North Branch, MN

It was a nice bicycle ride starting out from Stillwater this morning.  Rather than following the Adventure Cycling Route,  I chose to follow Highway 95.    There were a number of hills, the wind was a challenge, but the scenery was pretty and the roads were good. Small towns such as Arcola, Marine on St. Croix, Palmdale, and Almefind were pretty nondescript but pleasant.  I did find Taylor Falls to be quaint and popular with tourists. It is here that one can cross the river into Wisconsin but I chose to stay on the Minnesota side. The rock formations along the river were beautiful; the river was really extraordinary, and quite beautiful. Taylor Falls sits down in the valley and the bicycle ride leading to the town was exhilarating as I roared down at speeds approaching 30 mph. Climbing out was quite another experience. There my speeds were agonizingly slow with a long hard pull back out of the valley, where upon reaching the flatlands above the wind again became a companion...the wrong direction of course! From this point on I will be heading more to the west as opposed to the north. My race to the coast now once again begins.

Taylor Falls Region

About 1.1 billion years ago a great Rift Valley formed across the North American continent from the Lake Superior region southwest to Kansas.  As this Rift Valley opened, lava flowed into it, accumulating to a thickness of up to 20 km in the Lake Superior region. These dark gray basalt rocks that formed the St. Croix River Gorge are made from these rift lava flows. What is depicted in this picture is a deep valley with the river flowing through it. Tannin colored, I could watch the fish jumping and churning as I looked down upon the river. Incredible!