Days 17 & 18 of Wisconsin-Minnesota Hike

Thurs., June 17 - We talked this morning and Jim left the state park about 7am and he was walking through the buggy woods to get to the road. He said that the whippoorwills and owls serenaded him last night. He also had one toe in pain last night while trying to sleep - a couple of ibuprofen took care of it. He was looking forward to an easy short mileage day. His feet are great this morning with nothing sensitive. His body is tired which is a great reason to change the plan and divide today's schedule into two days - a prudent decision. His walk in the woods was chilly but once he got to the road it started to warm up quickly. He saw a beautiful white bird that he couldn't identify. The pond he went by was full of lily pads, ducks and geese. This included a flock crossing the road with babies! He wants to assure the world that judging from the amount of goose poop on the shoulder of the road, we are not in danger of running out of Canada geese! We talked again in the late morning and he described a huge number of black flies who swarmed him today - fortunately they weren't biting and only one got in his eye! He sure has seen lots of evidence of why Minnesota is called the "Land of 10,000 Lakes" - the waters are beautiful out there. With all the water, he is seeing loads of bird life. Today he saw a hummingbird whose beak was longer than his body - about a 4" beak! He came to a small county park before the turnoff to the road into town and stopped for a half hour rest. The red wing blackbirds continue to accompany Jim where ever he goes.
We talked again around 1:30 this afternoon. The rest of his walk this morning was very windy - actually blowing him off step at times. Fortunately it was a tail wind rather then the head wind that he had last week. He is really loving Minnesota - a nice mix of country roads and trails and not too many busy roads. The further he gets from metro-Minneapolis, the more snowmobile trails he is seeing. They are parallel to his road and very well laid out and marked.
He arrived at the motel that I found right on schedule and had a shower and washed his clothes. He then went to a bar next door and had another one of their local beers and read his book at the bar. After that he went to Burger King for lunch. He was planning on a nap this afternoon. We talked briefly at 5:30 and Clearwater was having a severe thunderstorm with dime-size hail, pouring rain and tornado warnings. I could actually hear the hail through the phone. Fortunately he was safe inside his motel and he expected the front to move through quickly so he could go out for supper. The news actually reported hail the size of 5" baseballs in Alexandria, MN - about 80 miles away. He called a half hour later and when he went to the motel lobby to check out the weather more closely, there were actually people camped in the lobby huddled under the stairwells for safety! Jim said he has never quite seen cloud formations like this - they go all the way down to the ground. Some people were even outside taking pictures! We talked again at 8:30 and Jim wasn't able to leave the hotel for a couple of hours. The news reported that a tornado did touch down and caused some damage nearby. When we talked the skies were now clear. Jim had supper at a local family restaurant where he will also be able to get breakfast in the morning.
Miles Today - 11.5 Total Miles to Date - 293.75

Friday, June 18 - We talked at 9:15am (Jim's time) while I was at the beach for the day. Jim got to the breakfast place at 6am - wonderful rhubarb french toast! He was on the road at 6:30 and when we talked it was still cool - low 70's with a nice breeze and high thin clouds. He was sitting by the side of the road resting with his socks off. He saw a GREAT sign today - "Alexandria, MN" - that is the end point of this hike. The reports on the local news were very sobering about the tornadoes - at least 2 dozen of them - lots of damage. His feet are feeling great but his legs area a little tired. The lower mileage for yesterday and today should help that. Jim said he has been struck by the difference in road kill on this trip. Previously he would see many opossums and deer. This time it has mainly been birds and turtles. We talked again about 2:45 and Jim was having a great day - beautiful weather that was fairly comfortable. He was able to get onto a paved bike path that went along the Mississippi River and then through the woods. He ended up right on the campus of the University of St. Cloud. He went by the P.O. and mailed back a completed book and then noticed the local library - a gorgeous new building about 2 years old. He was able to use a PC and catch up on e-mails for about an hour. He arrived at his motel around 2pm and almost didn't get a room - there was a quilting convention in town! Fortunately, there were 2 cancellations as he was standing there - that was a close call! He said he really loves St. Cloud - walking trails - pretty downtown - just a great feeling being there. We talked again around 6pm while he was looking at the local news - seeing pictures of the tornado destruction - really terrible. Earlier he had found a used book store that I told him about and he spent quite a bit of time there and found just what he wanted for his last book on the trip. Jim did ask me for an alternate place to stay tomorrow night in case he had to cut the day short and I was able to give him that info and directions. He is hoping not to need this, but better to be prepared. I was able to read Jim an e-mail I received today from one of those ladies from Red Wing, MN. If you recall from previous blogs, they asked if was walking for a cause and then gave him $20 for the trail conference. I sent her an e-mail thanking her and she sent me a wonderful note about God's Spirit moving her to talk with Jim - very uplifting to read and share with Jim.
Miles Today - 16.5 Total Miles to Date - 310.25