Northfield to Frontenac

Fifty-two beautiful miles today.  Leaving Northfield, pop. 20,000, was much easier than getting out of St. Paul.  We are immediately on nice country roads, stopping to see some of the native fauna.

The highlight of the day was a twenty mile rail trail between Cannon Falls and Red Wing, Minnesota.  It was well maintained, shady, and had lovely views of the Cannon River, as well as flooding from recent rains evident on the other side.  One rider from our group came through much later in the day and had to make his way through about 150 feet of flooded trail! He and his bike were fine.

Our first two stops were on college campuses, and each campus had a modern wind mill, as well as beautiful patches of restored native prairie grasses.  Tonight we are at a former Ursaline convent, now a retreat center, where we have a labyrinth in the back garden.