Paying Homage 🏍️🌄
After 11 consecutive days of riding for a total of 3,500 miles, I needed a break. So, on June 26 (day 2 with my MN family stay), I took the day off from riding, enjoyed a short walk to lunch, and napped for a couple of hours. 💤 My body craved the rest more than I realized.
In the evening, Emily, Auggie, Deb, and I visited the double waterfalls at Minneopa Park in Mankato. 🌊 We walked along the authorized trails and “off-roaded” our way to the base of the falls for a close-up view. This mini-expedition combined two of my favorite things about this trip - seeing family and exploring nature. 🌳🌟 After nearly a decade of seeming seclusion in Manhattan, days like this are refreshing.
The night ended with dinner with Deb, Lynn, Nevaeh (the 6-year-old), and me. 🍽️ Nevaeh decided that for my next visit to MN in a couple of weeks, I will stay at Lynn’s house. Because Nevaeh insists on it, none of us are foolish enough to argue with her. 😂
On June 27, I said goodbye (for now) to Deb and set sail eastward. My first stop was in Rochester, MN, which my route just happened to pass through. I have not been back to Rochester since April 2009 when a group of doctors and nurses saved me from certain death. 🏥 I paid homage by stopping at the St. Mary’s branch of the Mayo Clinic where I was operated on, took some pictures with Lizzie and Froggie, and conjured up some happy thoughts. After all, without my 2009 trip to the Mayo Clinic, there would be three rubber figurines and someone else would be taking this cross-country trip in my place. 🐸📸
At Deb’s suggestion, I stopped at Niagara Cave in Harmony, MN to pay homage to ancient history. This 500,000-year-old subterranean labyrinth includes a 1-mile hike 200 feet below the earth’s surface. 🌌 With a stalactite as old as 250,000 years, drip rock formations, and a continuously changing environment, this cave awed me every step of the way. I felt like I was on a set of an Indiana Jones movie. 🏞️ I learned an important lesson on this journey below the earth - stay in the back of the group on the way in (to easily take pictures) and lead the pack on the way out (to walk at my own pace out of the cavern).
Perhaps the oddest part of the cave was its bonafide underground chapel. Apparently, several weddings are hosted there each year. 💒 It’s an interesting concept...
The rest of the day’s trip took me along the Richard J. Dorer Memorial Hardwood State Forest and the Mississippi River. 🏍️🌲 After a brief stint in Iowa, I crossed the mighty river and then followed it southward before heading inland toward Wisconsin’s farmlands. 🏞️ What stood out about WI is the poor condition of its roads. They remind me of NY’s and NJ’s uneven tarmac and not of the quality of the roads I saw over the past one and a half months. 🛣️
I settled into Belmont, WI for the night. There’s nothing special about Belmont, except its rolling hills and farmlands. 🌾
Tomorrow’s short ride will land me in Oconomowoc, MI, where I will meet fellow BMW Rider Association board member Karen Jacobs. Then, I move onto Milwaukee where I will drop off my bike for a much-needed tune-up and service. 🏍️ I will fly back to NY to see my new nephew, Mateo, and some friends and enjoy a couple of days of separation from riding. 👶✈️
