Today was a much better day, but dogs are becoming a problem. I had another one chase me down on a rural road. It was especially frustrating because the road had been torn up for construction, I was on Isis, and there was no way for me to get away quickly. I made myself hoarse with all the times I had to shout at the dog to go home. His owner was right there the whole time. Later on, I asked someone at a bar if it was legal for me to use pepper spray at a dog that was chasing me down. He said, “Heck, you shoot him!” I called Dave, and he suggested spraying a water bottle or getting a little air horn.
We got up early (rough night sleeping) and headed over to Starbucks to use my gift card and some wifi. They had a little trouble getting Chuck’s order right, and they couldn’t toast my bagel (Starbucks sells bagels, but they don’t have toasters) so I had to wait to eat it. When we got back to the house, Ron and MJ were up. Ron fixed me some yummy granola with soy yogurt to have with my bagel, and I uploaded my photos to Facebook.
I took another shower, got my stuff together and Chuck drove me down the road to get started towards the Gateway Bike Path, which would take me all the way to Stillwater. I couldn’t wait. I love riding on the bike paths of this country! We parked, and I got busy switching everything over to the hybrid. It’s definitely better for bike paths, especially when I’m not sure if it’ll be paved. Only problem is, both tires are starting to look pretty worn. I’m not taking any chances with them. The place where we parked was right in front of an Asian market and I’m a sucker for those, so I went in. It was AMAZING. They had everything! I wish Stella had been with me so I knew what everything was! But I walked out with a big bag of rice crackers, some shrimp chips, a packet of instant hot and sour soup and some peanut candy for Chuck (which he loved).
I headed towards the bike path, and it was gorgeous. This time I listened to my Nano and it was a more interesting mix (my Shuffle is just full of dance songs). I saw bunnies and lots of frogs. I almost missed my exit off the bike path onto Route 12, but got on the road and headed for the village of Stillwater (Minnesota). Chuck was at the library, so I went there. It was huge and beautiful. Eventually, I found Chuck (he had been hiding) and we went looking for some lunch. We found a place right by the river, but the food was mediocre and way too expensive for our budget. That was annoying. I got my bike and crossed the bridge to take me back into Wisconsin (I know, I know….). There was a serious climb on the other side, but thankfully it was short. I rode on several county roads, all named with letters (I, E and V). It was very scenic and pretty.
I made it to Osceola and met up with Chuck at a bar called Cascades. We attempted to figure out a place to stay for the night, but there’s no campgrounds in town, and the motels want too much money. We headed to the police station. They were closed, but there was a phone on the wall, which I used. The nice lady said an officer would be there soon, and sure enough...he pulled up in a few minutes. He was SO nice and helpful. We asked if we could pitch our tent in the park, and he got on the radio to check but they had said no. He suggested we go to a campground in town that was closed and said it would be OK if we used it (but no showers and no water). It was very nice, and we set up camp and headed to a restaurant the cop had suggested called The Tippy Canoe. It was really nice, and we ordered some fettucine alfredo. I noticed a sign that said “Oyster Shooters $1.50 Each. Drink 3 and Get a Free Drink”. I couldn’t resist. I asked the waitress, “Is that some sort of challenge?” She said it was and I asked why. She said, “Cause they’re ICKY”. I said, “Set me up!” They were yummy, but super hot. I downed all three and gave Chuck my free drink. The plate of pasta they had given us was enormous. Chuck didn’t eat much but I finished the rest, and I explained to the waitress that I don’t usually eat that much, but I’m on a cross-country bike ride. She thought it was cool, but apparently not cool enough to donate any of our food.
We headed back to our private campground to go to bed.
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