Day 28 & 29

Day 28
69 Miles
I woke and showered. I slept wonderfully. I had a smile on my face. I packed up. Marta and I ate breakfast. She loaded me up with snacks and drinks. She gave me a new water bottle. Sweet! I hugged her and thanked her again. I told Jesse goodbye and headed on my way. Really glad I got to meet such awesome people. They really lightened my spirits.
I texted Kelly letting her know I was just going to move on. I have been a little behind schedule. I had a prospective place to stay in Fargo. I wanted make it there sooner rather than later.
Getting out of Minneapolis proved easier than getting in. I ditched my Adventure Cycling maps for Google maps bike routes out of the city. The route, although way over explained (as Google does), was quite enjoyable. It was mostly bike trails.
I had meant to find a bike shop on my way out of the city, but didn't want to get lost again. I needed a back tire. The tread was completely worn. The Kevlar was showing. I NEEDED a new tire. I found a really nice bike shop 35 or so miles out of the city. I bought an Armadillo tire made by Specialized. I put it on on the lawn behind a Walmart. I ate lunch. I headed back out. The tire made such a difference. Every pedal stroke was more efficient.
The scenery was gorgeous. Lakes were everywhere. As the day progressed I entered the very Swedish portion of Minnesota. The towns all had sister towns in Sweden. They welcomed me with signs saying Välkommen. I felt close to my heritage.
It was late evening when I arrived at the Wild River State Park. I paid for two days. I need a day to just relax. Maybe I was working myself too hard and that was why I couldn't seem to go on.
I set up camp. My flashlight and bike light both had gotten turned on in my panniers. Both had dead batteries. Then my phone crashed. I lost everything. I lost all my most recent numbers. I lost almost a week's worth of pictures. And I lost words of encouragement from loved ones. I was less than happy.
I tried to go to sleep.
There were warnings all over the park about bears and skunks. They said to put your food in your car... yeah great! I could do that! It was too dark to hang my gear. I packed everything up as tight as I could and went to sleep. Sleep did not come, but the animals did. I saw what I thought was a raccoon outside my tent at the last of the day's light. Noises all night kept me up as I heard creatures try to get into my gear. I heard breathing, loud breathing. I was sure there was a bear. I heard them manage to get something out of one my less secure panniers. I was terrified. I was up all night. I had no light, no phone, and no idea what to do. I took Benadryl, Sometime before sunset I fell asleep.

Day 29
Day Off

I only slept a little bit before the sun was up. I looked out my tent. My gear seemed relatively intact. I went back to sleep. I showered early in the day. I spent the day sleeping and trying to restore my phone  to its previous settings. The animals had only gotten into my electronics and not done any damage. I found tracks where my gear had been pulled out. Deer tracks! I had been freaked out all night about a deer! Sigh.
I repacked all my gear. I used more ziplock bags. I hung my food and toiletries in a tree. I made a bear piñata of sorts. I made a few adjustments on the bike. I wanted to head out early the next morning. I went to bed early.