Day 42. Rest Day in Elkader

Finally, the sign we never saw!

We never saw a welcome to Minnesota sign either of the two times we entered the state. This was looking back from Iowa. Is there a message here. :)



What do you see?

This is our dinner setup at the camp location in the city park before we actually set camp up in Wabasha.

(1) It is warm, but I wear a coat. I was freezing. After expending high energy output all day, once I relax I find I get quite cool.

(2) Alicia's bike has a spare tire attached. I will shortly replace the old one. You can see almost a continuous ring of red showing from the inner layers of her rear tire now. The new one is a slick, so we will need to take more care in wet conditions. It should have less rolling resistance and be faster. Something Alicia does not need. She is loafing around too much already waiting for me. Ha! Alicia has since reported it is a harder ride. It does take more air pressure, so I'm not surprised.

(3) I am featuring a can of cashews. We will be having mashed potatoes and mac'n cheese.



Mystery Beasts

What are these. They are not large enough to be elk. Certainly not deer. Alicia thinks reindeer, but I thought their horns were more wacky. They are behind a high fence keeping them in. This was taken just south of Prescott, Wisconsin.



Waiting for a gaggle of Geese to mosey across the road in Stillwater



Yellow Finches at the Donn Olson Farm



A divide between the Mississippi and Hudson Bay drainages



A nice country Church



Whew! A break after our biggest week yet. 484 miles this week. 6 days of cycling without a break. Though several days were long, we consistently turned out nearly 80 miles a day. Our plan was 60. This also shows that we are still getting stronger which is a great sign and a relief at those times when our attitudes are flagging.

We have covered 2335.5 miles so far. We are solidly past half way. Calculations show we have 1775.5 to Bar Harbor. But we will almost certainly cut that shorter to Portland, Maine. We have managed to find a few shorter alternates as we have gone.

This morning I woke to rain at 7am, I went back to bed and it had cleared and dried when we woke this afternoon. The weather outlook is 75-85 degree days for the next several. No rain but plenty of humidity. Not sure about wind. After another 140 miles south, we head east into Illinois and Indiana on our 8th map section. Some of Indiana does not observe day light savings time so we will not be on Eastern time until Ohio. We will be close to Ohio by the end of the week. The cycling sounds like it will be easier than ever, but we'll see...

Tall Grasses

The grass can be so tall in this country. Back in Minnesota, rounding a corner with a tall, lush, grass choked stream to the right, there was a loud rustle. A white tail deer tried to leap away from the stream but could barely clear the grass. It bounded away jumping high to see over and clear the tall grasses, nearly disappearing in between. Awesome!

Flying with Friends


When on the bike trail on Donn Olsons alternative, zipping along at 16 miles per hour, a bird came in from the left and took up position about 6 feet in front of me. We flew together for many seconds, the bird flapping only enough to hold position. Finally, he pealed off to the right.

Later the same day on the same trail, a bumble bee swooped around the right side of my helmet and took up position in front of me for a second or two before swinging off. I do like bumble bees. He was a welcome, if momentary, companion.

Trains

When passing through North Dakota, we often paralleled the Great Northern train tracks on the hi-line (highway 2). As we approached one train, I gave a slow double fist pull and the train responded with a whoo, whoo. Nice! We did that a few times. That never failed to impress us.

Enjoy your 4th! God's Blessings to all!

~Pete