Luverne and Shirley

 

On Friday I headed back into Minnesota from South Dakota. I will be here until the first few days of August.

The clouds started building as I crossed the border.

In the extreme southwest part of the state is a town called Luverne. Six miles north of it you will find Blue Mounds State Park.

The park has a herd of 100 bison that have a pretty rare trait.

After the near extinction of bison during the 1800’s, a few ranchers and early conservationists saw interbreeding cattle and bison as a way to increase the population. Of the approximately 500,000 bison currently living in North America, less than 5,000 are free of cattle DNA like the ones here.

My plan was to find one and name her Shirley. Get it? Luverne and Shirley? Ah, never mind.

I quickly set up camp because the forecast was for rain. Again.

It continued raining Saturday morning but stopped around 9 am. Which was a good thing because on the first Saturday in June Luverne has a little shindig called Buffalo Days. I went and checked it out.

It starts with a parade along Main Street.

There was the obligatory fleet of fire tucks both new and old.

The High School Band also put in an appearance.

A crowd favorite was the synchronized carts. They were pretty cool.

There was a group of old folks known as the Blowhards making noise.

Along with a hockey team.

It ended with a really big tractor.

After the parade everybody heads down to the city park for an event called Art in the Park. I tagged along. There was lots of food and local vendors selling local stuff.

Then there is the main attraction. I wonder who came up with it. I imagine something like this happened.

Some of the organizers were at a BBQ and after a couple of beers one said,

“You know, we need to liven this thing up. Add something, I don’t know, a little different.”

“Well, there is that herd of buffalo or bison up the road at the park.”

“Yeah. Maybe we could grab a couple and let people ride ‘em.”

“Nah. Wait. I got it. Let’s grab their poop.”

“What?”

“Buffalo poop. We could set up an old toilet and have folks try to toss the chips into it. A contest. That would be a hoot!”

It would be known forevermore as the Chip Toss.

The competition was fierce, but after an unfortunate lid slam in the finals,

the winning team received the trophy. And $2.

I headed back to camp after a long and interesting day. Blue Mounds State Park has 73 sites and was full on Friday and Saturday. Most people left after that which was a mistake.

Sunday dawned with absolutely perfect weather. Not knowing how long it would last I went on a hike in search of Shirley the bison.There is a three or four mile trail that loops around the park and ends at the viewing area. A very neat trail, hacked out of the tall grass by a lawnmower.

Beautiful. Just how I had pictured it in my mind.

I went around the lake and over the dam.

Those outcroppings in the background are a type of red quartz which looks like this:

There are large formations of this stuff nearby and I guess when the sun strikes them at a certain angle they look blue. Hence the name Blue Mounds.

I continued my quest to find Shirley. I was getting close.

I climbed up and looked.

There was not a hairy taco in sight. Nada. Nothing. Disappointed but invigorated by a nice hike I went back and ate. Tacos. At my luxury campsite with a personal potty.

The sun was shining the next morning when I left.

I stopped at Kilen Woods State Park to take photos

It has 32 sites near the Des Moines River.

Nice. I continued on to Flandrau State Park for the night.

Since I was only staying one night I did not set anything up. It started raining Monday night and would continue.

Flandrau has 90 sites and is right next to the town of New Ulm on the banks of the Cottonwood River. Tuesday morning I walked down there.

The park also has a sand bottom swimming pool.

Nifty. I left.

My first stop was at Fort Ridgely State Park.

There are 37 sites here near the creek.

It also has the only golf course in a Minnesota State Park.

I asked and they do have equipment to borrow. If it wasn’t raining I might have played a quick 9.

There is also a fort here.

One building still stands. The rest are not doing that well.

It was closed in 1867.

My next stop was at Minneopa State Park.

There are two parts to this park. The 60 site campground is near the Minnesota River while the day use area is a few miles away on Minneopoa Creek.

Why would they split the park up? Southern Minnesota’s largest waterfall, baby. I drove over there, grabbed my umbrella, and went to look.

Past the pavilion.

Past the picnic area.

And onto the bridge.

Voila.

Pretty impressive. It’s the first waterfall I have seen on this trip. Mainly because to have a waterfall requires some kind of elevation change. And lately is has been pretty darn flat everywhere.

What, you’re not impressed by it? OK, I kinda teased you. There are twin waterfalls here.

Is that better?

I got back in my car and headed to Sakatah Lake State Park.

I sat in my car and read while the rain poured down and then went to sleep.

Wednesday morning I went online in my continuing quest to find a bike. And I found one. I drove 15 miles east to Milltown Cycles in Faribault. It’s last years model, a Trek 7300. I got it for a good price. I won’t say how much but I have no food money for the rest of the month.

I headed back to camp for my first ride. The sun came out.

The trailer has a receiver mount for the rack as well in case you were wondering.

Minnesota is one of the most popular states for bike riding. They have 100’s of miles of what they call rails to trails. Basically they take decommissioned train tracks and turn them into paved bike paths. They are fairly flat as well. I like that.

Sakatah State Trail runs right past the campground and that is where I went.

