JULY 7 Parker's Prairie to Saint Cloud MN
We got one of our earlier starts leaving Parker's Prairie... probably because of our early bed time... which meant that we had several hours of cool, predawn weather, perfect for riding. Twenty miles down the road or so, we stopped in Long Prairie for a second breakfast, greasy breakfast sandwiches at Burger King, effectively exceeding my fast food quota for the year. The rest of the ride was pretty normal that day, although dad was rather worried about the thunder heads building on the horizon. We stopped for lunch in the park in the tiny town of Sobieski, and ran into Barb and Bob for what was probably the final time on our trip, since we were taking a few days off in Minneapolis while they planned to push on through Wisconsin. That afternoon, we had our first sighting of the Mississippi River, looking exactly as I expected it would: broad, and brown, meandering by low hanging trees. We turned South, paralleling the river along its west shore, heading for St. Cloud, where we planned to spend the night.
Just outside of St. Cloud, we stopped for a candy bar. As we sat in the scrubby grass by the road side, a recreational cyclist flew by, waving as he passed. Finishing our candy bars, we climbed back on our bikes and continued our ride toward St. Cloud. Just after we began riding again, the recreational cyclist (by that I mean non-tourist biker) shot out of a driveway to our left, then pulled in next to us. "Hello! Where you guys from?"
Dad told him our story, finishing by asking, "Do you know anywhere to camp around St. Cloud?"
"Well, sure!" The rider exclaimed, "My house! Oh, I guess I should introduce myself. I'm Larry."
"Chip and Seth." Dad replied, "And thanks a lot for letting us stay with you. Your sure it's all right?"
"Oh, yeah, definitely. But we have to make a stop on the way home. I promised to show these two ladies a clump of lady slippers, the Minnesota state flower. It's very rare, so it's kind of a big deal to us." Soon we pulled into a small driveway, and Larry had ran into the street, flagging down a maroon Buick, "Virginia!" he called to the driver.
The Buick pulled off the rode, and two short old ladies climbed out, and began to walk over to us. Larry smiled and waved to them, "It's easy to remember these two's names." He assured us, "They're both Virginia." Larry helped the Virginia's over next to the flowers and motioned us over. We all oohed and ahhed; the flowers were pretty spectacular. Then the Virginias piled back into their car and drove away while Larry got back on his bike and led us to his house. On the way, he told us that both he and his wife are Lutheran ministers, but at different churches.
Larry's house sat right on the Mississippi River, so the first thing we did after unloading our bikes was go for a swim. What an amazing thing to get to do! I mean, the Mississippi River is really central to the American psyche, and we not only saw it, but got to swim in it! Dad said the whole time I had an enormous smile printed on my face.
We had an early dinner because Larry's wife, Elizabeth had an evening sermon to preach, and his son, Nate, had a ball game to umpire. Both left, and dad and I sat on the porch with Larry, discussing our ride. As we sat, the sky became steadily darker, until finally we decided it would be best to retreat inside. Dad grabbed the plates, Larry covered up the barbecue, and I collected the napkins; just as we stepped inside the door, the clouds broke open. The storm we saw made us glad Larry had taken us in: the wind howled, blowing the raindrops horizontal, and the rain fell so thick that we could barely see the Mississippi 10 feet away. Luckily, the fowl weather passed quickly, and when the sun came out, a beautiful rainbow arched over the lake.
We got one of our earlier starts leaving Parker's Prairie... probably because of our early bed time... which meant that we had several hours of cool, predawn weather, perfect for riding. Twenty miles down the road or so, we stopped in Long Prairie for a second breakfast, greasy breakfast sandwiches at Burger King, effectively exceeding my fast food quota for the year. The rest of the ride was pretty normal that day, although dad was rather worried about the thunder heads building on the horizon. We stopped for lunch in the park in the tiny town of Sobieski, and ran into Barb and Bob for what was probably the final time on our trip, since we were taking a few days off in Minneapolis while they planned to push on through Wisconsin. That afternoon, we had our first sighting of the Mississippi River, looking exactly as I expected it would: broad, and brown, meandering by low hanging trees. We turned South, paralleling the river along its west shore, heading for St. Cloud, where we planned to spend the night.
Just outside of St. Cloud, we stopped for a candy bar. As we sat in the scrubby grass by the road side, a recreational cyclist flew by, waving as he passed. Finishing our candy bars, we climbed back on our bikes and continued our ride toward St. Cloud. Just after we began riding again, the recreational cyclist (by that I mean non-tourist biker) shot out of a driveway to our left, then pulled in next to us. "Hello! Where you guys from?"Dad told him our story, finishing by asking, "Do you know anywhere to camp around St. Cloud?"
"Well, sure!" The rider exclaimed, "My house! Oh, I guess I should introduce myself. I'm Larry."
"Chip and Seth." Dad replied, "And thanks a lot for letting us stay with you. Your sure it's all right?"
"Oh, yeah, definitely. But we have to make a stop on the way home. I promised to show these two ladies a clump of lady slippers, the Minnesota state flower. It's very rare, so it's kind of a big deal to us." Soon we pulled into a small driveway, and Larry had ran into the street, flagging down a maroon Buick, "Virginia!" he called to the driver.
The Buick pulled off the rode, and two short old ladies climbed out, and began to walk over to us. Larry smiled and waved to them, "It's easy to remember these two's names." He assured us, "They're both Virginia." Larry helped the Virginia's over next to the flowers and motioned us over. We all oohed and ahhed; the flowers were pretty spectacular. Then the Virginias piled back into their car and drove away while Larry got back on his bike and led us to his house. On the way, he told us that both he and his wife are Lutheran ministers, but at different churches.
Larry's house sat right on the Mississippi River, so the first thing we did after unloading our bikes was go for a swim. What an amazing thing to get to do! I mean, the Mississippi River is really central to the American psyche, and we not only saw it, but got to swim in it! Dad said the whole time I had an enormous smile printed on my face.
We had an early dinner because Larry's wife, Elizabeth had an evening sermon to preach, and his son, Nate, had a ball game to umpire. Both left, and dad and I sat on the porch with Larry, discussing our ride. As we sat, the sky became steadily darker, until finally we decided it would be best to retreat inside. Dad grabbed the plates, Larry covered up the barbecue, and I collected the napkins; just as we stepped inside the door, the clouds broke open. The storm we saw made us glad Larry had taken us in: the wind howled, blowing the raindrops horizontal, and the rain fell so thick that we could barely see the Mississippi 10 feet away. Luckily, the fowl weather passed quickly, and when the sun came out, a beautiful rainbow arched over the lake.
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