After a lovely day eating cheese curds, visiting Pipestone National Monument, and stopping by the World's Only Corn Palace, I drove on to my campground for the night: Left Tailrace.

It's an Army Corps of Engineers-created campground, located very close to the Big Bend Hydroelectric Dam and its reservoir, Lake Sharpe.

It was only at some point after I hastily reserved my campsite that I learned of the area's sad history...

I bid farewell to the Twin Cities fairly early in the morning.

The next day's plan was to travel from the banks of the Mississippi River in St. Paul to the Missouri in South Dakota, traversing terrain between two of America's most important rivers.

In a few ways, it would be a jumping off point for me for the rest of the trip. After this, I had no plans to stay with friends, and in fact, virtually no plans to sleep anywhere other than my tent.

But, I did still get to bump into an old pal, if you know what I mean...

By the time I reached St. Paul, I had driven quite a ways. Probably over 24 hrs of solo driving (spread across several days), and I had added about 1,500 mi to my odometer, through stops, detours, and unavoidable hours on the interstate.

This experience gives me the ability to say the following: Of everywhere I have driven in my life, by far, the friendliest and most courteous drivers were those in Saint Paul, Minnesota. A much needed respite after... other cities.

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The Ford Bridge: One of Many Between Minneapolis & St. Paul

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Exif Data For The Selected Image
Camera Make	OLYMPUS CORPORATION
Camera Model	E-M5MarkIII
Lens Model	OLYMPUS M.17mm F1.8
Focal Length	17mm
Aperture	ƒ/4
Exposure Time	1/640s
ISO	200

My milkshake was unfinished.

The lumps wouldn't make it up my straw.

Night had long since fallen by the time I made it to the Highland Ridge Campground.

I picked the spot (near the Eau Galle Lake in Wisconsin) because it had some nearby hiking trails, a lake, and it seemed good for birding. And, it had a few nice, tent-specific campsites. And, of course, it was well-situated for my next and final urban friend visit.

I accidentally circled the campground road twice, struggling to make out the signage specifically for the tent sites which were genuinely hard to see from the road, but easily making out the signs for each irrelevant (to me) car site.

After visiting the Indiana Dunes, my next stops were Milwaukee and Chicago. In that order.

Nonsense? Yes.

Regrettable? No.

From the famous dunes of Indiana, I drove direct to Milwaukee, where I would eat, drink, be merry, and hear some killer live music...

Good lord.

I may have finally become the sort of person who writes self-reflections and resolutions in the hopes of having a more productive, well-adjusted year in which I achieve goals. Yuck!

Unfortunately, I'm guilty as charged. So without further ado, here is... my reflection.