US where half of the course is in one state(SD) and the other half in another state (Minnesota). The Park also houses playgrounds, baseball, softball, and football fields, miniature golf, tennis, and even a Zoo! The Prairie Rose Carousel is located inside its own circular building. The carousel has 20 horses and 2 chariots. It is one of only 183 in the US and the only restored carousel in North Dakota.

We are staying with Jim and Rosie Ostrum. This couple is Aunt and Uncle to a friend of Charlotte's in Grand Junction. Met their neighbor Heather. She lost her oldest son Keenan in the war in Afghanistan; he was only 20. I was close to tears when I heard that.

I went out for awhile to Chahinkapa Park, and rode the Prairie Rose carousel. I have always loved carousels. Such fond memories of the one in Griffith Park, in Los Angeles, when I was growing up.

Rosie had a drop-in open house/dinner. Several friends/family came by for food and fellowship. BBQ ground beef sandwiches, potato salad, cookies, Rice Krispie squares, and cake. We were treated so well by everyone here. Irene, from an HD family, bought 17 ride t-shirts for family members and turned in close to $1000 in donations!

Another great day "on the trail to a cure."

Route round-up:
Marie - 27.8 miles
Charlotte - 27.7 miles
Gary - the whole route
Road change - 10 cents

With love from the Eastern border of North Dakota,
Marie


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June 19 - Wahpeton ND - Fergus Falls MN

Slept in a bit, until 5:00 a.m. Since our planned departure is at 7:00 a.m. Usual cereal, and Rosie made cinnamon rolls. I took mine along to eat as a snack.

Irene, her sister Kathy, Kathy's husband Marty, their 8 year old son Jordan, Irene's Aunt Irene (for whom she was named) and her husband Nick all arrived on time. What a photo op with all of them, plus me, in our great Plains to Lakes t-shirts.

Marty led us over the bridge to Breckenridge, the sister city to Wahpeton. Nick and Aunt Irene were the "caboose" driving the van so both Charlotte and I could ride. Marty continued to lead us while Irene, Kathy, and Jordan rode along with us. Jordan lasted about 1 1/2 miles before getting tired. There wasn't much traffic early Sunday morning. Nice wide shoulder on Hwy 210. We had a pretty strong headwind. It felt good to stop about half-way at a little town called Foxhome. Irene's knees were bothering her, so she and Marty switched; she led the caravan, and Marty rode. Jordan took a couple more stints riding. Longest was 5 miles when he was keeping up with his Dad and Gary.

A bit of trivia about Fergus Falls. It is the county seat of Otter Tail County. The falls from which the city gets part of its name were discovered by Joe Whitford (a Scottish trapper) in 1856 and were promptly named in honor of his employer, James Fergus. The city was incorporated in the late 1870's and is situated along the dividing line between the former great deciduous forest of the Northwest Territories to the East, and the great plains to the West, in a region of gentle hills.

We had to ride over a few of those gentle hills as we entered Fergus Falls from the west. Slowly we made our way through traffic and were within a mile of our destination (Grace United Methodist Church) when a white van joined us. When we got to the church, a more elderly lady popped out to greet us. Bev Mansfield introduced herself. Her husband has HD and is in the local VA Hospital. She had read the article in the Fergus Falls newspaper. She was on her way to see-her husband and spotted us!

Got situated in the church. I rested a little. Bev called and wanted to take us to get some dinner. She drove over, picked us up in her white Chrysler Town & Country van, and took us to the Fairway Market which had a deli. Each of us-selected what (s)he wanted and Bev paid for it. She also toured us around her home just another 1/2 mile-down the road.

Ate our dinners back at the church, worked on journals and e-mails, and turned in about 9:30 p.m. Good day with the extra riders.

Route-round-up:
Charlotte, Marie, & Gary-- each 30 miles
Kathy - 25 miles
Irene - 13 miles
Marty 14 miles
Jordan - 8 miles

Road Change - 1 penny plus a Canadian nickel

With love from Lake country,
Marie


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June 20 - Fergus Falls MN - Alexandria MN

Up at 4:30 am again (sound familiar?), on the road at 6:00 a.m. Yesterday, we had done a trial run to the start of the Central Lakes Bike Trail so we knew where to turn. Saw a huge flock of geese out for a morning walk; adults and young alike. Quite a sight!

