Wabasha & Redwing, MN

Stunning morning overlooking the Mississippi River as the sun rises over the water. Wabasha is a beautiful area, pristine beauty, and the homes along the river are magnificent.

Terry Stroot ( my Warm Showers host) and John and Mary Ochsner who fed me brownies, ice cream and beer last night.  John is about 80 and is still bicycling. Mary knows better!

National Eagle Center, Wabasha

Today was kickback day only doing 30 miles. Weather was good, winds were light, and the scenery beautiful. Arrived in Redwing early in the afternoon and visited a confectionery store where I ate three ice cream cones, all different flavors, and would've eaten more if I'd had more time. Absolutely wonderful ice cream! Seems like while I'm riding I could eat anything I want, as much as I want, and I'm still losing weight like crazy.
Redwing is a beautiful city, with an old downtown, and you could see that there is pride in ownership.  Darwyn and Mary Tri are my hosts this evening...and very gracious hosts they are!  Had a wonderful dinner, great hamburgers, salad, and dessert!   I have to leave town before I eat them out of house and home.
Helped feed the livestock. My contribution was feeding a half pound miniature goat, while Darwyn fed the goats, the chickens, the cow, the dogs, and everything else. Darwin did not want to give me more than I can handle. One baby pygmy goat... that's about right!
Off to Wisconsin tomorrow.  Will continue north, and try getting in 60 or 70 miles.

ADM plant in Redwing, MN

This is where my host for tonight works. When I heard him talking on the radio trying to sort out difficulties, I thought... I love retirement!

Darwyn & Mary Tri

Baby pygmy goat has been rejected by it's mama. Must be fed every three hours and I get to do it at least once. Just cute as a bug!

Wabasha, MN

Had a great ride today!  Started out in La Crescent, climbed out of the valley into the bluffs above (killer climb) and had a beautiful panoramic view of the Mississippi Valley. Good winds from the south, good roads, and beautiful scenery made for a wonderful trip. After traveling about 10 miles, the route took me back down into the valley. Now that was a fun ride as I reached speeds of 38 mph... Could've gone faster but I thought if I were to hit a bump my panniers would fly in all directions! I felt like Mario Andretti on a bicycle! From there it was on to Nodine, Pickwick, Homer, and then Winona. From this point on the skies opened up... You really couldn't call it rain...it was more like standing under a waterfall. My rain gear held up marvelously and knowing that I would float as opposed to melt, I just kept trucking on.  The rain and I traveled on to Minneiska, Weaver, Kellogg, and ultimately arrived at Wabasha.  My Warm Showers host, Terry Stroot, noted that he had a tepee that he would allow people to use. The joke was on me as you can see from the picture below.  I can tell already I'm going to like Terry. He left his whole house unlocked for me but keeps his bicycle locked up and owns more kayaks than I do.  This is a man after my own heart! This was really a fun day.

Climbing killer hills again

 On the bluffs overlooking La Crescent, MN, and I found the land rich with apple orchards.

Looking down on the Mississippi River

Really cool peak outside the window of the restaurant in Winona. I wonder how many people climb to the top of that.

La Crescent, MN

Had a great day of bicycling and rode more than 50 miles...all of it along the Mississippi River Valley area. Unbelievable scenery, minimal headwinds, and nice roads made for good travel. I left Iowa and entered Minnesota today. I can look across the river and see Wisconsin. I left Harpers Ferry, Iowa, this morning and headed towards Lansing to New Albin where I then crossed into Minnesota. From there I went to Brownsville and I'm presently in La Crescent, Minnesota. Contacted the police department to find a place to camp and Officer Lori set me up at Veterans Park near the American Legion. I had a dinner of fried shrimp, french fries, and a cold beer. The sleeping bag will feel terrific tonight!




Sleeping at Veterans Park tonight.  They had an old Charlie model which I had someone take my picture in front of.

I would sit behind the copilot with my foot on the skid so I could be the first one out.

 Roll-on Mississippi, roll-on. Getting close to Minnesota.

My first bicyclist, Steve Chatteron

Harpers Ferry, IA

Had a great ride today to Harpers Ferry, Iowa. Got in my 40 miles and then I saw these cabins... I just couldn't help myself...they are so cool!  One of these in the Rockies and I would be in Heaven.  Should make it to Minnesota tomorrow.

Near Waukon Junction, Iowa

In honor of...

Rudolph Penzes, 84, was born in Hungary, survived WWII, escaped  during the Hungarian revolution in 1956, landing in Canada. He is a survivor and taught his children the importance of a solid education. It was, his daughter (Catherine Belaski) believes, one of his most important endeavors.
 Suffering dementia and struggling with cancer he is being guided through the final stages of this life by his daughter, Catherine. Mr. Penzes can only be honored by the knowledge that there are those who love him and care for his well-being. As an honor to him, his family, and his life, he will join our group of souls on this journey. These details of his life will be included with those of the veterans that I am carrying on this ride, and he will join us in spirit as we make our way to the West Coast.  Mr. Penzes, during your lucid moments I hope that you might be able to enjoy the details of this blog and be a part of this journey both in knowledge and spirit.  Move over troops, make room for Rudolph Penzes.

