Anderson and Johnson Farms 2009 - The Inaugural Season

Sure, this posting should have been listed before the Anderson and Johnson Farms 2010 story, but I didn't have the time to write year one until now.  Anyway, who cares!

As I wrote in the other story, Anderson and Johnson Farms began in 2009 with the business partnership of Dave Anderson and Mark Johnson.  Yes we are Americans with Scandahoovian roots.  Actually the partnership began way back in the 70's in St. Paul Minnesota - the city of our childhood.  Dave knew from the start that farming was the life for him. Now he's living the dream!  We played a lot of hockey together in the old days.  Ange still pulls hamstrings whenever he exerts too much energy. Always did so as a hockey goalie.  "Would have stopped that point blank slap shot had it not been for the pulled hamstring just before the shot".

Gumper!

With Dave's knowledge of farming and his vast store of machinery, we headed over to Parkers  Prairie in late May - happy birthday Annie!  Spring rains and my China trip delayed the planting.  Since this soil is a mixture of sandy loam and sand, we decided to no-till plant our first year in hopes of maintaining most of the  soil moisture.  Dave's neighbor Jerry loaned us his White  4X4 and no till planter  - thanks Jerry!  Now off to PP. 

White 4 X 4 diesel with no-till planter

The weather was perfect and we planted like crazy.  The beans in Dave's '53 Chevy grain truck were transferred into the no till planter - and off we'd go.  Spring weather is wonderful and the long daylight sure is nice! Quite a bit different from the cold, wet and dark fall we'd soon experience.

No the beans aren't already growing, those are weeds!

During the planting there is always running around to do. Go to town for fuel, parts, pizza and hydraulic fluid.  Keep the planter full and moving and, when Dave wasn't looking, run into the house for pie and coffee with Jim and Dee!  Of course I also had to scout the fields for varmints on my 200X using my trusty Ruger 10-22 . http://www.ruger.com   Farming is great!

Sweet Ride!

Eventually we had all five fields (about 200 acres total) planted and we headed back to Dave and Ann's farm and prayed for rain.  The rains came and so did the weeds.  Man did the weeds come fast and furious!!  We had a mishap on the first spray which didn't hurt the weeds. The mixture of glyphosate (Roundup) and other goodies wasn't right.  We lost valuable time arguing with the folks who applied the mixture.  Eventually we got it sorted out and resprayed.  We survived but our yield suffered.


Harvest 2009

Frustration and terror marked the harvest.  While transporting combines I ended up ramming the 20 ft bean head into a bridge guardrail as I was trying to avoid a moron who decided to force his way around Dave (on the 403) and me (on the 503).  God protected us though as the accident could have been much worse. Dave and Ann handled the situation with much grace and character.  I couldn't ask for a better business partner and friend. Please, please, please, give farmers lots of room on the road.

Start Seeing Farmers!

The weather turned nasty with plenty of rain and snow.  The beans were covered in both and all we could do was wait and pray.  I woke up many times wondering if we'd lose everything. Sure we had insurance, but what does that look like??  Man, was I worried.

Enough to make a grown man cry! 

God was merciful and the rains stopped and the snow melted. I appreciate Jim's continuous encouragement that this is farming and the weather will change.  It eventually changed and we started harvesting our soy beans in November. I deer hunted only 2 hours in '09.

Now it was late November with limited daylight.  We had to wait in the morning for the dew to burn off or the combine would plug.  Same in the evening - you could harvest only until the dew formed.  We kept on keeping on and finally got a few good days.

IH 403 harvesting beans and making money!

All was going well until we hit the north portion of the west field. Twenty acres of our beans were waterlogged and unable to harvest. We contacted our insurance company and they couldn't send their inspector for a week!  We took a sample of the beans to the elevator and were told the beans were poison and they wouldn't take them.  More heartache. We couldn't wait for the inspector since Dave's crops were still in the field. We left the field in disgust and moved to the north field.

Stress, Fatigue, Misery and Frustration.

The north field is bordered by a dirt road, the farmstead, the neighbor's turkey barns and the railroad.  The railroad adds a historic touch to the farm. During the depression, the hobos knew they could always get a meal along with encouragement and the Word of God from Mrs, Smith.  My grandpa Johnson used to work for Great Northern Railway.  Trains are cool!

Train, train, take me on out of this town, oh train, train.........

