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At Fergus Falls I had my first Mexican meal since Falls City, WA. After many days of burgers, pizzas, my own cooking (soups, noodles, canned sardines or nut spread on muffins), whatever veggies I could find in local stores (usually carrots and cherry tomatoes which were easy to carry), and junk food from gas stations, this was really a treat.
Out of Fergus Falls, I was soon on the Central Lakes State Trail. This was nicely maintained and paved. It passes many lakes, most of them small without names. Some leaves on the trail side had turned into their fall colors. I was caught by a shower. My hands and feet were very cold. I had to find a store (Dollar General) to get an extra pair of gloves and socks to put over what I already had. I used them many times later on the trip in the morning when temperature was below 50s F. I didn’t anticipate the fall temperature would come so early.
MN was greener than ND. I didn’t see brown ranch that were common in ND and MT. The towns I passed (Dalton, Ashby, Evansville, Brandon, Garfield, Osakis) were closer to each other. This could be because I was on a rail trail and the towns were established for the railroad business. But many towns along the past railroad (now PTCT) in East WA didn’t survive. You know you’re out of the heart of the farmland when you see fitness centers.
At Sauk Centre, I had my first Chinese meal on the trip in Four Seas Buffet. I usually avoid Chinese buffet because of their low quality. This time, the food tasted good.
Chidong Zhang's WA2MA Bike Trip 