Gig Harbor Washington to Bar Harbor Maine 2001

I woke up to various stages of sunrise over the lake, listening to the loons, among many other birds. By the time we were pretty well packed up, Emily had a mountain of blueberry pancakes waiting, along with pure maple syrup made from the sap of their own sugar maples. We made the mountain into a molehill and made a serious dent in the syrup. Best pancakes and best syrup I've ever had.

Mmmmm.

A family of loons nests on this end of the lake, there are many others around the lake. We watched the parents dive for food while the youngun poked it's head underwater, waiting to be fed. I'm used to hearing their eerie distant call but these guys were right there, practically yelling. The hummingbirds were getting pretty agressive too. One macho hummer would not let anyone else near the feeder.

Pat escorted us out 20 miles. He rode his mountain bike with big knobby tires so he wouldn't be too bored by our speed. We had a beautiful ride along Mille Lacs on a nearly deserted road. Boy am I glad we got off the road yesterday. What a difference a day makes.

He'd treated us so well it was tough to say goodbye, but he sent us off on a nice route to Wisconsin. I kept thinking how nice the Lutherans in Montana were to let us join their potluck and how helpful and friendly the North Dakotans were in driving and road advice. We'd seen a book on Minnesotans that showed a woman being held up on the cover. She was saying, "You want my purse? Ok, but I'll have to clean it out first." It's almost true. We had Julie, our bike cop angel in Park Rapids who saved our butts when we couldn't find anyplace to stay. Then Greg and Vickie first rescued Kathryn when she had one more flat than she had patches, then rescued all of us when we, once again, couldn't find anyplace to stay. Finally Pat and Emily warmly welcomed us into their own personal resort when the rest of the world was swarming with automotive tourists. Do people just keep getting friendlier? Are they going to start riding our bikes for us in Wisconsin. I can't wait to see.

The route beyond Pat was very nice, but damn hot. We stopped for lunch after 65 miles at, what turned out to be, a Chinese cafe in Hinkley. My fortune read, "Enjoy the backroads of the north with a new friend." Can do. Over lunch we had the great debate. Do we stop in 15 miles and camp in a state park, or do we take advantage of the tailwind and head on maybe another 60? My vote was to stay in the campground and I won. It's so hot that I want to get rolling in the morning at sunrise and be finished before it's sweltering. The kids would much rather sleep late and nearly rode on so they could. But we're all here.

It's still hot. The mosquitos and flies aren't as thick as they have been, but they're really annoying. I'm hiding from them in my tent. Mike's old friend who lives nearby just showed up with ice, pop, beer and fake beer.