Double teaming the Ford

After a lot of hard work and help from Rad, Ann, Jim and Dee we finally got the crops out of the field (except for the 20 acres of ruined beans) and into the elevator.

This little piggy went to market............

It was a great year and soon the pain and suffering  faded.  The insurance company eventually settled with us and the 20 acres of beans were tilled into the ground in the spring of 2010. Thanks for your help Fred!!

Gracias Dios!

Victory!

Anderson and Johnson Farms 2010

The partnership of Anderson and Johnson farms began in the spring of 2009.  We formed the partnership to farm the 200 acre Drown place in Parkers Prairie MN and be legit when Uncle Sam came knocking on the door.

Jim and Dee approached me a few years back as I was saving a '60 Sedan De Ville sinking into the earth of Otter Tail County.  I laughed at the idea, but revisited it when Dave suggested we farm it together.  Since Dave is a real farmer with years of experience, this might work out well.  We survived 2009 intact and decided to try again in 2010.

A sign?

Spring Planting 2010

Although we intended to rotate to wheat from soybeans, the price of wheat compared to the inputs forced us to plant beans for a second year.  It was the right choice and the beans flourished with the abundant spring and summer rains.  However the fires in Russia drove the wheat prices up and up and up.  Farming is full of surprises.

Beans with innoculant

We loaded up the Ford with Pioneer beans from Red River Marketing and began the 40 mile trek to PP.  Dave drove his IH 856 tractor towing the grain drill on the transport while I drove the IH 4366 with the chisel plow close behind.  Last year we no till planted the fields and didn't fair so well with the aggressive weeds - lamb's quarter and pig weed being the worst offenders.  Ann picked us up at PP and brought us back to their place for the remaining machinery. I took my truck and bought groceries in Alec. 

Digging with the 4366

Finally we got everything over to Parkers and began farming!  I ran the chisel plow tearing up weeds while Dave followed with the planter.  Eventually we ran out of  the Pioneer beans and Chad met us with the load of Gold Country beans.  The GC beans came in 80 lb bags which we unloaded into the Ford by hand so we could add the innoculant. What a pain.  We'll buy in bulk from now on.

Unloading grain drill from transport

Eventually all was planted and we started the migration back to Dave's farm. I strapped my Honda ATC 200X on the chisel plow and headed out. I arrived at Dave's while Ann and the kids were planting their garden.  I hopped on the 200X and headed back to Parkers via 30 miles of mostly dirt roads.  Ann and the kids thought I was nuts.  Well, maybe I am but the trip back on the ATC was a blast!!  I will do it again during the harvest.

Essential Farm Machinery

Once all the machinery was back at Dave's I headed home. We prayed for rain and our prayers were answered. Thanks God!!

Summer Expansion!

This farming operation could not have happened if it weren't for Dave's expertise and machinery - combines, tractors, diggers, grain drills and vast farming knowledge.  Thanks Buddy!!


We decided to keep our eyes open for low cost machinery to increase our slim profit margin.  While on the motorcycle trip in June, we spotted this sweet little Spra-Coupe in Reynolds ND at the Olson Farm. Daniel gave us a good deal on the used coupe - thanks Daniel! Now we need to haul it home and prep it for the 2011 season.  This little coupe will save us a bundle on application fees.

Anderson and Johnson Farm's first machinery purchase

Dave keeps his machinery in great mechanical condition.  However, it is machinery and therefore subject to the hand of Murphy.   Dave found a "junk" IH 503 full of useful parts for maintenance and upgrade.  We had a blast tearing into our 503.  Looks like a flock of crows got to it.

503 parts combine in the mist.  Pongo on guard

It is now September 21st and soon the harvest.  Stay tuned.

Harvest

October 14, 2010.....back in the office

I now sit at my desk (during lunch) and continue this story.  We finished the harvest last night - Wednesday October 13th!!!!  Let me start from the beginning.

Monday October 4th

On Monday, we finished the harvest of beans from Dave's rented land.  We enjoyed dry fall weather and success with the IH 403 and IH 503.  Dave, Rad and Ann worked the combines while I kept on trucking the grain into the Elbow Lake Elevator.  Once Dave's fields were completed, we headed to Parkers Prairie.  Dave drove the #503 while I took the Ford grain truck and my dad drove the new IH grain truck.  Thanks Dad!!!! 

The original Gear Daddy!