This trail, combined with the more Southern part, the Lake Wobegon Trail (more on that in the Day 10 Message) is the longest paved rails-to-trails in the USA! The key word is paved.

Many little towns are located where the railroad once ran. Dalton, Ashby, Melby, Evansville, Brandon, and Garfield. Towns were quaint, most of them established in the 1880's. Evansville's motto is "Progress through Perseverance." Stopped in a quilt shop called Common Threads. Gave a ride brochure to the clerk with whom I spoke. She has some friends where the husband has HD.

Got to Alexandria at about 11:00 am (locals call it "Alex") population 12,441 . It is the county seat of Douglas County. First settled in 1858, it was named after Alexander Kinkead. Lots of small industry here, lovely homes, quite a desirable area. Lots of tourism with the many lakes and resorts. There is a museum here that houses the controversial Kensington Runestone, which is thought by some to-indicate that Vikings had visited the area in the 14th century. Outside the museum stands Big Ole, a 25-foot-tall statue of-a Viking originally built for-the World's Fair in New York in 1964.

Found Lake Community Church quite-easily from the trail. Large Church embarking on a building project of classrooms and a new kitchen. An Air Force buddy of Gary's and his wife showed up to take Gary out to lunch. Charlotte and I had our usual here at the church. I took the opportunity to use the church's land line phone. I was able to talk to a real person at Peek’s office in Phoenix and making a long story short, I now have a hand-held mobile e-mail device that works! So glad we were able to use Charlotte's e-mails for those who are "riding along" with us.

Showers at the home of DuWayne and Jackie Paul, church members at Lake Community. Felt good to be clean again, since we didn't get showers yesterday in Fergus Falls because the YMCA wasn't open on Sunday.

Did a quick shopping trip and stopped at Jake's Bikes (www.jakesbikes.com) to get more information about roads that parallel the bike trail tomorrow. Jake wasn't there, so we didn't get to meet him, but he is married to a niece of Pastor Galen Sylvester in Frederick SD. Small world - love those connections.

Back to-the church for a newspaper interview with Caroline, a poised 17 yr old summer intern. Met Aggie Elliot, a church member whose mother has HD. Aggie, Michelle (church secretary), and the Pauls prepared dinner for us to eat at the Paul's. Grilled chicken breast, potato salad, fresh berries, relish tray, homemade bread, and a lattice topped strawberry rhubarb pie.

Back to the church. Spent about 2 hours trying to get my Daily Messages caught up. Hopefully it will be clear sailing now.

Count your blessings, love your family, and keep us in your prayers.

Route round-up:
Marie - 18
Charlotte - 30
Gary - whole way

With Love,
Marie


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June 21 - Alexandria MN - St. Cloud MN

Woke up to the pitter patter of rain on the roof of-the church - oh no! Got dressed. Got packed, and ate breakfast. Two men who came to the church for an early morning Bible Study prayed with us.

When rain stopped, Gary and I took off from where we left the Central Lakes trail yesterday. Gary took off, strong rider that he is, and I didn't see him again until we were all in Sauk Centre at the Ding Dong Cafe. Gary's friends, Alice and Norm Sterling who live in Sauk Centre, arranged for breakfast with Emily and Adrian from the Journal newspaper. Gary treated everyone to Breakfast #2. Writer Sinclair Lewis grew up in Sauk Center, and a main street there is named after him.

When we were done eating and interviewing, it was really raining hard. Gary forged ahead on his bike, but Charlotte and I drove to Melrose, where I started riding. All along this section of the trails were health related slogan signs along with the mile marker signs. "Healthy Life Ahead, Work out hard and don't look back, Exercise feeds the mind, body, and soul, All natural body by me, Sculpting the best body I can" were some of the slogans. All along here the I-94 is within eye and earshot.

We're now in Stearns County, the setting for Garrison Keillor's "A Prairie Home Companion." This radio show aired on NPR. I assume most readers have heard of Keillor, the quintessential author, storyteller, humorist, and radio personality. Lake Wobegon is based on Keillor's home town of Anoka and in part on Freeport and other towns in Stearns County. Keillor's famous quote says, "That's all the news from Lake Wobegon where all the women are strong, all the men are good looking, and all the children are above average.”

Freeport is the location of Charlie's Cafe and the Pioneer Inn, which served as two inspirations for Keillor's Chatterbox Cafe and the Side Track Tap in his News from Lake Wobegon stories

.