I added the basket so I could keep my camera handy for photos, like these of Sakatah Lake and the campground’s fishing pier.

It was hard to justify spending my food money on a bike but I managed to do it

First, I am not getting any younger. I turn 51 on Saturday. How many chances will I have to pedal on some of the neatest trails in the country?

Second, it will open up new opportunities for capturing images and create fodder for this blog.

And third, I can create my own road kill, another use for the basket. Watch out tree rats, I’m on the prowl!

Regards,

Greg

Send Lawyers, Guns, and Money!

 

So I’m kicking back at my campsite having trail mix for breakfast after walking Big Sioux Recreation Area in South Dakota.

I hear an SUV pull up in front of my site. I don’t turn around. Then it backs up a bit and stops. The engine turns off. I hear footsteps behind me. I turn around. It’s a policeman.

The exchange went something like this:

“Is this your trailer?”

“Nope. Never seen it before. Don’t know how it got here. Maybe someone forgot it.”

He gave me a strange look.

“The reason I stopped was to check out the trailer.”

“Take it, it’s yours. Nothing in there is mine. Well, except for my clothes. And my sleeping bag and pillows. But I don’t know how that happened.”

“Um, I just wanted to look at the trailer. It’s cute.”

Cute. Really? I have heard that comment three times in the past week. I definitely need to put some pirate flags on it. Relaxing some I said,

“Would you like a peek inside?”

“You don’t mind?”

“No.”

I finally looked at his badge. Chief. Brandon PD. South Dakota. Great. But I knew nothing incriminating was inside and the statute of limitations had run out on the other stuff.

“Wow, this is pretty sweet.”

“And manly, not cute,” I added.

The ice was broken and we started talking about camping, my trip, photography, and eventually, bicycles. I really want to pick up a bike for the rest of this trip. Lots of Rails to Trails coming up.

I ask him about bike shops.

“Well, there is one that I go to in Sioux Falls. Good place.”

“Will you go with me tomorrow?”

“No. Why?”

“So I can get a deal. With you wearing your uniform I should get a good price.”

“No.”

“You could dress plainclothes then. Stand in the doorway and fire a few rounds into the ceiling if they’re not being cooperative.”

He looks at me.

“You’re from California, right?”

“Maybe.”

He laughs, shakes my hand, and says “Have a great day.”

That was yesterday, Wednesday. Let’s go back to the long weekend at Camden State Park in Minnesota.

I learned that habanero sauce and worms do not mix. My stomach felt like I had swallowed a live cat.

It rained Friday, Saturday, Sunday, and Monday. Tuesday morning as well. Which was sad because the campground was full.

The kids didn’t seem to mind too much but the parents were a tad disgruntled. I heard that last year at this time it was 85 degrees and sunny. And if you rode a bike and opened your mouth you would fill up on mosquitos. The late cold spring should portend less of them this year.

I made a big batch of trail mix. Really big.

I had a pancake breakfast on Sunday and fireside tacos on Monday. The fire never really got going.

I left Tuesday morning.

I have reservations for most of the Minnesota State Parks but they don’t start until the last day of May. So I decided to pop back in to South Dakota and stay at Big Sioux Recreation Area in Brandon, about five miles from Sioux Falls.

I stopped at two campgrounds on the way there. The first one was still in the land of 10,000 lakes.

Split Rock is a small place with only 28 campsites.

But they are good ones. It has lake number 4893 out of 10,000 and the obligatory canoe rentals.

Crossing the border into South Dakota I checked out Palisades State Park.

Another smaller spot with just 37 sites.

No lake here, just a beautiful river. And an old bridge over it.

I didn’t take a photo of the other side of the sign. Go there and read it yourself.

Yeah, it was still dark and cloudy. Here is a look east from the bridge.

And a little closer.

Love it! Looking west we get the ominous sky again.

Twelve miles south is my spot for three nights, Tuesday through Thursday.

It had this:

Very exciting. I set up my screen house again.

And my office.

The sun started to come out from hiding on Tuesday afternoon.

This was the view from my campsite.

I was so excited I ruined a freshly laundered pair of underwear.

After a quick shower I made dinner.

Yep.

Stop drooling. They tasted as good as they looked.

On Wednesday morning I walked the campground and checked out the river.

And the suspension bridge.

It is built in about 8 sections that move independently of each other. So the sections shifted underfoot like the goofy walkway in a funhouse. Interesting.

One of the things I like to do while travelling is pick up the local Nickel Ads. It gives you a feel for the different towns and their residents.

This guy is obviously hungry.

Maybe he should hook up with this person.

Wait. I can have all the horse poop I want for free? All I have to do is shovel and bag it? What a deal!

If this travelling gig ever goes away, I found something that I am qualified to do.

Looks like the competition is fierce though. Plus I would only pick the pretty ones and would probably get fired.

Sometimes an ad tells a tale in a few words. Like this one.

It makes one wonder about the backstory. What a great beginning for a novel. And the words she wrote in the small amount allowed. Modest. Maybe that was his mistake. Under $100. Not over. Hmm.

Well, I have her number. Maybe she wants to go camping.

Regards,

Greg