July 9th: A Day Off (Sort of) at the County Fair

Today, after 6 days of pounding the pavement (although she would protest that she places, not pounds), Megan is having a running Sabbath. A day of rest, except that they spent a good chunk of that day walking around the Aitkin County Fair. Highlights included the decorated Christmas tree competition (I don't even want to speculate on that one) and Miss County Aitkin singing to open the fair. Megan also contemplated taking advantage of the free diabetes test at one booth, but Isaac convinced her that she might upset the nice booth workers if she failed. They are all looking forward to the rodeo and fireworks tonight.

Megan is pleasantly surprised that she is not as sore as she thought she would be, given that she has gone 120 miles. She is very pleased with the trip at this point, happy to have Isaac to provide company on the long runs and appreciating the beautiful scenery and weather. And the swimming at one lake or another each day is also a big Minnesota bonus.

Another bonus--free camping! The woman who has owned Red Indian campground for 45 years gave Dave back his camping fee when she learned what Megan was doing!

July 8, No Bears, but Foxes and Turtles

Today, day 6, was Megan's longest run so far--23 miles up almost to Aitkin. It was a beautiful, cool day and Megan is feeling good. As she finishes her run tonight, she has done 120 miles.

Megan and Isaac didn't see any bears today, but they did save a baby turtle who was marching to extinction on the road. This was gratifying because they have seen a number of unsaved turtles in the past days. (Megan and Isaac have started a list of things found along the side of the road, but declined to share it with the blog at this point!) Dave saw two foxes crossing the road at different points, and they have all seen lots of deer.

They are staying tonight at the Red Indian Campground on Red Indian Road (yes, even in today's PC world). They are the only transients in the place--the rest of the residents are in RVs with porches and tiki lights. Megan recalls that when she made the reservations, the woman kept asking "are you in a tent, really?" and now she knows why!

Dinner tonight was at the Bowling Alley/Pizza place in Aitkin, where the waitress/cook encouraged them all to clean their plates when she came by at the end of the meal. Megan and Isaac played Buckhunter, a video game with a plastic gun you press to the screen and shoot. We saw this game before in Dalbo--it is a popular activity in this area. (And trickier than you would think to get those bucks.)

Tomorrow is a rest day, and plans are to go to the Aitkin County Fair and rodeo! This is a picture from earlier on in the trip (Dave may replace with Mille Lacs photos when he returns).

July 7: Up to Mille Lacs on Day 5!

Megan has now run almost 100 miles (97 to be exact) and has reached the south shore of Lake Mille Lacs. (Did you know that Mille Lacs is the second largest lake in MN --we don't know what the largest is--and one of the world's most productive fresh-water fish lakes? Dave has been reading the tourist markers! It might also be the largest host of ice-fishing houses, Dave saw a huge park of beached ice-houses, "summering over.")

Megan finished a little earlier than usual this evening because there was a tornado warning in the area, and they thought they might avoid the storm by going early. (But Dave reports that all was calm--it rained a bit, then the sun came out accompanied by a rainbow.) The running was easier today than yesterday, probably because it wasn't as hot.

Dave asked Megan this morning if she and Isaac saw anything interesting on their run. Nothing much, she said--well, a black bear did walk across the road ahead of them, and when they got up to it, ran away! (She's following in the proud tradition of her mother--the family lore is, if you go hiking with mom, you'll see a bear!)

Another highlight of the day--Chris's Smoked Turkey Jerkey. Chris is a culinary celebrity around here it seems--there was a whole section in the supermarket cooler devoted to his (or her) products, including smoked bratwurst with wild rice, smoked bratwurst with cheese, and smoked bratwurst with beer--your regular balanced diet!). One piece of turkey jerkey was enough for Megan, but Dave and Isaac were ready to buy another packet!

The running crew still hasn't found Internet access, so this is a photo from Day 4. (Dave and Isaac are accompanying Megan on this leg of the trip, and Louise is in the city getting reports from the field to write the blog.)

July 6: Camping Behind the Fire Station

There are no campgrounds or motels in Dalbo--or anywhere around, so Megan knocked on the door of a house when she came through town planning her trip in March and got permission to camp on the lawn (one of the voluntary lawns). But when she wrote recently to confirm, that homeowner realized he had guests coming and couldn't extend the promised hospitality. However, he helpfully asked the Dalbo fire chief if Megan could camp at the fire station and got his permission. So last night we pitched our tents in the prairie behind the fire station.

In the morning the firefighters (all volunteers) arrived early to start preparing for a pancake breakfast fundraiser. They were quite impressed with Megan's run and offered us a free breakfast as their donation to Megan's cause. (Diabetes resonated with several of the firefighters, one of whom was diagnosed recently with type 2, and one whose wife has diabetes.)

So after the morning run/bike to Ogalvie we drove back for a delicious breakfast and a tour of the fire trucks.

Megan has now run 68 miles--in 3 and a half days. This morning was a bit tough as it was very hot (the high of the day was 93!) and Megan was a bit low on sleep. But she did her planned 11 miles.

July 5th--Rolling Prairie on Day 3

While Megan is running, Dave and I are biking the same route and seeing the same beautiful, rolling hills, and fields of prairie flowers in blue, white, purple, and yellow. This is the kind of landscape we usually drive through fast, on our way somewhere else. But on bike or foot, it is beautiful.

I realized this is the opposite of our usual road trip, where we go vast distances encased in a car. On this trip we are moving slowly through ordinary Minnesota, absorbing the land. (Here is a photo taken at the end of Megan's evening run at dusk.)

Lunch in Dalbo--a real town with a bar/cafe, Post Office, and a fire station. Kids playing pool in the bar, the local volunteer fightfighters having lunch (more about them later), a dusty, stuffed Golden Eagle on the wall (Isaac's first sighting on his taxidermy tour of middle Minnesota).

Happy 4th of July!

Megan is now 30 miles down the road in Coon Rapids after two runs yesterday and a run this morning. We are off in an hour to do another 7 miles or so, then will come back to the house for one more night.

Tomorrow, we will set off on the road--running, camping, running, camping. Dave is going to accompany Megan this first week in the sagwagon (well sagvan), along with boyfriend Isaac, who has been biking along as Megan runs. This is a photo of Megan and Issac at the end of the first day--they were in great spirits.

July 3rd: Megan Sets Out!

Megan set up running to Canada this morning at 6:35 am. It was a perfect day--sunny, calm, and a cool 58 degrees. Megan ran, accompanied by Isaac on his bike, through a quiet downtown Minneapolis. She crossed the Mississippi on the Hennepin Ave bridge, then ran along the river to Fridley--completing 11 miles. (She plans another 9 miles this evening.) Megan says "It was really exciting to finally get started."

This is Megan and Isaac just starting out.