Camper Can't Stop Scratching Huge Welt After Bite From Tiny Bug - It Can't Be THAT Unpleasant - CycleBlaze

September 3, 2023

Camper Can't Stop Scratching Huge Welt After Bite From Tiny Bug

Sakatah Lake State Park

Today was a day of reckoning:  ME vs. 99-degrees of blistering heat.  I blinked first and the blistering heat was the winner of round one by virtue of me chickening out and escaping my motel room by 8:00 a.m.  

Before leaving town however, I stopped at the local Hi Vee pharmacy to see if they had one of those carousels of cheap sunglasses.  They did not.  With no desire to look elsewhere, I left town, squinting into the sun.

The Minnesota River from the St. Peter bridge
Heart 8 Comment 0

Like yesterday, after a mile long climb away from the river, I emerged into wide open farmland for the next five miles.  The next town was Cleveland, and the entire way I hoped that Cleveland wouldn't turn out to be another Klossner.  

I also had hopes that the town had created representations of the more famous Cleveland, Ohio, taking cues from New Ulm creating an illusion of Ulm, Germany.  I had visions of a fake Rock & Roll Hall of Fame, a Terminal Tower, a Cleveland Browns football stadium, acres of heavy industry, and a heavily polluted river.

Alas, Cleveland turned out to be a pretty nice small town.  I took some time at a park dedicated to veterans of foreign wars to drink water, smear sunscreen on my face, and play.

Looking back at St. Peter from the top of the hill.
Heart 3 Comment 0
Heart 4 Comment 0
Heart 2 Comment 0
Heart 5 Comment 1
Halûk OkurCareful! It may be loaded!...
Reply to this comment
1 year ago
Heart 4 Comment 0

When I turned south from Cleveland, it was the end of the long and straight road through soybean and corn fields.  There were many curves around small lakes.  Some ups and downs too.  Then came some bigger lakes.

While gawking at the lakes and the resorts that surround them, I missed a turn that took me three miles in the wrong direction.  Rather than backtrack, I looked at my detailed DeLorme map and found a gravel road to get me back on route.

Heart 4 Comment 3
Lednar De NallohThe most purple road I've ever seen.
Reply to this comment
1 year ago
Lednar De NallohTo Lednar De NallohMust be from that Minnesota 'purple rain'
Reply to this comment
1 year ago
Gregory GarceauTo Lednar De NallohI didn't notice the purpleness at the time, but now I see it. Yes, Prince's song is the only reasonable explanation I can think of for it.
Reply to this comment
1 year ago
Heart 5 Comment 0
These days, a resort seems to be a place to park your RV instead of a place with cabins and recreational activities and friendly hosts--at least around here.
Heart 2 Comment 0
By the time I took this picture, I was already well on my way in the wrong direction.
Heart 4 Comment 4
Rachael AndersonAt least it’s pretty!
Reply to this comment
1 year ago
Keith KleinHi,
One of my favorite spots in southern MN. Actually, the area south of Cleveland is quite nice in the summer, if you don’t mind the bugs.
Cheers,
Keith
Reply to this comment
1 year ago
Gregory GarceauTo Rachael AndersonYes, and it's entirely possible that my error resulted in nicer scenery than the intended route. At least, that's what I'd like to think.
Reply to this comment
1 year ago
Gregory GarceauTo Keith KleinYou're right. I really enjoyed today's scenery, but I think I could have enjoyed it so much more if it was about 10-degrees cooler.
Reply to this comment
1 year ago
Heart 7 Comment 0
There is nothing like gravel to jostle one's body and brain out of the sameness of road riding.
Heart 7 Comment 2
Jeff LeeIn an attempt to avoid the washboard, I would have been riding so far to the right that later I would be plucking weeds from my right shoe.
Reply to this comment
1 year ago
Gregory GarceauTo Jeff LeeThe picture is deceptive. I did ride far to the right, except when it got too sandy, in which case I took on the washboard or tried to stay in the narrow track in the middle of the road.
Reply to this comment
1 year ago

Back on route, I rode into the rising heat.  I stopped every couple miles for gulps of water, application of cherry Chapstick for my chapped lips, and spoonfuls of peanut butter for energy.  I was determined to win this battle with the heat.

It's not official, but I think this might be the smallest of Minnesota's 10,000 lakes.
Heart 8 Comment 0
If it wasn't so hot, I'd be tempted to ride down that minimally maintained road.
Heart 8 Comment 2
Jeff LeeAh, the "Minimum Maintenance Road".

So very, very tempting.
Reply to this comment
1 year ago
Gregory GarceauTo Jeff LeeJeff, had it been earlier in the day, I guarantee you I would have been all over that thing.
Reply to this comment
1 year ago
From here, I could feel the cooling effects of a breeze blowing off Lake Tetonka. I lingered.
Heart 3 Comment 0
The breeze off Upper Sakatah Lake was pretty nice too.
Heart 3 Comment 0

In the town of Waterville, I picked up some ice and a bottle of Minnesota wine.  I carried it three miles to tonight's campsite.  Yes, I made the conscious decision to camp.  Take THAT Mr. 99-degree blistering heat!

