October 16, 2010 Kettle Moraine - North Unit Bike Trail from Long Lake to Mauthe Lake

Another great Fall day - you have to get outside and enjoy it.


We began at Long Lake and headed south to Mauthe Lake.

We were expecting more fall color, but most of the leaves had fallen already.

Deb did spot a garter snake about a foot long - this time I managed not to run over it.

These wild flowers were colorful.

Mauthe Lake had a nice park area. Many people were out today enjoying the park and lake in the nice weather.

A group of 8 youthful boys and one adult man actually braved the water to go swimming, or at least to get wet.

These guys preferred fishing.
The state park was hosting a Halloween Hike - looks like it would be fun. I think the activities begin at dusk.



On the way back to Greenbush we came across a pheasant, dodging some hunters further up the road. We hope he kept safe!

Root River Trail, MN October 7 & 8, 2010

Houston to Preston, via Fountain on the first day - 56 miles. A little brisk as we left the Houston Nature Center and we peeled off gloves and jackets as we rode along.

Lots of corn fields in this area.

It wasn't long before we got our first view of the Root River.

In Houston I got the scoop on a good spot to get ice cream - The Creamery in Rushford - first town out, but any time is a good time for ice cream. Besides, we knew we would turn over 1,000 miles of cycling this summer, between this town and Whalen, so the ice cream was a pre-celebration...one scoop of cuppachino break and another of pumpkin - yummy!

This farmhouse had a unique barn and a really neat old log shed.

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Not far before Whalan we stopped and walked near the sandy shore of the Root River.

The Aroma Pie Shop - most famous spot in Whalan. It is right next to the trail and about 90% of the bikers riders on the trail stop for pie and or ice cream and coffee. Who are we to go against the norm? We called this lunch.

Larry chose blubarb (blueberry and rhubarb blend) and I had blackberry ala mode - our 2nd helping of ice cream in 13.7 miles.

We chatted to several riders - it is a good place to visit with others.

We headed on and arrived in Lanesboro at 2:45pm. We did a quick ride around town and then continued on as we wanted to get up to Fountain (and we heard it was a lot of uphill riding) and back and onto Preston before it got too late.

This golf course is near the spot where the Root River Trail and the Harmony Preston Trail intersect. It was a pretty ride up to Fountain and by the time you crest the last hill, you feel like you are on top of the world - you can see for a long way. We came across the Bent Wrench bar in Fountain and decided all that working pedalling up in the warm weather earned us one beer. Visited with some locals and it would have been tempting to have another beer, but thought we had best get back on our bikes and head to Preston.

Got to Preston at 6pm. We stayed at the Trail Head Inn - right off the trail. The Root River runs right by there. In fact they have photos of the floods in 2008 and 2007. Nice place to stay. From our window we could see these turkey vultures roosting in the tree next to the river. They were gathered there again in the morning.

Day 2 - We will go to Harmony and then back to Houston - 67 miles.

We headed out for Harmony. The second half of this section is quite hilly as Harmony is on the highlands and Preston is in the river valley.

There are some beautiful spots along the way in the valley.

There are a number of world class trout fishing streams in this region. I believe this one is Camp Creek.

It was hard work making it up the inclines to get to Harmony.

We noticed a flock of Cedar Waxwings enjoying the crab apples. We also saw several bald eagles on our ride up. One almost snatched up a cat roaming through the grass, but kitty was lucky enough to be a bit faster than the eagle.

Larry and Deb in Harmony (isn't that sweet?) Such a quaint name for a community.

By now it was 10:30 am and we have 54 miles to ride back to Houston and the truck, so we thought we had better get a move on.



We enjoyed speeding down the hills on the way back - that is so gratifying after working hard to ride up them.

As we rode through Preston they had a little farmer's market. Some of the vendors were Amish.

The weather was very warm today and there were many other cyclists on the trail. We made it to Lanesboro for lunch at the Rivers Edge Restaurant - it is right next to the trail and has a very good menu. It is a popular spot to dine. Many people are out and about today since it is Friday and such great weather.

The dam at Lanesboro.

Lanesboro is a quaint community - evidently Buffalo Bill Cody lived here. It is the hub of the Bluff Country.

The gas station that time forgot - isn't it neat? It is in Peterson.

Heading back from Rushford to Houston - didn't do ice cream on the way back. It was over 80 degrees. We took a water stop at the museum. The midges and Asian beetles were doing a number on us, both today and yesterday afternoon.

We were really looking forward to the free showers in the beautiful nature center facilities back at Houston. Got back there at 5:09pm and it felt so good to get cleaned up. In Houston we ate a good fish supper at a German restaurant called Rosie's and then headed out. We had great weather, but we didn't get the peak fall colors. The scenery is still wonderful and it is a very nice paved trail.