Bike Trip

We recently returned from a three-week bike trip in North Dakota. We just caught the end of summer weather and had some good family time. 

For a bike "tour" we didn't cover much ground, about 200 miles.  

But, it was a great way of exploring and traveling as a family.  About 20 miles/day was a good distance, and we stayed 2-3 nights at each location to give us time to explore.  Sometimes we timed the biking with nap-time, and covered the ground quickly. Other days we took the whole day to cover 20 miles.. lots of stops, picnics, things to see and discover. 

Grandma and Grandpa Bob get the award for the ultimate support crew.  They drove an RV and met us at the different camp sites, cooked, fixed bikes, and even rescued us on one very windy ride. 

 

We were quite a circus traveling to North Dakota... two bikes, camping gear, bike trailer and stroller...  We managed to get everything on the Amtrak train from Minneapolis to Fargo, and Sharon and Bob picked us up and drove us the final leg up to Grand Forks. 

Leif.. finding the first puddle possible after 2 days of travel.  

Peter was a wonderful traveler, but Leif is squirmy.

Support Vehicle, Grandpa Bob's RV

We tried to be mostly self-contained with our gear.  Maybe it was ridiculous, maybe I just like things to be harder than they need be, maybe it was both...but I really needed to try a longer family-powered trip.  I love the independence of back-packing and miss that simplicity with 2 small kids.  We had a Bob trailer, and a double chariot, Peter's bike, and Leif's front seat.  The kids traded where they sat/napped and biked, and we had good cargo space for gear. 

We weren't light, stream-lined or fast, but it was totally possible and (mostly) fun. We all slept surprisingly well in the tent together, and I'm excited to try other family bike trips in the future.   

Schools were back, roads were quiet, and we mostly had camp-sites to ourselves.  We spent a few nights sleeping in small-town camp-sites.. enjoying green grass, playgrounds, gardens, and ice-cream 

We visited cousin Sandra in Northwood, and enjoyed cucumbers and tomatoes from her garden. 

After the ruggedness of Alaska, we enjoyed the farming and small rural towns.  Peter especially loved all the machinery. 

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Incredible quiet (and flat) roads..

What could be better for a four-year old's first bike tour.. stopping for tractors and train tracks!

Sometimes our roads petered out into prairie trails.  

Fun biking, and great corridors for garter snakes, frogs, birds

 We were there for the peak in wheat harvest, and this road was blocked by combines. The harvest team were surprised to see our family appear up the trail.    

Biking really is a great way of seeing things.  I always feel cut-off from life when driving a car, and I love seeing things at a slower pace.  We stopped to watch some bee hives getting loaded up ready for their trip south to almond groves in California. 

We spent two nights at Red Willow, a bible camp Dustin spent time at growing up.  The camp was closed, but we had full use of the facilities, and enjoyed all the prairie trails, butterflies, pelicans, flowers, and paddle boats. 

Co-driver Peter

A rare downhill (with tail-wind)

Both kids napping... Peter's bike and Leif's seat strapped to the chariot.  

Not an ideal load for wind-swept prairie roads..

Playgrounds were a key part of our trip, and were the destination highlight for most towns

Peter got to ride some miles in the jump seat... he's a better conversationalist than Leif  

It's hard to keep up enthusiasm for pointing out every single Barn, Bale, Bean-field and Butterfly after an hour of two... Leif likes words starting with a B, and it turns out there are many to see from a bike.

Fields of sweet corn, beans and sunflowers

Leif's first hair cut

Stump Lake Threshing Bee. 

We spent a couple of days at a threshing bee... a time when tractors, crafters, families and engine-nuts come together to celebrate harvest, farming history, and mechanics  

Cousins met us there for a day, and everyone enjoyed the festivities.  Peter loved the corn-grinding machine (above) and participated in the tractor pull (below)

There was an incredible range of old tractors

And, it was all about wheat

The old threshing machines were fired up and put into action

The highlight was a parade... tractors, more tractors, candy, and even sweet corn was handed out to the kids.  You can't get much better than that!

Cousins watching a magician 

Our favorite camp-site.  Homme Dam.  We had the campsite to ourselves... crisp fallen leaves, sunshine, and a beautiful sandy beach.  We swam with pelicans, played in the sand, and biked into town to visit a great bakery.

We then continued to head north

Seeking shade from a bale

We camped one night at the Freeman's farm with Suzie.  An incredible old Icelandic farm-house.  You could feel the history and life there.  We picked wild plums and enjoyed playing in the garden.  

Thank you Suzie!

Heading North for our final leg, we made it to Icelandic State Park- just south of the Canadian border.  Grandpa Bob surprised us by biking to meet us on our arrival.  A wonderful park, beautiful wooded trails, large lake and beach, and restored Icelandic farm and village buildings. 

At the end of the bike trip, we all drove back down to Grand Forks, and left Grandpa Bob and Sharon to recover for a few days while we went to visit Grandpa in Reynolds.  

We camped in Grandpa's garden (we were all sleeping well in the tent), and shared a wonderful few days--- harvesting carrots, watching the many trains that go through Reynolds, and visiting Uncle Robert at work in the elevator. 

We learnt all about the humidity of wheat, storage... and belly dumping. 

I think Peter would have been quite happy to stay in Reynolds for the long-term. 

And, after a couple of days back in Grand Forks to pack, regroup and enjoy some town-living, we flew back home to Cordova.  THANKS everyone for a wonderful trip.