Perfect day

When we headed out it felt a bit humid. There was some fog early this morning. We went uphill almost right away. It didn't matter. The fog lifted quickly, but left lots of clouds behind - puffy, nice looking clouds that didn't threaten and did keep the intense sun at bay. The hill was less steep than it looked. What little wind there was came from behind. We knew where the best stops would be. My legs seemed more than ready. The temperature was warm, never hot. The road was rolling. The scenery was great. Wisconsin lived up to its reputation for good pavement most of the day. It was the sort of day that makes it hard to imagine not riding.

We went through one town quite early & picked up some extra stuff to drink. As we were riding out we passed two women walking along with binoculars. They told Bruce what they had been seeing, so I kept my eyes open and saw the trumpeter swans they mentioned. We stopped to gaze at them, and spotted a loon as well. Back on the bikes to Glidden, where we actually had to choose between restaurants, and we were not confined to hamburgers. I got a chicken sandwich, and I got to choose grilled rather than fried. I had no idea how great that would feel until we got out here! I stopped at the local bakery and got some cookies; the baker's young son rang up the sale & I could here him muttering the calculations

Back on the road. A deer came out and stated at me. It bobbed its head, and I nodded back. Again, again. Then I looked around to see how close Bruce was, and when I turned back the deer had vanished. We reached Butternut, the last town we would see before our destination, Mercer. Bruce had suggested we stop for ice cream, an idea I never turn down, and almost the first thing we saw in town was an ice cream shop. It was definitely the best ice cream I have had on this trip, and some of the best I have ever had. We sat & chatted with the owners as we ate & learned that it has won first place among Wisconsin ice creams for 9 years. Aline and Jim are toying with the idea of going back to try it tomorrow.

After the ice cream we turned on a less major road & were sort of concerned about the pavement condition. It actually was almost all great. Soon after we turned we stopped by a little pond and saw cedar waxwings, a wood duck, a green heron and a muskrat. It was one of those idyllic days. The hills got shorter and steeper, the trees backed away a bit to give us views of lakes, marshes and meadows.

This is why we came.

Odds & ends:

I can't believe I forgot this yesterday. While Jim was cooking that fish, he and Aline called out to me that there was a bird in the cabin. Before I got inside they had changed their minds - it was a bat. A nice, healthy bat swooping around (eating mosquitoes, or so we were told). I managed to close it into one of the bedrooms, but the windows had fixed screens so we could not think how to shoo it out. We dragged the poor manager down & he valiantly went in with a towel. He came out thinking he had accidentally killed it, and picked it up with a paper towel, but it was only stunned & it flew away - fortunately just as he had gotten outside.

Jim went out to run this morning early but had to come back because the bugs were so aggressive. A shirt and some spray allowed him to finish, and by the time we were ready to ride they had subsided. Although I have had quite a few bites since June 1 (did you know mosquitoes know how to draft off a cyclist???) I have not ever been kept awake by that annoying whine. And the mosquitoes and flies are no worse in Minnesota and Wisconsin than they were in Montana and North Dakota, probably because of the extraordinarily wet weather those usually dry states have had this year.

We now know what a supper club is. We had seen a few but had not ventured in yet. The guy at the great ice cream place recommended The Dingaling Supper Club for dinner tonight, and it was very good. Apparently supper clubs are generally nicer restaurants than cafes. We will most likely be visiting more of them.

I am sitting in a laundromat waiting for our stuff to dry. Soon after I arrived, a hummingbird came in and could not find its way out again. It flew to the windows; it flew up to the light fixtures (flourescent ceiling panels); it couldn't find the open doors. There was a couple here - the man was tall and was wearing a baseball cap. As the poor little bird got tired, the man was able to catch it in his hat and send it on its way.

When we first saw a sign for Mercer, it claimed the title of "Loon Capitol." When we rolled into town, we spotted a giant statue of a loon - we plan to try for a family calendar picture there in the morning; soon after that as we passed a lake, we could hear loons calling.

Tomorrow is a day we have been wondering about since we made our reservations. We will be staying at Santa's Backwoods Motel. Really. I'll tell you all about it tomorrow.

The clouds are getting very pink. The days are a bit shorter now- we can actually stay awake for sunset. Sometimes.

Miles today: 67
Total miles so far: 2544