Riding after the storm

We had really spectacular thunder and lightning overnight.  The thunder just rolled on and on without break as the light in the sky flashed and flashed.  For us here we got less rain than some other nearby areas so the flood threat never materialized here.  We did get the light show.

And we got the break in the weather.  After several days of hot and sultry we today got just a nice summer day.

So bicycling broke out again.  The light wind was mostly west with a little north.  Most of my ride routes are predominately north or south so northwest wind usually means a ride to the north.  But it is August, a month when I usually lose access to the Fairgrounds.  Now is the time when the benches usually start to appear.  I decided to head over there, slightly south, to see what I could see.

Clearly something has been going on as I came across several spots which featured traffic furniture.
I was puzzled, being under the impression that there were not going to be any activities on the grounds.  The Fair has been cancelled and so has the big car shows.  Even the State Fair Criterium series (Thursday bicycle races) has been cancelled.

Well, not everything.

I guess it makes sense, they are having a drive through food court sort of deal later this month so I guess dinosaurs can also be driven past with appropriate social distancing.

I was also pleased to find that the Cattle Barn time and temperature display has at long last been restored to working condition.

See?  A nice summer day, 74 at 2:30.

Eventually I left the grounds and checked out one other usual staple which I had not previously visited this summer, the exotic flora block.

To get there I rode past the Como Avenue reconstruction at the end opposite of the end I had previously seen.  The street is torn up all the way to Hamline.

Today's rose is in a pretty spot in a city park, on the shores of Lake McCarron.

That's as far east as you can get and still be in Roseville.