Ma and Dad Johnson came up to visit the boys and enjoy a day or two on the farm.  As we drove the grain trucks, mom followed in the perfectly clean Honday CRV through Grant County and into Otter Tail County along the hilly curvy hwy 135 past Inspiration Peak.  The CRV didn't stay clean for long.  Any way, we arrived at Jim and Dee's, parked the grain trucks and talked to Dee about their exciting barn overhaul project.  They are rebuilding an 1888 barn with a new concrete floor, new roof and new siding.  Most of the original structure will be reused and remain visible from the inside.  The 100+ year old dovetail joints are impressive.

 

1888 craftsmanship


Not long after we arrived at Jim and Dee's, Dave called from 8 miles out - stranded as the IH 503 lost it's water pump.  I jumped in the CRV, picked up Dave and we headed down Gravel Pit Road to scavenge the water pump from our parts combine.  We stopped in Melby for a $2.00 bottle of pop.  I think the folks in Melby saw us coming.  However there is a cool, 60's vintage Ford Falcon wagon sitting in a yard there.  Sure would be fun to throw Dave's old 460 Ford into the Falcon.

Leaky water pump

By the time time we arrived at the Anderson farm, the CRV was full of dirt and a few pop bottles. Thanks again mom and dad for the loaner.  We pulled off the H2O pump and I installed it on Tuesday morning while Dave met Titan Machinery to unload our new used IH 1460!  Wow, Anderson and Johnson Farms is a 20% shareholder in a combine!  +6 and a turbo to the cylinder index.  The other 80% is owned by a large farming operation in Ashby MN.  

1980 IH 1460 Turbo Diesel  

  
Tuesday October 5th. 

Once the 1460 was unloaded (thanks for the delivery Titan) and setup, we ran two combines each with 20 ft headers and filled the grain trucks like madmen.  The weather remained perfect and we continued to make tracks.  Gappa Oil made deliveries of gasoline and diesel fuel and kept us moving along. 

Ann arrived to take over the 503 and I resumed grain hauling into the Parkers Prairie elevator using both the Ford and the International grain trucks.  All was going well until I returned to see the 503 laying low in the middle of the 80 acre field. Smack dab in the middle!  The cab looked a little crunched and the 503 was listing to the left.  Soon I found out that the left side duals had fallen off due to sheared lug studs.  Ann was a little shaken up but OK. We thank God this didn't happen as Dave headed northbound through Parkers on Hwy 29!

One sick puppy!

    Above photo without the lug studs, photo below with the lug studs.  Sure happy they decided to stay on through town.  Many farmers since then have told us of similar experiences with wheels on their combines.

Strutting through Parkers without a care in the world

Wednesday October 6th

Dave continued to run the IH 1460 while Rad and I worked to raise the 503 out of the dirt and get the duals out from under the ladder.  Digging and blocking and jacking with a 20 ton bottle jack was the only way.  Slowly the 503 inched it's way up. 



Argh.......no lug studs on the planetary


I ran into town to see if Prairie Implement had a heavy duty portable jack to lift the 503.  Darcy from Prairie Implement came with his Massey Ferguson tractor and a PTO driven hoist. The hoist was no where near enough to lift the 503 from the ground, but Darcy provided much encouragement and patience as we raised the 503 enough for the Massey to pull the duals free from beneath the 503.  Thanks again Darcy!!!!  Soon darkness came and it was time for me to return to work in the cities.



New used planetary with 75% of the lug studs....go for it!!!



Thursday October 7th

Dave and Rad spent the day digging a trench alongside the 503 using a Bobcat from Dave's buddy.  Over night the 503 had slid a few inches. Not enough to fall off the wood blocks, but enough to cause a scare.  After another 12 hours of work,a new planetary gear drive was installed on the left side with a full complement of lug studs.  The duals were reinstalled and the 503 was driven out of its grave!!! Thanks to Dave, Rad and the Bobcat.  



503 back on the job!!



Friday October 8th.

Dave and Rad continued to harvest the north 26 acres and move to the west 40 acres.  The elevator in Parkers Prairie was full to capacity and they weren't taking any non contracted or cash beans - you got to be kidding me, this is harvest season !!! Another monkey wrench thrown into the works !!! 



Gotta love that 503!


Saturday October 9th.

