Day 10 – June 8 – Albany to Hutchinson
Today was what we had hoped many of these days would be like
. How fabulous (for this year, at least) to have two such days in a row!
As soon as we were in bed last night, a rain storm came through! Dave went out to "rescue" the bags off the bikes so they (and the things in them) wouldn't get soaked. Ann tried to hold an umbrella over his head from inside the camper. We were, more or less, successful.
7 AM came, as it almost always does for Ann, too soon. But the forecast was for a warm day with west winds, so we got up and cooked hard-boiled eggs and bacon for breakfast. Soon, Becca, Rodney, and the grandkids were coming out from the motel. We loaded up the camper – organization is still somewhat present in there, but it needs a good cleaning – then Ann, Dave, and Becca got ready to ride. We were on our bikes at about 8:30.
The first seven miles were on the trail (now called the Lake Wobegone Trail) to Avon. It was so pleasant to ride the flat paved trail, alternating from under the canopy of hardwoods on either side, to completely open, with occasional lakes slipping past, as well as beautiful farms
. Avon came up very quickly, we said goodbye to the trail, and struck out (heading south) on regular state and county roads. In short order, we were going up a hill! The landscape turned to rolling hills, and lots of farmland, and only an occasional lake. Other than the first one, the hills weren’t bad, and the miles went by quickly. Before we knew it, we were 20 miles into our ride and entering Cold Springs after a long, lovely, downhill run. We stopped at a Holiday minimart for a break, and had a bit of energy snacks. Then it was time to mount up again.
The scenery continued beautiful, we passed through the tiny town of Watkins, and turned east toward Kimball where we would meet Rodney and grandkids for lunch. Rodney had found the elementary school, where there was playground for Haydynne and Sammi to romp, and they were so busy having fun they didn’t want to come have lunch with us! But kids need energy to romp, plus we wanted to spend time with them, so we convinced them to come!
After sandwiches, chips, etc
. for lunch, we hit the road again, but first stopped at a minimart for fresh water and ice in our water bottles (the water from the motel last night tasted terrible!) Six miles down the road, we heard a big “ssshhhh” and Ann quickly knew she had flatted! It was actually a blowout, the tire having had enough miles. We were prepared for this, having brought spare tires in addition to tubes, but the spare tires were in the camper. A cell call went out to Rodney and he loaded up the girls from the playground and came to our rescue! With a new tire on Ann’s bike, he headed for a public pool in Hutchinson so the girls could go swimming (he said was packed). We got back on the road.
Since we were going mainly south, the west wind did a great job of keeping us cool, as the temperature (and humidity) climbed. We were quite comfortable. The traffic was more than we expected, and for the first half of the afternoon there wasn’t really a shoulder, so we had to get used to watching traffic again
. Ann and Becca were able to converse and had running conversations, with Dave occasionally interjecting comments (and of course, his Daddy Jokes).
After about 18 miles, we all agreed we needed a “butt break”. We agreed to stop at the top of the next hill (a pretty good sized one). Becca rode ahead, while Dave and Ann proceeded more leisurely. After cresting the hill we noted that there was a water tower just ahead, so we cruised down to a stoplight (!) and into Dassel. (We were met with a familiar icon – a US Hwy 12 sign! We could turn right, go about 1600 miles and we’d be almost home!) There was a Casey’s mini-mart just off the highway, so we filled our water bottles with ice and water, then bought a Coke and ate our granola bars in air-conditioned comfort.
On the road again, we soon pulled off for a scenic overlook at Pigeon Lake. This lake has an island that is a rookery for colonial wading birds of Minnesota. This means blue herons, cormorants, and egrets
. The rookery was covered with birds – it was a neat sight.
We covered the last 15 or so miles into Hutchinson pretty quickly and easily (remember, easy is a relative term!), and the shoulders were wider and better paved for those miles. Hutchinson is a city of over 14,000, but it’s kind of hidden among the trees, so we were at the city limits before we realized it. What a lovely town! The streets are tree-shaded, and shops and houses were neat and clean. We wound our way to Leah Willson’s house. I (Ann) met Leah when we were both adopting children in Vietnam 18 years ago. We arrived and were off the bikes by 3:30 PM - early for a change!
After much welcomed showers, we met Leah (and her daughter Abby with husband Ryan and kids Isaac, Isabella and Zoe, plus her second daughter Ailene and fiancé, Josh) at a Chinese buffet and we all ate too much. Then we headed back to Leah's house for an evening of catching up. We discussed most all the world’s problems, and thanked God that He is Sovereign over all of them!
Tonight we sleep in real bed, and should be ready to continue this adventure tomorrow. The forecast is for favorable winds, but a high temperature of 91 degrees!
Reunited and it feels so good
Monday, June 08, 2015
Hutchinson, Minnesota, United States
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