Minnesota---"I don't know, I drank like ten tons of Sunny D...Anyway, dude, I'm telling you I'm pregnant and you're acting shockingly cavalier..."

We didn't get a lot of sleep last night. It wasn't for lack of trying...but our neighbors were...noisy. Oh well...I'm afraid I paid them (and everyone else) back when we left the campground. I had gotten some WD-40 on my rims and when I applied my brakes there was the most awful squealing noise you have ever heard. We had a nice long climb out of the campground and then headed north on Highway 23. We were treated to another coral sunrise...the sun was huge coming up in the eastern sky. Karen did a great job of capturing the sunrise with a photo...but really, you had to get up at 5 with us to savor the deliciousness of the moment. ;)



We were on Highway 23 the first part of the day and Highway 75 the latter part of the day. It was Sunday and there was very little traffic. The road surface was, for the most part, good, and we had a bit of a tailwind (yes, two days in a row!) so we flew. At one point, we came to some road construction, and the signs read "Road Closed", but Patty talked to Spud Nelson, a local, who said that we'd be right as rain going through on our bikes. So that's exactly what we did.





We passed Big Stone National Wildlife Refuge, where large white pelicans were cleaning themselves and probably doing a bit of fishing near a 6' drop of water. The refuge is around 11,000 acres and its purpose is flood control, fish and waterfowl conservation and recreation.





It was another hot and humid day and we finished just north of Ortonville. We loaded the bikes and headed east into South Dakota, but our destination for the night was Patty's parent's house in Edgeley, North Dakota.


What a sweetie Patty's mom is...she made us feel right at home in her cool house and fed us until we were stuffed. Fried chicken, mashed potatoes and gravy, green salad, and homemade bread. She had asked what kind of pie we wanted and Karen requested lemon meringue. Oh my...best lemon pie ever! Thank you, Karolina, for a warm and wonderful stay...and thanks for sharing your daughter Patty with us! Patty's sister Theresa and her husband Don also came over for dinner and they peppered us with questions about our trip.





Don and Theresa have restored a 1928 REO Sportwagon, that they named Gypsy. What a treasure! They take it out a few times a year, and maybe one of these days they will make a trip out to the Pacific NW in Gypsy.








maybe you can't...because you won't...