Dave went back to the farm to combine enough to fill the Ford and International grain trucks. When full, he put Ford into a barn and covered the IH with its roll tarp.  Not much else he could do without a place to store or unload the grain. We continued to search for ways of selling the grain or storing it nearby.  Seems that all the storage in the Parkers Prairie area was full.  We found a few grain bins close by, but the owner was using the bins to store bikes.  What is a bushel of old bikes worth?

Sunday October 10th.

We hoped to arrange for use of a semi  truck and trailer from a guy at Dave's church but it didn't work out.  Maybe because we communicated by texting each other during Sunday School to determine if the truck was available.  Hmmmm...... 

Monday October 11th.

Not much happening. No storage, no large trucks and no help from the elevator in Parkers. We continued to pray.

Tuesday October 12th. 

God continued to answer our prayers  - using Jerry again!!  Jerry is the same guy who loaned us his White tractor back in 2009.  Now he was loaning us his semi truck and grain trailer!!!  Thanks Jerry!!!!!!



Jerry's Volvo



Dave and Rad headed over to Parkers driving Jerry's Volvo.  Once at Parkers, they ran both the combines and quickly filled the International and the semi  trailer.  Then off to the Elbow Lake elevator.  This elevator has plenty of capacity and gladly took our beans - at a very good price too!!!  The inner dual blew on the IH grain truck and Rad successfully limped it over to Dave's farm. Thanks for the heads up driving Rad!


Wednesday October 13th


I headed up to Parkers in hopes of dumping the beans still in the Ford grain truck at the sold out Parkers elevator.  I prayed, then called the elevator.  After much begging and pleading, they allowed us to dump the Ford...........and only the Ford.  I received this information while sitting in the Target parking lot in Rogers MN.  With this good news, I set the cruise control at 75 mph and  pointed the Escort to Parkers Prairie MN.  Even at 75 this little car with 200,000 miles gets 30+ mpg.  Not too bad.

Finally I arrived at the farm, ran over to the Ford, turned the key and got............nothing!  The key had been left on and the battery was dead!  Jim as always was a huge help. He took his deep cell battery out of his Lund and got the truck running. However it ran extremely rough, so off to NAPA for points and a condenser!  



Ford Grain Truck being filled by the 503



Wow, were the folks in Parkers going to change their mind about our delivery of 400 bushels in the Ford?  I was starting to get a bit nervous.  Anyway, back at the farm, Jim installed the points/condenser and using his knowledge and Snap-On timing kit, set the point gap, the dwell and the timing.  Thanks Jim!!!!!!!  Then Jim and I jumped into the Ford and headed to Parkers. 

After acquiring the gross weight and receiving the weigh ticket, we headed to the large receiver in the cement pad where you dump the grain. No one there!!  More stress. I left the truck on the pad and headed into the office - praying!  The folks inside were as nice as always.  Arvid walked me to the truck telling me about his recent elk hunt to Montana.  Shot one at 400 yds using a Winchester 300 WSSM.  We discussed ballistics a bit and I told Arvid I'd rather have a .300 Win Mag or a .300 Weatherby.  We successfully dumped the grain and got our ticket filled with a net of about 388 bushels at $11.59 a bushel. Enough to buy a few .300 Mags..........of course I didn't buy one. 



30 caliber, but not a 300 Winchester mag.  


We left the elevator happy as can be, stopped at Rick's Standard and filled the grain truck with fuel and bought all their pizzas.  We met Dave and Rad at the farm, wolfed down the pizzas and started to harvest.  We needed to fill the semi and the Ford.  Again God provided just enough space in the two trucks to finish the harvest!  That night we dropped the full grain trucks at Dave and Ann's and I returned home.



Beans!


On Thursday Dave brought the loads into Elbow Lake.  We kept about 350 bushels in Dave's grain bin and sold them for March '11 delivery.



Almost done!


Summary of 2010


2010 was a good year for us.  The weather was perfect with timely rains during the season and none during the harvest.  Although we prepped the combines early in the year, we experienced mechanical problems as you'd expect with any mechanical device 40 years old (in fact we wished our bodies still worked as good as these combines). However the parts 503 really worked about great and saved us a pile of money.



Cool photo!


Next year we intend to spray the fields ourselves and save that hefty application fee. The man we hire from Henning MN does an excellent job, but if we can save a few thousand dollars by spraying the fields ourselves, then let's give it a go.  