Elkader, IA

Traveled from Dyersville, Iowa, to Elkader, Iowa, a distance of approximately 40 miles. The countryside was beautiful; it is a recognized scenic Highway, and while the wind was brisk and the hills steep, one could not help but be captivated by the beauty of the scenery.  Upon arriving in Elkader I found a wonderful little coffee shop where I had lunch. I immediately started meeting folks so gracious and so hospitable that it was hard not to fall in love with this city of about 1400.  I called the RV Campground because I'd heard that they had cabins for rent. Turned out that it was the mayor whom I reached, and while he didn't have cabins available he turned me on to Julie Carlisle-Kane who is the proprietor of the Elkader  JailHouse Inn...the old jail that has been turned into a bed-and-breakfast!  Julie didn't have any available openings either but being the sweetie she was she vowed to make room for me somehow, somewhere in her establishment. She and her husband, Tim Kane, were so gracious and kind.

Julie, Tim, & Howard

 

Julie invited me to go mushroom hunting where she collected morels and I collected ticks. After showering, she invited me to join them for a fabulous dinner with friends, and we had a wonderful time talking about our various exploits. It was a wonderful evening and so fun to make some great new friends! Their place is amazing...an old jail converted into a bed-and-breakfast with jail cells and all!  When visiting Elkader this is a must-see stop and great place to stay...so now on this trip I can truly say I've spent the night in jail. My heartfelt thanks to the Kane family for their gracious hospitality, kindness, and great stories!

(note: the Kanes would not accept payment for my stay with them.)

My mushroom bag failed to runneth over...

 Julie collected morels; 

I collected ticks!

Crime: failed to collect morels

Pam Reinig, editor, Clayton Co. Register, & Dana Richard

Earlier in the day a very nice lady that I met at the coffee shop gave my name to the local newspaper who in turn made contact with me and conducted an interview. The editor, Pam, is not only a writer for the paper but a minister as well. We had a great discussion, talked about all of the various sites seen, and wonderful people that I had met along the way. We also discussed how much I had enjoyed and been changed by the exploits of this bicycle trip.

 Churches in this part of the country are beautiful as can be seen by this example in Petersburg, Iowa... a small town that I passed through on the way to Elkader.

Dyersville, IA

When inquiring about a place to pitch my tent while in Cascade, Iowa, the town I hit before Dyersville, I was directed to the American Legion Park.    That evening a police officer came by to check on me to be certain that I had everything that I needed. The next morning, Officer Fred Heim came by to see how my night had gone.  I was well cared for.  Thanks to Fred I was able to avoid a closed road that he brought to my attention. I altered my path and was able to get to Dyersville without having to retrace my steps.  During the ride the wind was terrible, the traffic pretty heavy but considerate in sharing the road, and the scenery beautiful.

 Toyoko and Mary were two incredibly interesting ladies that I met at a Dyersville, Iowa, restaurant. They were sisters-in-law. Toyoko, nearly 90, was dying to meet somebody who had lived in Japan...and there I was through circumstance. Mary, on the other hand, had a look of hurt in her eyes upon seeing me.
First Toyoko: she had married an American that she met while still living in Japan. They had a wonderful marriage, had traveled all around the world and now reside in Iowa, albeit, her husband lives in a rest home as he struggles with the terminal stages of a brain tumor. When she found that I had lived in Japan she wanted to talk all about her childhood home. For me that was a real treat because living in Japan was one of my greatest childhood memories.  We spoke of her country, Mount Fuji, the quality of rice and how it can't be matched by any other rice in the world, and the beauty of the country, as well as the customs. For me it was a joy to speak about Japan, a country that possesses, for me, some of my fondest memories.
Mary, who had first caught my attention with that look of sadness, softened as our conversation progressed. That look I had seen years ago when visiting a friend's mother... a friend who had lost his life at far too young an age. While pleased with my visit, it brought up a mixture of emotions as a result of her son's death.  That same look was on Mary's face.  As it turns out, she had a wonderful son in whom she had great pride and he, Daniel, had been an Olympic caliber bicyclist.  In the early 1990s he was killed by a careless motorist, one with a terrible driving record, and Mary has never fully recovered from his loss. Seeing me, a bicyclist, brought back those painful memories. Through the mysteries of circumstance we were thrown together.  I believe that our discussions were good for all of us. Toyoko was able to revisit her beloved Japan, Mary was able to talk about her son whom she loved so much, and I in turn became ever more committed to the idea of a safe system of trails that would cross our country for all to enjoy and where bicyclists, hikers, and motorists can be free of the impediment of one another's activities. This, I believe, would be a worthy cause of one's endeavors and one to which I will commit. I find it strange, one of God's mysteries, how people can be thrown together and through their communion can deal with issues in their life. God works in mysterious ways.

 The discussions with Toyoko and Mary considerably delayed my departure and as a result I decided, in spite of limited miles today, to check into a hotel.  When explaining the nature of my trip, the Comfort Inn offered me such an incredibly and ridiculously low price, that I just couldn't resist. While it had been overcast and horribly windy, it did not look like rain was imminent. One hour after checking into the Comfort Inn, the skies opened up and poured forth. It was a RAIN of biblical proportions! Thank heavens I wasn't out in it. Lucky break?

Dyersville, Iowa, was the movie site of "Field of Dreams."  It is here that you can visit the original baseball diamond carved into the field where the movie was filmed. There are no organized activities on the field so you can bring your baseball equipment and set up an impromptu game...it's free admission, open daily from April to November and available to all.

Xavier Basilica is a beautiful example of true medieval Gothic architecture in the Midwest.  It's  graceful lines are reminiscent of some of the most outstanding Gothic cathedrals in Europe.  Located in Dyersville, Iowa, it is a beautiful, breathtaking landmark.

As a kid I used to love to go to confession...so liberating being free of sin! Unfortunately the effects rarely lasted more than 5 to 10 minutes...I was as prone to sin as I was addicted to mischievousness.  Perhaps if my confessionals had been as beautiful as these, sinlessness might've had a better hold on me.