Two fine days

Yesterday was a very full day, and the Internet connection was poor, so I didn't try to post anything.  Our 66 mile route took us through lots of corn and soybean fields into New Ulm, a "big" city of 14000 with a strong German heritage.  A cousin from Minneapolis met me for a too brief visit, and we explored the town by car, a real luxury.

Today we rode about 75 miles to Faribault, mostly on bike trails, which is a welcome change after riding on interstate shoulders in Wyoming and South Dakota.  I haven't seen much of the town, but I did find an excellent Thai restaurant for my first spicy meal in quite a while.

We crossed the banks of Plum Creek into Walnut Grove yesterday.  Once again, we were well ahead of opening hours, so we only saw the outside of the Lauren Ingalls Wilder museum.

New Ulm boasts a 32 foot statue of Herman the German, atop an imposing pedestal on a high hill.  No, I am not making this up.

Wanda Gag, who wrote Millions of Cats, lived in this house in New Ulm.

As we rode into Mankato this morning, we found artists working on a mural on a concrete wall that was hiding a view of the Minnesota River.  Now people can see the river.

Also in Mankato is this statue of a white buffalo, honoring the spirit of the Dakota people.  It is in the Reconciliation Park, the site of the largest mass hanging in our country's history.  Thirty-eight Dakota were hanged, essentially for stealing food during a famine when a government agent would not release food from a warehouse because he claimed he lacked the necessary authorization.  What a sad chapter in our history.

A scene along the trail today.

One of our support family took this picture of John as she passed him in the truck this morning.  John has the only recumbent bike in the group, and he is the fastest recumbent rider I've ever encountered.