Minnesota - a bit of everything

Big tractor, little runner, Minnesota county roads

Such variety in Minnesota:

• Corn! Soybeans! More than I ever knew existed in Minnesota.
  
• Lots of pig farms (noisy), lots of turkey farms...one turkey barn that was, literally, .2 miles long (measured on my GPS).
  
• My first bald eagle sighting of the trip.
• Yesterday: the first jet sighting/hearing since the fourth day out of Boulder.
• A dry summer - so, fortunately, very few mosquitoes so far. Only one day with a major buzzing, biting bombardment of bugs.
• A campground adjacent to a replica of a pioneer village in Butterfield - with a tour offered by the campground manager. General store, giant tractors, broom making, copier lathe, miniature railroad... All done by volunteers, all for the threshing bee in August.
• The hottest, most humid weather of the trip. So much so, that I took the afternoon off this past Saturday, opting to drive to the Twin Cities to visit my cousin rather than continue to run in the 99 degree high humid day. The morning's run seems to have had a lasting effect, though, as running on Sunday and Monday (still in the 90s, still humid) was a struggle.
• Quiet county roads for the road portions of the trip.
• Extensive trails: so far, the Red Jacket Trail (~6 miles) and the Sakatah Singing Hills Trail (39 miles). Refreshing shady bits along the way, cornfields shifting to thick foliage, tall trees, lakes, ponds, rivers, and creeks. Paul typically rides a fully-stocked bike along with me on the trail portions of the run. I learn all kinds of interesting things this way. For example, yesterday Paul explained the interrelationship of sugar tariffs and the price of corn.

Paul & Paula starting the last 27 miles of the Sakatah State Trail

• My first "meltdown" of the trip - after the third consecutive hot, humid day (yesterday).
• A fantastic day of running today: temperatures 10-20 degrees cooler, light cloud cover, tailwind whenever I was east-bound, iced before I ran, used the stick before I ran, ate well during the day - and was joined for the last several miles by a former co-worker/long-time friend who now lives in Minnesota (he on bike and with lively conversation). Today's run of 31 miles took 7 hours 47 minutes, whereas yesterday's run of 27 miles took 8 hours 18 minutes (note: I start my watch with my first step of the day, and stop it with the last step of the day - and only stop it mid-run for midday break...so all walking, drinking, eating, chatting, sightseeing detours, etc. get timed). Today, blissfully, I actually felt like I was running, not just slogging through the miles. What a difference a day - and improved weather and a visitor - make!

Bob Kulus, Paula & Paul finishing up July 10 at the Cannon Valley Trailhead

Numbers:

• 35 trip days (including days off)
• 836.5 miles run
• One pair of shoes retired (after yesterday's run) - out of four in rotation.
  

Tomorrow: the Cannon Valley Trail to Red Wing!