Day 36 Devil's Lake to Turtle River State Park, ND

Day 36 Devil's Lake to Turtle River State Park, ND
72 Miles
1610 total miles

Today was another fine day for riding, a little warmer than the day before, with some more beautiful scenery here in the northeast part of the state. There are more trees here and large, but shallow, lakes on the prairie, which are home to countless migratory nesting birds. The noisy terns frequently join me as I pass through their areas, peeping and squawking along with me for a 1/2 mile or more before relenting to their nests. Lots of canvasbacks, red-heads and other ducks, white pelicans , geese and countless other waterfowl find there summer homes here. A sad moment occurred when I came across a recently killed raptor, a red-tailed hawk, who flew too close to the highway and was left dead beside the road. My heart goes out to the bird-people.

I finished the day at the mosquito infested Turtle River State Park. As usual, the RV people get the premium camp spots-- on higher ground,away from the mosquitoes and the tenters are relegated to the lower swampy areas. While at the campsite, I met an interesting lady, Marya Hart, who is a composer and songwriter.
She and her collaborator Laurie Flanagan have recently staged their new musical "20 Days to find a Wife" a play about a lighthouse keeper in door county who is given 20 days, by his boss, to find a wife or to lose his job which played at the History Theatre in Minneapolis. Thanks for the wine and have a great trip west, Marya. May you find new inspiration for music along the way.