We didn't expect to be stuck with 60+ acres of beans and nowhere to sell them.  Although we eventually sold all the beans, we must be aware that future crop storage may be required. Do we buy some used grain bins? Rent space somewhere? Not sure. 

Thanks God for the good harvest, great landlords, great business partner, family support and for keeping us safe.  At this time we expect to plant wheat in 2011.



1460 on duty


     

Cut and Burn Saturday

My brothers and daughters deer hunt at my father in law Paul's property near Garfield MN.  Grandpa allows us total access to his 46 acres in the rifle zone!

We've each shot a few deer there (Dave, you were the first). This is where my daughter Anne shot her first deer......and her second deer........this year how many Anne?  Both bucks were dropped with a Winchester model 88 in .243.  Sweet little lever action.  I will write another article about a few of my guns at another time.

Dave

Anyway, the boys and I promised Paul we'd help out at his cabin. We finally picked September 11th as the day to get the work done.  Bittersweet as we each thought of those who died on this day in 2001.  The work consisted of loping down one complete Boxelder, a large limb off a second Boxelder (both trees threatened to wipe out the pole barn roof) and remove two stumps in front of the cabin.

Axe murderer?

Kayla's good friend Conner tackled the stumps while the old men cut down the trees.  Kayla and her cousin Sam made a fire (the correct way using gasoline) to burn all the sticks and limbs these Boxelders were to produce.  With a fire raging and chainsaws screaming we starting cutting away.  We were full of energy due to loading up on coffee and donuts in Clearwater. Conner drank a gallon of some yellow pop - Dew or Sprite.

Cousins

The large limb came down quickly and was cut into a burn pile and a log pile. Jin and his Farm Boss made light work of the project.

Hee Man!

My little old Homelite continues to hum along. I bought this from my brother in law Brock many years ago. Thanks Brock - it still works great! Conner was digging around that big stump and swinging an axe and a sledgehammer.  Go Conner go!

Push Conner!

Next the big tree, we looked at it, looked at the roof, talked about it, looked at the roof, looked at each other and burned brush. 

Da roof

We came back to the tree and hooked up a rope 15 feet off the ground. Looked at it some more, consulted Conner, talked about it...............finally Dave said let's go for it.  I grabbed Jin's Farm Boss and starting cutting about chest high on the tree while the others were pulling like mad. Dad must have been pulling and praying because the tree dropped exactly were we wanted it to go. Thanks for praying Dad!   Conner continued to work on the big stump now with a huge come along Jin bought for $3 at a garage sale. Conner cut his pinky and Dad pulled out a bandaid to patch him up.  Kayla was no where to be found as she was having too much fun on Paul's Polaris Sportsman!

Hold on Gramps!

Being naturally lazy I hopped on the Craftsman riding mower and cut the grass as the guys continued to burn brush and watch Conner work on the stump. The kid was tireless.  Eventually Dave gave him a hand hooking up the come along. They worked the come along while Conner pushed and chopped at the poor stump. 

Done!

Kayla was feeding the troops while we fought flies that were recently liberated from the outhouse. You are correct - yuck!

White man build big fire.....eat far away

Jin setup Dad with a Red Ryder to shoot at some cans.  Dad, have you ever taken gun safety??  Conner ate quick and with the added energy tore out the stump and slam dunked it into the fire! Nice work Conner!  Soon Jin produced his Ruger 10/22 and did some shooting,but his Black Lab Carmen and Dave's Springer named Ernie got in the way.  Choosing not to accidentally shoot the dogs, he put the gun away after Dad shot 10 or 20 rounds.

Hounds!

Soon the second stump, which was much smaller was pulled out by yours truly and it was time to go home.  Marilyn, who'd been quiet all day in the thorn bushes, asked us to haul all the dead plumb branches to the fire. The super hot fire made short work of the plumb branches. Man those thorn were intense. I thought of the crown of thorns on our Lord's head.  Thanks for going through with it for us Lord!

The original fire pit was covered in hot coals. We took water from Paul's new well and completely doused the fire.  The place looked like the Monticello Nuke plant on a cold day as steam poured out like crazy.

Dad with the well in blue and Marilyn tearing up the brush

With a trailer full of Boxelder logs, tools, and a neat old Schmidt can, we took off towards home. We drove past the farm to check on the Anderson and Johnson soybeans (future story). Then off to Marilyn's brother Steve's house to check on the sleepy Matthew and the alert Stephanie. We met their Norwegian exchange student and stopped at Geneo's for dinner. I ate a 1/2 broasted chicken and I felt like a two week old tick on a German Shepard. I burped from Long Prairie to Elk River. Conner thought I was gonna barf!  We dropper Conner off and got home about 10.

