Scavenging and St. Paul

After Gays Mills, we rode to Lacrosse (60 miles), and then on to Pepin, a lovely town by the harbor (70 miles). The church in Pepin greeted us with open arms and delicious food. I was over the moon when I saw a Laura Ingalls Wilder museum on the way into Pepin. Laura, the hero of the Little House on the Prairie series, is just the kind of spirited, adventurous girl that I love. My dad read each of the books to me when I was small, and I looked forward to Laura’s tale each night. The museum in Laura’s birthplace was closed, but I did get a picture of the big wooden cut-out Laura, and the map that details her travels around Pepin. Down at the harbor, I watched the sun set in vivid tones of red and blue over the flat-top mountains behind the sparkling water. The yachts of rich city folk lined up next to me.

In the morning, we set out for St. Paul. To make the ride more fun, Christopher set up a scavenger hunt. I helped with some of the clues, and we had to take pictures of each item during the day. A few favorites: an ice cream scoop, a person in a uniform (3 points if it’s a policeman), a rider’s name on a gravestone (4 points if it’s their full name), and a dead frog. My excellent team included Quang, Derek and Sean, and we amused ourselves throughout the day. We stopped at an antique store in one small town and dashed about looking for items. It broke up the ride and provided many opportunities for laughter. The gorgeous road along the banks of the Mississippi contributed to the day’s fun.

In St. Paul, I got to have dinner with my cousin Hanna, who I hadn’t seen in several years, and her boyfriend. That night, Kim and I stayed with the Pastor and his wife. The Pastor drove us through the downtowns of St. Paul and Minneapolis, narrating the shiny buildings and large green spaces as we went by. Minneapolis has just put in a light rail system that is the spitting image of the one in Strasbourg, France. Both cities have beautiful downtowns, and a number of lakes within their city limits.

The night after St. Paul we spent in the tiny town of Hinckley (an 80- mile day), and last night we arrived in Duluth. It has real appeal to it; a charming waterfront, a gritty feel and lovely air. It’s 20 degrees cooler here, thanks to the waters of Lake Superior. It’s a pleasure to feel chilly for the first time in many days. This morning, I am sitting next to the Synagogue where we are staying. There is a light breeze, there are goose bumps on my arms, and the sun is shining. The synagogue is lovely, and it’s great to be in a new kind of worship environment. This temple serves most of Northern Minnesota, because the population of Jews has declined dramatically over the last few decades. The temple was a reformed temple that merged with a conservative one thirty years ago. As more temples have closed, this one has assumed an ever larger area. The congregation totals around 350, and the president showed us the beautiful parchment torahs last night. We ate extremely well.