Day 28!

New Ulm, MN to Owatonna, MN - 74.4 miles, 5:17

It was another foggy morning when we left New Ulm. Fog may make it difficult to see the scenery, and it causes water to condense on my glasses (so it's also difficult to see the ROAD), but it makes for a cool, quiet ride. Now that we're in the humid Midwest, anything that reduces the heat is welcome.

When the fog burned off, it was still cloudy for awhile, and the landscape was much the same as we had seen in the last couple days. Minnesotans grow a lot of corn, and we've started seeing "sweet corn" stands by the side of the road. I SO want to have some! (Update: We had corn on the cob for dinner. It was REALLY good!) This morning we rode through the towns of North Mankato and Mankato. Some of it was very charming, but then we were on Madison Avenue. It has all the charm of Highway 99 in Hazel Dell or Lynnwood. If you're not familiar with those locations, think "strip mall heaven." It went on forever! Needless to say, I didn't take any pictures.

Janesville is one of the more charming small towns we passed through. There was an interesting old bank building that is now an antique store.

This Dairy Queen in Janesville is one of the older ones around, having been built in 1953. One of the women working there said that when that ice cream sign burns out, they'll have to replace it with the new Dairy Queen sign. She said she has someone who helps keep it in top shape. It'd be a shame to have to replace that great old sign.

Several Big Riders and friends were at the Dairy Queen. Nick, our mechanic, was there with his girlfriend Kim.

These hungry riders are Janet, Bob, Kathleen (from Kent), Barb, and Darrell.

Ed and Austin (both from California) also stopped by for some food.

After we left Janesville, we rode through more farmland.


Here's a shot of Loon Lake in Waseca. Ash was practicing his kiwi-eating skills.

If you click on the picture, you may be able to see the two white egrets in another one of the 10,000 lakes.

Yet another of Minnesota's 10,000 lakes.
Owatonna has a population of about 22,000, and compared to most of the towns we've stayed in, this seems like a big city.

Tonight we are camping at the Steele County fairgrounds in Owatonna, and it claims to be the home of the largest county fair in Minnesota. Fortunately, it's not fair time, or else the cows and pigs are far from where our tents are!

I had my second fall of this ride less than a block from the campsite. I zigged when I should've zagged and ran into Janet. We both went down. She got some "rug burns," and I got a nice bloody knee. It's going to make a very attractive scab.

No, there are no pictures of it.