Road Trip!

What do you get when you take two middle aged guys, two good bikes and a few warm days in June? A recipe for adventure.

Born to be wild?

Eric and I took off from home on Friday June 16th and headed for breakfast at a little dive in Monticello.  An elderly couple sitting near us were very excited about our trip and wanted to know the route.  I think the husband wanted to come along.

After breakfast, we jumped on the bikes and headed to Cub for some cash.  Then off on Hwy 37 on our way to French Lake Auto Parts!!  If you're into junk yards, you need to put this place on your bucket list.  After a few hours in the 95ºF heat, we decided to continue the trip.  FLAP definitely needs a followup visit.  Check out their website.  http://www.frenchlakeautoparts.com/  We headed southbound on Hwy 15 en-route to Hwy 12 west.  Our first stop on Hwy 12 was the Twine Ball in Darwin.

Sure hope God has junk cars in heaven

Twine Ball

Farmer Francis A. Johnson started to wind spare twine found laying around his farm.  39 years later the twine ball became his obsession and eventually the largest twine ball in the world!  Leave it to farmers to revolutionize the world!  The gal who ran the interpretive center was totally fired up about the twine ball and knew everything about the ball.  I asked her is the Weird Al's song about the twine ball was offensive.  "Oh no young man, that song was a large help".  Behind the Yamaha Seca you'll see the Twine Ball enclosed in a glass gazebo. The place was locked even with an attendant in the building.  Guess they're afraid of the large cats hanging around the ball.

'81 Yamaha Seca by the Twine Ball

After twine ball overload, we hopped back on our bikes and headed towards Wilmar.  Barney Fife was waiting for us when we arrived, but we were following the speed limit and entered the D.Q. parking lot guilt free.  I slurped down a medium chocolate malt and Eric a strawberry malt.  Passing through Wilmar we drove through Murdock, Benson, Danvers and finally Ortonville and Big Stone Lake. 

Big Stone Lake

Western MN

Northbound along Hwy 7 was wonderful ride with great views of Big Stone Lake. We stopped at a rest stop and enjoyed a view of Big Stone Lake, Minnesota and South Dakota. Pontoon boats cruised along the lake and we talked to a guy with an Electra Glide.  A short nap we took off to Brown's Valley - a quiet little boarder town reminiscent of small towns in the deep south.  Then  north on Hwy 27 along Lake Traverse to Wheaton where we hopped on Hwy 75 north to Breckenridge and finally Morehead where we checked out Eric's college hangouts and dorm before Paradeso in Fargo for a Mexican Dinner and siesta. I was beat but we still had to ride 70 miles to Reynolds ND.  We jumped on Hwy 29 north, cranked the bikes up to 75-80 mph and headed to Reynolds where we were greeted by Eric's folks at midnight.

Deere Eater!

Olson North Dakota

Mrs. Olson prepared a wonderful breakfast as Mr. Olson showed me where the Red River crested during the large flood a few years ago. It's amazing how that small river had risen over 20 ft and nearly flooded their house. 

After breakfast we checked the farm which Daniel now operates.  Sugar beets being his main crop on the 1800 acre farm.  Daniel has a nice mix of farm machinery from a 1480 I.H. combine to a huge four week drive 12 wheeled I.H. tractor, large sprayer and other large tractors and a tractor/trailer for hauling the crops. Gotta trust a guys who drives red machinery.  Nice place Olson's!  After most of the rain passed, we climbed on the bikes and crossed the Red into East Grand Forks MN. 

Red River

We felt pretty tough with 450 miles of the trip complete. Pride comes before a fall and we fell hard after meeting two older gentlemen returning from a 7,000 mile bike trip to Alaska! These guys were decked out with tons of tools, camping equipment, food, rain gear, etc.  Probably had a few large caliber revolvers for bears needed an attitude adjustment.  They took off towards their home in Grand Rapids while we headed north on Hwy 220 to Hwy 11 east and Donaldson MN!

Olson Family Reynolds ND

 Head East Old Man

Donaldson was the official eastbound start on Hwy 11. 

Donaldson MN!