Ninety-nine degrees here can't be as bad as the time a buddy and I camped in the backcountry of Death Valley, where it was 110-degrees.  It was still 99-degrees at MIDNIGHT.  They say it's a dry heat, but it was still the sweatiest night of my life.

I made it to my campsite.  My chores included setting up the tent, chilling the wine on the bag of ice, washing my body with a bandana and cold water, changing out of my very stinky biking clothes and into my slightly less stinky off-bike clothing, and writing about my day in my notebook.

There were a few mosquitoes about, but I mostly ignored them.  That is, I ignored them until one of the SOBs stuck what must have been an abnormally long proboscis into my leg.

Sorry the photo is too blurry to show the huge itchy welt.
Heart 2 Comment 0

It was time to open the wine.  I had intended to write one of my in-depth wine tastings and a complete review.  Unfortunately, as soon as I decanted the nectar into my wine glass, a swarm of bees honed in.  Suddenly, mosquitoes were the least of my problems.  The bees didn't bother me though.  All they wanted was the wine.

Heart 4 Comment 0
It seems bees like wine better than I do. I even had to dig a couple of them right out of the wine with my peanut butter spoon.
Heart 2 Comment 5
Steve Miller/GrampiesWasps, not bees. They are generally nasty, agressive little buggers, but especially so when summer is drawing to a close. Hope you were not stung.
Reply to this comment
1 year ago
Gregory GarceauTo Steve Miller/GrampiesThanks for the correction. I should have known by its wasp-like figure. I think maybe the only reason I didn't get stung is that they were more interested in the wine than me. Plus, I did save a couple of their fellow wasps from drowning.
Reply to this comment
1 year ago
Bill ShaneyfeltMy wife nearly died from anaphylactic shock after a yellow jacket sting back in 1991.

They generally have their nests underground, and can number in the thousands in a single nest! This time of year can be really bad during picnics. Lots of kids get stung on the mouth drinking pop that a yellow jacket has gotten into.

Interesting factoid from my entomology back in '67... males do not sting, and they have longer, curved antennae... Impress your friends if you find one and handle it with impunity! (if you dare) Google searched, and you can see for yourself if interested:

https://solvepestproblems.oregonstate.edu/insects-spiders/yellowjackets-wasps

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eastern_yellowjacket
Reply to this comment
1 year ago
Gregory GarceauTo Bill ShaneyfeltA good friend of mine had to be transported to the emergency room after such a sting. He said he struggled back to his house and looked into the mirror and saw his head had blown up like a balloon. He dialed 911. Now he carries a medical kit in case something like that should happen again.
Reply to this comment
1 year ago
Bill ShaneyfeltYup. We were at the hospital within 20 minutes and she was barely coherent. Took allergy desensitization shots for it for about 15 years and only very slowly improved. My wife has carried an epipen ever since.
Reply to this comment
1 year ago

After that ordeal, all I can offer is an abbreviated review of Indian Island Winery's Itasca:

It was actually very good.  It had nice tannins and acidity, and hints of honey and bee excretions.

Interestingly, as soon as I finished the cup of wine and put the cork back into the bottle, the bees disappeared.

************

The final result of my standoff with the blistering heat is:  I WIN.  I stared the heat down and it backed off.  I kept cool by drenching my shirt and hat with cold water.  In the end, the temperature never got above 93-degrees.

I like my campsite's boulder.
Heart 7 Comment 0
Heart 0 Comment 2
Scott AndersonSo strange to have a place named Waterville in this state. Why here?
Reply to this comment
1 year ago
Gregory GarceauTo Scott AndersonYou got me scratching my head (and the huge welt on my leg) over that one!
Reply to this comment
1 year ago

Today's ride: 30 miles (48 km)
Total: 234 miles (377 km)

Rate this entry's writing Heart 12
Comment on this entry Comment 6
Scott AndersonCongratulations, tough guy!
Reply to this comment
1 year ago
Jeff Lee"Yes, I made the conscious decision to camp. Take THAT Mr. 99-degree blistering heat!"

Impressive.

I almost never make a conscious decision to camp - and if I had to do it when it's that hot I would have had a literal and figurative meltdown.
Reply to this comment
1 year ago
Mark BinghamYou beat the heat because you're such a cool dude!
Reply to this comment
1 year ago
Bob DistelbergI’ve heard bee excretions are the secret ingredient in all the best wines.
Reply to this comment
1 year ago
Gregory GarceauTo Mark BinghamI know! I tell people all the time about how cool I am. Thank you, Mark.
Reply to this comment
1 year ago
Gregory GarceauTo Bob DistelbergSo true, so true.
Reply to this comment
1 year ago