Distance = 28.40 miles
Time = 1.59.41
Max speed = 30.5 mph
Average speed = 14.2 mph
Another early morning. It's nice though. We didn't have to take down our tent because we'll be in the same place for a second night! I like that! The plan is about 80 miles out and back. Itasca State Park boasts the starting point of the Mississippi River. So you can put your feet in it and affect the whole waterway! Wow! I've never seen it. And today would not be my day to do so. We headed out after having breakfast in town at The Great Northern Cafe. YUM! We rode some on a trail and out to a county road. We all headed out together, which was nice. Heidi, Tim, and Bill then took off. Jeanie rode with Lorrie for a little while and I was with Daryl. Jeanie caught up to us and then they took off. So we were all pretty spread out. I decided to go a little faster and meet Lorrie at the first rest stop. So I passed Daryl and Jeanie on one of the hills and went on. When I got to the rest area, it was packed! Tim and Heidi were still there. Apparently there had been a hit and run and a cyclist was hurt, possibly dead. The driver of the car had taken off (the "run" part, I know) so it had become a crime scene. Forensics were there so we couldn't go through due to potential damage of the crime scene. If it weren't so sad, I'd have felt like I was in a CSI episode or something. Lots of rumors were floating around but no one really knew exactly what was happening. All we knew was that we had to wait... and wait... and wait. It's amazing what 1200ish people can look like all in one place after being so spread out. Eventually they announced that they had tried to find an alternate route but couldn't. So we were being sent back to the park. We had to go in groups of 15-20 and were to stay single file the whole way. We jumped in line and were getting ready to take off when Daryl started talking about Christmas World. What? Turns out we have spent the past 2 hours in a place the plays Christmas music ALL the time! But they weren't open so we didn't hear it. I did wish we'd gotten to use the go carts! Ah well! The whole time the others were scheming how they could get in some more miles, possibly even get to Itasca State Park. I didn't feel up for heading out with no promise of water with no rest stops or anything. So Lorrie, Jan, and I headed back to the park. Heidi and Tim did a 50-mile ride, and the rest did an 80-mile ride. We got back to camp pretty friggin' early so we had all day to hang around. The town of Park Rapids had put together shuttles for us to go see the state park if we wanted to. Otherwise, we could just explore. We took our showers and decided to relax and explore.
We went into Park Rapids for lunch at the local coffee house. We stayed a couple house and had iced coffees, played mancala, and chatted. For accuracy sake, I was warned to include the fact that while playing mancala, Lorrie beat me at a game that I started. It's the first time in our history of that game that the person who did not start won. She also beat me in the series, 3 out of 5. ::sigh:: ANYWAY! Then we walked around and window shopped. Park Rapids is a cute little town. We started heading back up to the park but stopped by the music stage to watch some kids jumping off a bridge across the lake. A woman was playing some good folk music! We went back around on the street so we could get to the bridge and see what the jumpers were doing. It was a high enough jump that I'd have to think twice about going. But low enough that I eventually would. There were probably 15 kids and some adults jumping randomly and doing some pretty fancy dives. Plus a belly flop or two! Back to the tents to chill in the shade, listen to some music and wait for our comrades to appear. Heidi and Tim got back first then we ended up waiting quite awhile for Daryl, Bill, and Jeanie. They all looked pretty haggard when they got back! But they showered and got ready so we could head to dinner... again at Goose Crossing! Yep, it was *that* good! We got to sit in the main dining area this time. Like grown-ups! Little did they know! (= Free drinks again! I had my own this time! Crown and coke. Lorrie and I shared another chicken dish and burger. It wasn't quite as good as the night before but still great! We stayed awhile again and just talked about our adventures of the day. Lorrie and I sat nearer to Tim and Heidi this time so got to hear some about their travels in Greece. Amazing!
On the way back, we stopped so Jeanie, Daryl, and Bill could get more alcohol and then headed back to the park. I think they all went down to the bar or something but we just hung out around the park. Maybe we're too boring not partying the whole time. Ah well. It wouldn't be the first time for me! I just didn't want to keep Lorrie from going if she wanted to. I'm perfectly fine on my own, reading, writing in my journal, listening to music. But she said she was happy not to party. So we just hung out... trying to stay cool. This is a (bad) photo of our little camping area and one of Daryl... a sheet or so to the wind. (=
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