Fargo is the biggest town that I have traveled through in quite awhile.  The population of the city is over 120,000 and the metro area is 250,000. Moorhead, MN is the twin city across the Red River.  Getting through the city safely is always a worry for me.  I look for bike paths and some cities will have bike lanes on the streets.  The Adventure Cycling Association maps indicate the best route. Staying on the road is the safest spot and always checking your surroundings.

The Red River runs through the city and forms most of the border with Minnesota.  This river runs north into Lake Winnepeg and then into the Hudson Bay.  

Looking for camping options, I see many camping options around Fargo.  I have also read that many of the towns along the Northern Tier allow camping for cyclists in the city park.  I will have to see what I find.  The ACA map gives camping information also. Some of the organized campgrounds offer more than I need.

https://www.history.nd.gov/historicsites/standingrock/index.html  Here is some information about a site along the way, An Ancient Native American Burial Ground.

Farmer John "Custer" Grenz lined up many old threshing machines used to separate the seed from the other parts of the plant. Check out  https://www.facebook.com/Dinosaurs-on-the-Prairie-1943277285971323/  for more information about the machines.

Over the last couple of days the elevation has gained about 1000'. I am now about 2000' above sea level.  What is flax?  I know that I have eaten it and you can find the grain in the grocery.

https://www.ndtourism.com/hazelton/campgrounds-rv-parks/hazelton-city-parkcampground  This spot is in the town and close to grocery and cafe.  There are also 7 full hook-ups and 6 electrical hook-up.  Dump station.

One thing to consider when traveling in this area are flies, ticks, and mosquitoes.  You should come prepared.  After one camping trip I bought a net to put over my face and neck.  While you are riding the insects are not bad, but they sure find you fast when you stop.

Akeley started during the boom time of lumbering in Minnesota in the early 1900s.  The lumber barons Walker and Akeley set the mill in this town.  Now town has around 500 residents down from a peak of over 2000.

In some areas the trail has a path for horses and one for snowmobiles.

The Tiger Muskie that you might go after in the lake could reach 34-48" and weigh over 30 pounds.

I found out that the Red Ox Trails came through Detroit Lakes.  These were trails used to haul animal pelts from Canada to be shipped down the Mississippi River from St. Paul. These cart could carry a half ton and would return north with supplies, and food. Fur trading was the first big industry in this area.

The added Lakes to the name to stop confusion with the Detroit by me.  Detroit is a French word that translated to straits or narrows.  I see why our city got that name.

As I am packing up I will breakfast on steel cut oats that had been soaking in water all night in a sealed jar.  After the first hour of biking I was happy to hit Milaca.  This town has around 3000 people and I had no problem finding a  breakfast spot.  

The Paul Bunyan State Trail is multi-use path totaling 120 miles.  I will be going 63 miles north to Walker.  I am sure in the winter this is popular for snowmobiling.  We have many trails in the Upper Peninsula of Michigan that gets a lot of  winter trail traffic. The Burlington Northern Railroad opened this area.

This tower was built in 1935 and is on the National Register of Historical Sites. 

It is common for hikers and cycle touring riders to send items to general delivery for re-stocking.  You can also lighten your load sending things home that you are not using. The next town was Hackensack and I see in the history it is named after the New Jersey town. It is common to see names of eastern towns in the midwest when people migrated west and settled again using the same name for their new home.

 After getting started earlier this week, I came down with a stomach bug.  I was laid up in bed.  I stayed comfy and cozy.  Luckily I had some extra clothes to add to be sure I did not chill.  There was a lot of sleep and not much eating.

I keep a jar in the tent to take care of my latrine visits during the night.  I appreciate not trudging down to the outhouse in the dark in the middle of a dark cold night.  In the morning my jar can get dumped, washed and aired out during packing.

​Glad to have my strength back. The previous has the map for my route to Dalbo.

  The sign will give you some info on the city and usually spark your interest.  I had to check out the Green Step City program.  It is a program to help community development through the support of various groups in the state.

These towns quite often have someone famous and I found that Richard Warren Sears grew up in this area in the mid 1800s.  I remember when the store was called Sears and Roebuck.  Mr. Roebuck grew up elsewhere.

North Branch is at the crisscross of and interstate and state highway.  When you are on a trip you know that you will find some nice national chains of stores to choose from for supplies.

The forest has one of the highest densities  of bald eagles with 150 nesting pairs.  There are 21 established campgrounds and 68 dispersed  camping locations. Trails abound too hiking, biking, and snowmobiling.

Most Swedish immigration took place between 1885-1915 and many settled in the upper midwest.

The BNSF is the largest freight network  in North American with over 32,000 miles of track in 28 states.  

I have moved to the inside trainer because the fall air is too cool to breathe comfortably.  I hope that a virtual tour will get me pedaling more.  The month of October was smaller than my earlier months.

Over the spring, summer  and fall months of May  through October I did cycle 3,100 miles which is enough to travel the Continental Divide Trail from Jasper to Antelope Wells.

For this new virtual tour I will start on the Wisconsin and Minnesota state line at Osceola and head west along the Northern Tier.  

The river is a tributary of the Mississippi River. The St. Croix is a designated National Scenic  Riverway and is 169 miles long.  Further down the road I arrived in the town of St. Croix Falls.

The Ice Age hiking and backpacking National Scenic Trail stretching over 1200 miles through Wisconsin. ends in the area.  

This 98 mile multi-use path was a railway. A gandy dancer was a slang for the a railroad builder and maintenance worker.  During work they would sing to help them work together.  The Gandy Company out of Chicago made railroad materials.