Both Melrose and Freeport have the Yellow Bike Program where bikes are available for free use on the trail between the two cities. Users are urged to respect the bikes and return them to the designated rack in either city.

Passed through Albany before eating lunch in Avon. Avon's trailhead had nice picnic shelters with tables, bathrooms, and an observation tower where you can get an overview of the area.

The last leg of the Lake Wobegon Regional Trail is from Avon to St. Joseph. Passed a large granite marker with a short history of the Collegeville Station (the Abbey is about two miles from this point). The marker also commemorates the donation of 4 miles of rail corridor to the MN Dept. of Transportation to extend the trail from Avon to St. Joseph.

On to surface streets for the last 10 miles or so. I drove the van, leading Gary and Charlotte in to our final destination. Two photographers from the St. Cloud Times met us along the highway and took action photos. It was starting to rain again and it got steadily worse. We arrived at the Westwood Church just before a huge downpour that lasted about two hours. The gutter spouts were more full of-water than I have ever seen!

When the rain finally let up, we drove to a Burger King and got take-out dinner, which we ate back at the church. We are staying in the children's area away from the main area since there was a funeral wake going on.

A good day today despite the rain.

Route round-up:
Marie - 28.62
Charlotte - 34
Gary - the whole enchilada
Road change - 0

With love from central MN "where all bicyclists are above average,"
Marie


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June 22 - St. Cloud MN - Eden Prairie MN

My alarm went off at 4:00 am because I wanted to finish my Day 10 message and get it sent off. I neglected to include information about St. Cloud yesterday so I will work on it today while waiting for Charlotte. It's raining, but she decided she could ride. She's much tougher than me! Gary just sped by, so Charlotte won't be too far behind.

St. Cloud was named by John Wilson, a Maine native with a Huguenot ancestry. It was named after the city of Saint-Cloud, France (near Paris) which was named for the 6th century French monk Clodoald. It was incorporated in 1856 and is the county seat of Stearns County, although parts of St.Cloud are in Benton County and other parts are in Sherburne County. It's a fast growing area, and is the 4th largest MN population center. Its nickname is "The Granite City" and the Mississippi River flows through it. Last bit of trivia on St. Cloud; it is-in the 6th Congressional District, represented by Michele Bachman..

The rain lightened up as we left St. Cloud on MN 15. Gary had his B2 in Kimball while Charlotte and I continued to ride/drive. Got a bit hillier. The wife of the editor of the Annandale Advocate newspaper spotted us and called her husband. Chuck caught up with Charlotte, and arranged that he would interview us in Annandale. I loaded up my bike and we drove about 5 miles and met Chuck there. About half-way through the interview, Gary showed up and joined in. After some photos, we got back on the road through Maple Lake.

We had predetermined that we would stop for lunch in Buffalo. I lead Charlotte and Gary through town then we stopped and had lunch at a park on the edge of a lake. Very nice setting.

Got a tailwind as we continued East paralleling a railroad track. I even found a dime along the way.

Problems with directions from Mapquest. Took a wrong turn and it took awhile to find our way but we did get back on track.

Found Gary along the side of the road on MN Hwy. 5 with his bike. He got a flat tire just two miles from our destination. Loaded his bike up and drove him to the Prairie Hill Evangelical Church. It's across the street from Eden Prairie High School, the second largest in MN with 3300 students. Drove back to find Charlotte and lead her in. Our host Audrey found someone who would let us shower in her home, so off we went to the home of Loie and Gene Sipprell. Boy the shower felt good!

Back to the church. Helped Gary change the tube and tire. He helped me fix my flat tire almost two weeks ago in Belle Fourche, so I felt I needed to return the favor.

Drove to dinner at Applebee's. Gary treated - very nice gesture. Charlotte and I did the 2 for $20 deal with an appetizer (we chose honey BBQ chicken and a main dish with two-sides. We both had 7 oz. Sirloin steaks, cooked medium well. Gary had some kind of steak, too.

It continued to rain much of the evening. Trying to prepare ourselves for the probable rain.

Slept on couches in the Youth Room at the church. Very comfortable.

Last full day of riding - how quickly time has flown!

Route round-up:
Charlotte - 49
Marie - 28 (may not be accurate since my cyclometer on my bike was registering kilometers some of-the time)
Gary - 82 (everything but the last two miles) Road change - 12 cents

With love from Land of 10,000 lakes
Marie


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