Day 1
We biked to my sister's wedding in Stillwater, MN on May 15th. It was a beautiful weekend for biking and we decided to take it easy after Duluth. The first night our destination was Lake Elmo State Park, about 8 miles outside of Stillwater. The ride was a combination of city roads to the Gateway Trailhead in St. Paul and then county roads to the campground. The Gateway Trail is a great ride, pretty flat, some pretty scenery, and well traveled on nice days.
Joe's bike before starting out.
Final adjustments before leaving
First bathroom break of the day, 30 minutes in.
"Reading" at Lake Elmo Campground.
It took so much less time and energy to bike here than our first day to Duluth. We didn't know how to spend the rest of the day.
The Swimming Area
Pool or Beach or both?
Cooking dinner in the rain.
Dinner - some tasty dried soup.
View after the rain cleared.
Lucky for us, it stopped raining in time to enjoy a nice campfire before bed. Unlucky for Joe, it got colder than expected and he froze in his 30 degree synthetic sleeping bag while I stayed warm and cozy in my 15 degree down mummy bag.
Day 2
Snack break right before town.
What we see when traveling by bike.
?
Stillwater
Walking to the wedding
We were lucky enough to stay with Spike and Kathy, a friends' parents in a beautiful house right in downtown Stillwater. They kindly opened their home to us for the night. It's the oldest house in Stillwater and Spike, a carpenter and author has renovated and added on. Definitely ranks high on the list of coolest places I've ever slept. Meeting new and hospitable folks was a great experience and got me looking forward to staying with hosts from Warmshowers.org. Thanks again!
Heading Home
The ride home is a slight downhill grade. There's not much more to ask for.
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