This area of Minnesota is wide open like North Dakota but the topography faded from flat fields to fields interspersed with swamps and scrub brush which eventually gave way to forest near Karlstad MN home of Mattracks (www.mattracks.com). These tracks can be retrofitted to your 4X4 pickup, Suburban, Hummer or 4 wheeler.  If I'm not mistaken, Mattracks was started by a father and son team and named after the son - Matt?

Christmas present mom?

Keeping our eyes peeled for moose we made to Greenbush without an problems.  While gassing up, we were given the thumbs up by guys who also wanted to ride.  In fact, we saw this everywhere we rode.  Only guys though. 

Greenbush!

Greenbush led to Warroad and Subway for lunch.  Wow, Christian brothers hockey sticks used to be made here (might still be unless the Chinese are making them for C.B.).  I drove through town thinking of all the High School Hockey tournament winners who came from this little town on the shores of Lake of The Woods.  Polaris in the background cranking out new sleds and four-wheelers.


We drove to the park/boat launch on L.O.W and relaxed as I tightened my overly stretched chain and worn out sprockets.  I had about two threads left on my chain adjusters. Too bad, no more burnouts or racing Eric  and his Star. Once everything was in order, we saddled up the bikes and headed for Baudette and more Lake of the Woods.

Chain tightening - shaft drive on next bike.

Baudette

Mr. Walleye in Baudette MN

We fueled up in Baudette in hopes of running along the Rainy River to International Falls.  Before we headed out we drove up to the Canadian border and thought we shoot over and see Canada, but the boarder patrol guys didn't appear to be in the mood to deal with a couple of screw offs so we backed down and took a few photos with Mr. Walleye, prior to shaking the dust of Baudette off our tires.

Canada over that bridge

Since it is Road Construction season in Minnesota, we took the required detour and ended up at Red Lake - there are no roads going east/west from Hwy 72.  We whined and complained to the kind lady at the gas station who told us many people were ticked due to the crazy detour without any signs.  We finally accepted the detour and headed through Kellihar and picked up Hwy 1 east. 

East Shore of Red Lake

It was a beautiful night as we zipped through Northome en route to Ely (still a long way off). Next stop for gas was in Effie.  Apparently Effie is home to Minnesota's longest running Rodeo.  Didn't seem like a rodeo town, but the guy working the gas station was very friendly and happy to jaw with us.  Man you could sure tell he wanted to get a bike and come with us.  FREEDOM!

Yahoo in Effie!

East of Effie we encountered some excellent riding on a very curvy section of Hwy 1. The guy at Effie told us to watch out for deer.  We did see a few but not close enough to plow into. 

More Effie

We were moving along fast enough that we wouldn't have known even if we hit one.  Soon we were filling up the bikes in Cook were I called home and found out everyone was in the basement as my town was under a tornado watch or warning or whatever Dave Dahl calls them now.


The police office in Cook gave us a short cut to Hwy 169 which ran near the casino on Vermilion.  We agreed if there were two hotel rooms for dirt cheap we were staying.  However no hotel rooms or cheap buffet so we forged ahead to Tower and got ripped off at the Tower Ripoff Restaurant. We wanted to eat at Sir. G's in Ely but knew it would be closed when we rolled in. After dinner, we took off the 30 miles to the cabin on Burntside Lake. We rolled in Russ and Loren's cabin at about midnight.  Both dead tired.

Sid and his Star Custom at the cabin

Sunday morning came quick after a night of rain. Off to Ely for breakfast at Britton's Cafe where we met Ragnar's dad who told us about Dragon's Tail in North Carolina.  He said that Dragon's Tail is a biker's paradise with mountain switchbacks and great riding.  Maybe someday we'll make the trip.  After breakfast we fueled up at Holiday in Ely and tore off down Hwy 1 on the way to Hwy 61 and Tettegouche State Park on Lake Superior.   

Lake Superior

Hwy 1 is a fantastic road that winds its way from Ely to Lake Superior at Illgen City. Never understood why it is called Illgen city as there is no city to be found.  Leaving Ely you pass the Ely Airport and ride the bridge over the Kawishiwi River.  A beautiful river that flows into Birch lake north of Babbit.  Heading southeast past the river you enter a section of forest with huge White and Red Pines. 




