(Mon, 6/9:25; 41 miles, 569 feet of climb)
Today was a downer day. It wasn’t supposed to rain much, but it came down off and on all morning and early afternoon. It was cold and wet most of the day, until finally drying out and getting into the low 60s at 4pm. On the bright side, it was simultaneously our fastest average speed day and lowest average heart rate, due to the TAILWINDS.
We woke up at 6am and cooked another batch of Ziploc omelets. This time, the older boys made them all at once and threw them all in a big pot to speed things up.
So we COULD have achieved an early start, except for one problem: Paxton’s front hub. Somehow he lost the nut last night while changing a tire. Daylight this morning didn’t help to find it, so we had to wait until his dad Chris arrived to haul the troop trailer for the next two days.
Chris brought the needed part, and we were on the road around 9am. We were hoping to get some drone footage of us crossing back over the Mississippi, since it was too windy last night. Unfortunately, rain prevented the drone launch.
We stopped for second breakfast at Kwik Trip in Alma. Then we found some very quiet side roads right along the Mississippi that allowed us to escape the traffic of Highway 35.
On one of those quiet roads, in the middle of nowhere, stands the Prairie Moon Sculpture Gardens. We stumbled in this place on MILBIRD (Troop 72’s Milwaukee Bike Ride) in 2017, and the boys were all delighted to spend some time exploring this quirky place:
Unfortunately, this current batch of boys won’t have similar stories to tell, as only one boy bothered to walk around the grounds. The rest of them sat by their bikes on the side of the road. I have to admit, I was surprised by their lack of curiosity. Could it be cell phone culture? I was very sad. 🙁
We ate lunch at another Kwik Trip in Fountain City. It finally stopped raining, but just as we approached the bridge back over the Mississippi to Winona, Minnesota, it started to rain again. I guess this is not a day for drones.
I was kind of hoping we could stop at a bike shop and look around to stay out of the cold rain. But instead we high-tailed it to the Prairie Island campsite and stood in a cold downpour, waiting for it to stop so we could set up our tents.
Once the tents were set up, some boys took naps. I don’t know, I guess I would’ve rather seen a bit of historic downtown Winona and stayed warm and dry, then set up camp later. Maybe I’m getting too old and crabby for this. Or I just have that explorer bent where I’d like to see more than roadkill and campsites.
There was no plan for supper or afternoon or evening activities. Everyone just moped around. I hope tomorrow’s sun brings better times.
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TRANSLATIONS/BACKGROUND: “MADBIRD” = Madison Bike Ride, my own nickname for a bike ride from our home in Chippewa Falls, WI, down the Chippewa River to Pepin, then down the Mississippi River to La Crosse, then over the Sparta-Elroy Trail to Devil’s Lake and Madison, WI. Nine Scouts and three adult leaders from Boy Scout Troop 72 started out the trip (http://www.troop72.com).
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LINKS:
Old-fashioned BLOG if you have friends who don’t use Facebook:
“Old Scouter” Facebook page if you want to follow big adventures with more pictures and video clips (but not unrelated personal posts):
https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100066334039590
“Old Scouter” YouTube page (when I get time to edit after the trip):