After awaking at 5:45 am, our usual waking hour, Betsy and I packed and ate the rest of our breakfast food. It’s been difficult to buy non-junk food lately. We began our morning traveling east, at 6:30 am, on CR 26. We zigged and zagged on various county roads with minimal traffic. There were lots of corn and soy bean fields with various types of trees: oaks, green ash, sugar maple, and basswood trees. Betsy spied several mule deer, which was curious given the many white-tailed deer we had seen lately. After 27 miles, we rode into Milaca for a more substantial breakfast.
With our stomachs full, we continued south and east on county roads for 17 miles to Dalbo, Minnesota-population 80! We ate lunch on a covered picnic table at a factory that was closed for the weekend. Local resident and cyclist Mike stopped by to chat about our adventure. We pressed on to Grandy where we hoped to buy food at a Convenience store. Alas, the store had closed. Instead, we bought cold drinks at a restaurant. We moved on to Stark, and then to Harris, where we did find food for dinner.
On the way, we saw a flattened snapping turtle, and Betsy ran over a garter snake. On CR 9 to Sunrise, we spotted two sandhill cranes, brown in color, compared to the gray birds we’d seen in Colorado. We also saw a mature bald eagle sitting in a soy bean field. Four large birds that may have been immature bald eagles sat nearby. We couldn’t understand what they were doing. At long last, we reached CR 20, turned right and rode a mile to the Hillcrest RV Park. After paying $10, we found a camp site, showered, and ate dinner. We are grateful to be here after a long day.
6/22/19: Morrill, MN to Lindstrom, MN, 88.8 miles
