| 7/12/05 Tuesday | McGregor MN |
| 7/13/05 Wednesday | Carlton MN |
| 7/14/05 Thursday | Solon Springs WI |
| 7/15/05 Friday | Hayward WI |
| 7/16/05 Saturday | Hayward WI |
It felt like a short day today. Don, Maddy and I got into Aitkin Lake
Campground near McGregor MN before noon. It was very hot and muggy.
As I was finishing my shower it started to rain heavily so I ran back,
put the shower cap on my Brooks leather saddle and dove into the tent.
For dinner, Brendan cooked the chicken while Don make the hors d'oeuvres.
During the ride I made several phone calls, including one to my boss at home
discussing the voluntary severance program (VSP). It was a stroke of luck that
I had agreed to stay on a few months after I would have liked to leave. Now
they are going to pay me to retire, exactly what I was planning to do anyway!
Later I checked my email at the brand-new library in Carlton and FAXed my
VSP application at a local Wells Fargo office.
Wes has announced that he wants to finish the tour on his own. He will
lay over with us tomorrow then head off on his own. Eric will be
doing a 3-day side trip so we are down to 9 for a few days.
Dinner was on the "pad" at a local restaurant. Cook crews try to underspend
their budget so that we build up a "pad" for emergencies and luxuries.
My crewmate RonE and I bought lunch and breakfast supplies at a local
supermarket and carried them back to camp in panniers.
7/12/05 Tuesday, McGregor MN
42 miles
Maddy has settled into the tour leader job. She doesn't seem to mind
having to do homework on vacation. (Brendan's photo)
7/13/05 Wednesday, Carlton MN
60 miles
The mosquitoes were horrendous this morning. Even with full rain suit,
mosquito net over helmet, and Deet on ankles, hands, and neck I would
get bitten on the face by swarms of mosquitoes as soon as I lifted the
net to take a bite of breakfast. This is RonP's photo of Jeanne one
evening with her solution.
For our last night in Minnesota, we are camping at Jay Cooke State Park
near Carlton.
Every sunny day is laundry day.
7/14/05 Thursday, Solon Springs WI
58 miles
Cooler weather + few mosquitoes = happy campers. We're camping in Solon
Springs WI. We had ice cream after dinner at a Dairy Queen across the road.
As I was re-truing my rear wheel I discovered the Bontrager rim was
badly cracked at a number of drive-side spoke holes. I hustled back
and forth to a phone booth a half mile away and arranged for Rivendell
to send a new wheel to a bike shop a few days down the road. I hope the
rim survives until then. (This photo was actually taken 7/18, by which time
the rim was barely holding together.)
7/15/05 Friday, Hayward WI
42 miles
Short day today. Camping at KOA in Hayward. I stopped at the New Moon
bike shop and finally found the Third Eye bar-mount mirror I wanted.
7/16/05 Saturday, Hayward WI
11 miles
Layover day in Hayward. Don has discovered cracks in his rear rim also
so he ordered a new wheel at New Moon bike shop to be drop-shipped to Escanaba.
We rode into town, and toured the fishing museum for $6.50 (not worth it) ...
... and saw the lumberjack competition for $9.00 (worthwhile).