Day 35. Battle Lake Rest Day

Yesterday wrapped up with a thunderous bang as we were pounded with thunderstorms and heavy rain throughout the night. I was awake forever. The bright glow of lightening through the tent walls is truly remarkable.

At 6:30 we woke to yet more rain. After consideration we decided we were taking a rest day. It is Sabbath and our 27th wedding anniversary (on June 27th). We lay down again and did not wake until 1:38 pm. We were exhausted. The rain stopped, the sun came out, and the temperatures were cool as we gathered up our snacky lunch and sat by the lake. There was a Walleye fishing tournament this morning and we watched as a lake full of fishing boats waited their turn to get pulled from the water onto their trailers. One fellow took it on himself to help everyone else out. He seemed to enjoy guiding the trailers into the water and hooking the boats to the trailers.



Battle Lake

This lake and town gets its name from a 1795 winter battle between the Minnesota Sioux and the Chippewas (a band of Pillagers as they were locally known by the French traders). There was a Chippewas who was intent on fighting the Sioux. They tracked down the Sioux as they were moving camp and mistakenly thought they were fleeing so joined in the chase. Three lead warriors chased them right into a large lodge camp where preparations for a war party were underway. One was killed, a son of the leader. The others ran back with a warning to the smaller 30 warrior Chippewas party and they fell back to a position they could defend knowing they were fighting to the death. The leader and his three sons ultimately were the only ones to stand the ground and they lost their lives but not before making a good account dispatching far more Sioux than their 3 lives. Battle Lake is named for this, a battle among the natives.

The Lake Regions

Here in Otter Tail county there are more than 1300 lakes. During this hot muggy weather the lakes seem like lakes from other areas. They even have snapping turtles. The setting is pleasant; clear water lakes surrounded by deciduous trees and grasses. It is good to remember that winter here really sets this place apart. Heavy snows, frigid temperatures, hard frozen lakes, and adaptable people who set up virtual cities on the lakes to ice fish. Some of these shelters are moved onto land to locations that serve as summer cabins.

We are supposed to have a nice tailwind tomorrow. We will see. The winds were very strong today. It would have been tough to ride against. We have observed that the panniers on our bikes catch the wind and either improve our speed in the case of a tail wind or really work against us in the case of a headwind.

Looking at our maps, it appears we have about 2200 miles yet. We are not quite halfway to completing the 4322 mile route then. This week we completed 405 miles for a total of 1851.5 miles in 35 days. We have taken a couple of shorter alternate routes that should shorten the trip some.

A Conversation

Two bicyclists approach each other on the high plains road. A road running east to west. The westbound rider has a tailwind the eastbound a headwind. The eastbound rider looks at the westbound rider thrusts his fist in the air with a loud Arrrghhh!!. The westbound rider sits up, thrusts both arms into the air and yells Yeah!!!! They pass.

Cheers from the road...

~Pete