Day 37, Pine River, MN - 68 miles

After a rest day in Little Falls, which was quite restful since there wasn't a lot to do there, we headed off on quiet country roads.  The choice of routes was a little questionable and at mile 35 we were routed through Bemidji to get to the Paul Bunyan trail.  I had looked at a map beforehand so I knew we didn't have to go through town to get on the trail and Mary and I took the half block detour, joined the trail early and avoided a lot of the unpleasant traffic.

Once on the trail, it was 32 miles of paved perfection.  The scenery was beautiful and the only traffic was the occasional bicycle going in the other direction.  We passed through three or four towns with shopping districts right on the trail, including Nisswa with its "Pretty Good Shopping," where Penny, Pat and I stopped for a filling lunch at Adirondack Coffee. After lunch we were back on the trail leaving it only to pull into the parking lot of our hotel.

Bernadette

Other than the hotel, Pine River seems to have only a Shamp's Meat Market (which is supposed to be quite good) and an assisted living facility (I'm not so sure on its quality).  My friend, Jane, who lives in the area part time and paid me a surprise visit, said the quotient of liberals skyrocket when we rolled into town.  We entertained ourselves, or rather Bernadette and Yolande entertained us, by hosting the Dutch Dollar Store, a way for them to raise a few dollars and us to get ride of our heavy left over supplies.  I was able to purchase Carol's cowboy hat and a half-used bag of lavender Epsom salts for dirt cheap.

Me and my new hat (with Penny)

Tomorrow is our last riding day, which is sad.  I have found a route which, at least on google, appears to be magical.  We'll see if it's true.