Kawishiwi River


Eventually the pines thin and you enter moose country near Isabella and Finland.  No moose spotted on this trip, but I have seen them before in this section.  Soon we crossed the Baptism River which flows through Tettegouche and into Lake Superior.  There's a restaurant along the Baptism River that has a neat hunting lodge look to it.  We've got it on the bucket list for another trip.  Eric, how about Hwy 61 northbound to Hwy 1 and backtrack to International Falls?

Restaurant to Eric's right. Baptism River

We stopped at Tettegouche for a rest and then on to Palisade Head which provides a fantastic view of Lake Superior and Shovel Point at Tettegouche.  A few rock climbers were ascending and descending the 300 ft shear cliffs down to the lake. 

Tettegouche Shovel Point in background

Palisade Head

We jawed with a man and his wife for awhile then headed to Silver Bay and through the two large tunnels along 61.  I remember Silver Cliff before the tunnel was build.  Back when I was 16 we took a bicycle trip from Hinckley (Camp Nathaniel!) to Judge C.R. Magney on our 10 speeds.  I can still remember riding along Silver Cliff in the rain with semi-trucks from Monson's in Duluth a few feet from our bikes.  Helmets?  You kiddin?  No bike helmets in those days and if you did wear a bike helmet you would have gotten beat up by your buddies for being a sissy.  Guess times have changed. Improved? 

Silver Cliff

Two Harbors

Of course we needed to stop and enjoy a couple of chocolate malts at the D.Q. Haven't been to a D.Q. since Wilmar.  After the D.Q. we went to the pier for a quick ore boat check. Non today. Since we didn't have our fishing poles we decided not to walk out on the breakwater.  If you haven't been to the breakwater in Two Harbors it's worth the trip.  We used to take the girls there when they were young. Wow, how time fly's. 

Hey Boo Boo

We took the scenic route along the north shore since I wanted to stop at Kendal's Fish Market. This place is the best if you like smoked fish from Lake Superior.  I usually buy the smoked Lake Trout or Whitefish.  Both excellent.  There's a small restaurant/bar attached to Kendall's. Looks good but haven't tried it. Cool Molly Hatchet poster in the men's room.

Ahh....smoked Laker

Before we arrived in Duluth we checked out the new boat launch a few miles from the Lester River. The launch/harbor is well build with a nice breakwater. Brothers, we gotta take dad's boat on Superior. Another bucket list item.

Safe harbor on Superior

We dodged some road construction in Duluth near the Lester River and cruised down London lane past all the nice mansions and of course Glensheen. If you haven't taken the Glensheen tour, you are missing out on an incredible home with breathtaking architecture and the aura of murder by the Congdon family.  The J.J. Hill mansion in St. Paul is also worth seeing. 

We took a long cut through Gary MN (low rent district compared to London Road) because I wanted to take a look at the boat launch on the St. Louis River (another bucket list item) for an eventual walleye fishing/camping trip.  Maybe this fall, but doubtful.  We got out of there fast and took Hwy 23 and split off to see Jay Cooke State Park. Another great ride through a curvy steep road. I showed Eric the suspension bridge over the St.Louis river.  We jumped on the bikes and drove through Carlton and then onto Hwy 35.

St. Louis River at Jay Cooke State Park

It didn't take us long to realize that everyone on Hwy 35 was trying to run us down. Even at 75-80 mph we were sitting ducks. We got off the highway at Mahtowa which is a bucket list item for me. Ever see the "Our Wurst is Best" signs for the grocery store in Mahtowa? I needed to check this place out. It wasn't what I had hoped for but it was still worth the stop.  These guys make fresh wurst there in a wide variety of flavors. I bough a dozen Cajun style bratwurst - forgot what Eric bought. We talked to a lady name Sam who left her henpecked husband in the car.  Another guy who wishes he was on a bike with us.

Mahtowa Wursts!

After a good meal at Mahtowa., we headed down Hwy 61 through all the small towns - Moose Lake, Willow River, Frostbite Falls, Sandstone and finally Hinckley were we eventually hit Hwy 23 westbound though Brook Park town. Then Hwy 107 to the town of Braham and finally to Cambridge and home via Hwy 65.

Back in the garage by the 200X

The trip was great and covered 1149 miles starting and ending in my garage. God gave us perfect weather, a great time together, no head on collisions with deer or moose. Only one major detour which worked out OK and tons of fun.  Sidney, Lake Superior circle route in 2011? New Road Glides????




Nice hair!  1149 miles of bugs