Pacific Northwest Road Trip: DAY 2

Day 2 had us driving all the way through Minnesota and almost the entire way through North Dakota. We covered a total of 586 miles, almost all of it on I-94, my hubby was excited when the speed limit changed to 80 miles per hour for most of North Dakota.

I have to admit that on this leg of the journey there wasn’t much to see; in fact, the drive through North Dakota was much of it was very flat with nothing around for miles and miles! Good thing we decided to take an extended lunch in Fergus Falls, Minnesota or there would be nothing to write about for Day 2!

Three and a half hours northwest of Minneapolis is the city of Fergus Falls Minnesota, where we stopped at Delagoon Park. It has a campground, archery range, ball fields, soccer fields, disc golf, a BMX track, hiking trails and 169-acre Pebble Lake that has a maximum depth of 62 feet!

We decided to stretch our legs after many hours in the car by hiking on the parks Central Lakes Trail. This trail was established over an old railroad track; it spans 55 miles and runs through 10 different communities. This trail is also a part of the large North Country Trail which covers 4,800 miles and traverses through eight states from North Dakota to Vermont!

The portion of the trail that we did today was a 10-mile loop that encircled Pebble Lake, but we elected to only do 2 miles due to time constraints. The trail is well maintained, fully paved and very quiet. Sumac heavily lined much of the trail, and I imagine it would be beautiful when the leaves turn bright red in the autumn. Another plant that was growing bountifully along the trail was honeysuckle, and its wonderful scent filled the air as we hiked.

The trail was really quiet and there were so many bird songs to be heard, though to catch site of the birds was a tall order. I turned on my Merlin Bird ID app from Cornell Lab of Ornithology; which can identify birds by their song. It identified six different species of birds, four of which are new to me; the Common Yellowthroat, Northern Yellow Warbler, and the Gray Catbird. Unfortunately, because I didn’t actually see these birds I cannot count them on my birding life-list.

After our hike we had a picnic lunch at one of the empty campsites before continuing our drive to Dickinson, North Dakota where we will sleep for the night. Tomorrow, we head for the great state of Montana!