August 29, 2026 - Bemidji to Winnie Dam Campground, Minnesota

We both woke up about 7:00am and took time to organize the RV and bike things before heading over to the park for Tobey to begin his ride today. He was ready to roll about 8:30 and took off under cloudy skies and some pretty good wind gusts. I hung out in the RV before heading out to our first meeting spot.
Tobey had views of the Mississippi that we are more used to seeing – wide expanses and bridges! A good portion of the ride this morning was on the trails. He crossed the river going east, then crossed back going west. These are pictures taken from the two different bridges of each other.


He did come across several large stands of trees along his route. Paul Bunyan still has work to do!!
In other areas, the river reverts back to a small stream!
On the route from north to south near the Greenwood Golf Course, he saw a guy running on the trail and called me to see if Mel Gibson was making a movie in this area. He said he looked just like him and even had an accent when they spoke! According to Google (and we know it’s always right) he is working on a film in Italy so it’s not likely it was him. He also came across a band of pirates – golfing pirates!

Some of the other sightings from today also included a deer that ran across the trail in front of him, some eagles, and a porcupine just before arriving at our campsite for the night.

We did meet up at Cass Lake for a break this morning. After he took off, I went to the Logging Camp and Museum. What a treasure in this little town – and only $5.00 admission. The main building had so many artifacts back to the late 1700s as well as many items from Native Americans. Across the street were five cabins with displays from logging camps. The bonus was each cabin had an audio recording that described the logging camps and the activities of the workers. It was great!

We stopped near Bena, Minnesota next to a supper club (not open until 5:00pm) for lunch and a rest break before Tobey finished up his last 15 miles.

We are camped at the Winnie Dam Campground on Lake Winnibigoshish. It’s a nice campground but I’d forgotten that the mosquito is the official state bird in Minnesota. They have been feasting on me! Before dinner we walked over to see the lake and the dam. It’s quite the place and built by the US Army Corp of Engineers.



Tobey cleaned the bike chains and got them re-greased and they are ready to go. I’m hoping to have internet tomorrow to get the last few days posted!

Tobey’s ride today was 58 miles and he has a 60 mile ride on the schedule for tomorrow. We will be going to bed early!

August 28, 2026 - Prior Lake, Minnesota to Bemidji, Minnesota

We were up at 7:00 and pulled out of the RV park about 7:15 and headed up the road to Itasca State Park where Tobey began his bike ride today. We stopped about an hour down the road for breakfast and when we pulled back onto the road got to see some classic cars go by us.

We both thought this water tower at Sauk Rapids looked like a hot air balloon rising over the trees! After lunch we finally arrived at Itasca State Park south entrance where we unloaded our bikes and Tobey got ready for his first segment on the Mississippi River. This was the road going into the park.

We rode together from the parking lot up to the headwaters – about six miles. The trail was beautiful and surprisingly not crowded.


We were almost there and parked our bikes to walk over to the headwaters.

Tobey walked across the Mississippi River.

If you look closely, you can see where Tobey is pointing – this is where the water bubbling up by the rocks is the start of the Mississippi River!
We left the headwaters and stopped at the Mary Gibbs Visitor’s Center and then Tobey began his “official” ride!

I, on the other hand, wished him luck then rode back to the RV to load my bike and drive to Bemidji to meet him. I took time to smell the roses (well, flowers) along the way and see some of the sights along the trail we had ridden.

This was an old log sled used back in the late 1800s and early 1900s in the area and an old cabin.

 It wasn’t that hot out, but there were kids – and some adults – enjoying the water at one of the swim beaches on Lake Itasca.

It was the first time I have loaded my bike by myself, so I was a it nervous heading out to Bemidji. Then Tobey called me to let me know that the fellows who took our picture at the Headwaters hit a deer along the road he was on and warned me to be careful. I luckily didn’t see any deer – but did see two flocks of wild turkeys and one hawk. Fortunately, everything on the bike was done correctly, no wild animals were injured, and I arrived safely in time to see Tobey ride in about 5:30 this evening.

Tobey’s route had him on trails part of the way and roads part of the way. This was his first “Mississippi River” crossing on his ride. You have to look closely to actually see the river!

This is his route south – the MRT and Great River Road National Route.

Some of the shoulders were in terrible condition so he rode out on the road. Fortunately, there was little traffic.

In other areas the shoulder wasn’t as bad.

We met at the Paul Bunyan Park on Lake Irving in Bemidji. He was still smiling after his 38-mile ride today.

We took the customary tourist pictures in front of the Paul Bunyan and Babe (the Blue Ox) statues at the park.

After a stop at the grocery store we made our way to the Unitarian Church where we are spending the night. It was quiet and we appreciate the church’s hospitality! Tomorrow the weather is sketchy, so we are hoping it doesn’t rain. We'll go back to the park to unload the bike and Tobey will take off from there.

August 27, 2026 - Mystic Lake Casino, Prior Lake, Minnesota

This evening was the premiere prelude to Tobey’s bike ride – seeing Kansas and Deep Purple in concert! After dinner we walked from the campground up to the casino and our fourth-row center seats for the concert. It was AWESOME!!


The music was great and we enjoyed being so close. This theatre seats over 2000 people and while it wasn’t completely full – it was pretty close.

Kansas played first. I don’t know if I had ever heard an electric violin before, but my goodness, Joe Deninzon was awesome! They played for 90 minutes then an intermission before Tobey’s favorite, Deep Purple, took the stage.
Here comes Deep Purple!!

https://youtu.be/NzIk4e-sNgU

Needless to say, “Smoke on the Water” had everyone rocking. Deep Purple also played for 90+ minutes before calling it a night. Everyone one of the musicians was amazing and we heard lots of instrument solos.

Unfortunately, because of copyright laws, I can’t post any of the music I recorded, but trust me, both bands were amazing! We walked back to the RV and got to see part of the lunar eclipse. A fun way to end the night!

August 27, 2026 - Bloomington, MN to Prior Lake, MN

We headed over to the Mall of America this morning after making a stop to pick up a few things we forgot at home. The mall doesn't officially open until 10:00am, so we had breakfast and did some chores in the RV before walking over from the "oversized" vehicle lot about 9:30. This is not the fancy Mall sign with flags, but it was the north entrance and folks were going inside.

Inside the first thing we saw were these huge football helmets. This is a kind of tribute to the two Super Bowls that were in Minnesota - the last in 2018. If you don't know it, the Mall of America is built on land where the old Minnesota Vikings' football stadium stood - and that is only about 2 miles from our old house!

Of course, we think this is the best helmet there!

To say that the mall is large would be an understatement. There are 3-1/2 levels with food courts everywhere and more stores and entertainment shops than you can imagine. Nickelodeon has a HUGE amusement park inside the mall, too, with roller coasters, a water ride, Ferris wheel, and kiddie rides. Folks were waiting for them to open at 10:00 and kids were having a blast!

We also enjoyed seeing the HUGE Lego builds outside of their store. You certainly need patience to build those!

You could spend several days there and there is a hotel that actually opens to the mall. It is definitely a tourist attraction! If we had walked around all 3-1/2 levels we would have covered about 4-miles, but opted to head back to the RV after about 1-1/2 miles. We headed over to the Mystic Lake Casino campground and are spending the night here. We relaxed and are heading over to the casino after dinner to see Deep Purple and Kansas in concert. On the walk back we hope to see the lunar eclipse. We will let you know tomorrow!