Day Thirty-one

Chuck cut my riding short today, but he had good reasons. It’s really hot today, and I had ridden for quite a while on the Soo Line Rail Trail. Also, the holiday is coming up, and finding a place to stay is going to be tricky. We stopped in Osakis, and went to the “Information Center”. They didn’t have internet available, but they did help us find a campground for the night.

We started the day at the Trailside Café in Bowlus. I ordered a bowl of oatmeal, thinking it would be a wise choice, but it wasn’t really what I wanted. (You know what I wanted, if you’ve been following my blog…) I ate as much as I could, and Chuck ate the rest. While we were packing up our stuff, a gentleman stopped by who was a local historian and had actually written a book about Bowlus. He was fascinating to talk to, and I regretted the fact that I had to get on the road. When I left, Chuck was immersed in conversation with him.

The Soo Line Trail was absolutely beautiful, and I was thrilled to be on it. I turned up my Nano, and it was just me and my bike and nothing else. I had to call my grandparents at one point, because I wished so much that they were with me. There I was on a beautiful rail trail, staring at Lake Wobegon (shown above)! They were very glad I called. They’ve been glued to my blog, apparently! I’m so glad people are enjoying it.

I met up with Chuck for lunch at Melrose, and we had a nice lunch of tomato and cheese sandwiches and chips. I rode on, but the heat was getting pretty hot! I stopped at a bar in West Union and offered the bartender a dollar for some ice, but she wouldn’t take it. I made it to Osakis, and Chuck pulled up shortly after that. We discussed what we should do, and decided to find a place for the night. There were a few campgrounds around, but being a holiday weekend, the first one we called was full. The second one said they had a site for us and it would be twenty-three dollars for the night. After driving around a bit trying to find it, we pulled into the driveway. I told the owner about my bike ride and she said, “Take any site you want, no charge.”

We have a beautiful site by a little stream, we finally were able to take a shower, and now we’re headed into town to find a pizza place. We just can’t take anymore fried food on this trip for a while. We’ve pretty much eaten nothing but fried food for the last three days and it’s really starting to hit us, if you know what I mean. When we look at a menu, that’s the only option though, since we don’t eat meat. Even the salads have meat!

A pizza will taste good tonight, and hopefully I can get an early start in the morning. More bike path! Yay!