Xanadu

Yes, really. That's the name of the B&B we are staying at tonight. So, with Olivia Newton-John's voice ringing in my head, I will try to describe it.

First of all, she described a place no one seemed to be able to get to.

Check.

It's down about 3 1/2 miles of unpaved roads - not impossible, but not ideal. Then, we were supposed to be here yesterday after riding 95 miles. Adding what we actually rode plus those gravel roads it would actually have been closer to 98. We fooled fate by changing the schedule to make this a 35 miler.

But it also is supposed to be well worth the struggle.

Check.

We are so glad we made this a short day. We arrived about 2:00 after an easy day and it is lovely. We are technically on an island, although there is a driveway that crosses the small gap. If it rains tonight, we may find ourselves emulating Lewis & Clark more than we ever dreamed of doing. This year the lakes are lapping eagerly at the sides of the road. The house is great. Red-stained shingles, lots of space & wood inside, a very comfortable room, fresh cookies & a little refrigerator full of drinks, dozens of places to sit and look out at the lake & the trees. There are little docks on both sides with all sorts of water toys and boats just waiting to be used. Our hostess is great. She seems to have unlimited energy but also plenty to keep her busy. She is there to answer any questions or help out, but seems to vanish whenever we are busy resting & reading. If you are ever in Minnesota, put this place on your list!

It is still hot. We weren't sure what to expect when we headed out this morning. We stopped in the town of Pelican Rapids where we had stayed (it has what a sign assured us is the world's largest pelican, and I see no reason to question that claim) for breakfast and Gatorade & stuff. Bruce ate at the local McDonalds and we ended up chatting with Cecil - he assures us he is the only one of that name in town - a 90 year old man who wandered over to get us up to date on the town, and with another man who was presented as the retired athletic director of the local school. So it seems that although we have reached a more populous state with more familiar landmarks, we have not lost the friendliness that goes along with smaller towns. We also met a couple of youngish guys ridung loaded bikes in the same direction but from Oregon to New York & heard about their experiences. They seem to be happy enough, but one did say, "I've decided. When I turn 50, I'm getting a motorcycle!"

We rode out and happily discovered that it was a little cooler (only 86 at 10:30) and the wind had moved closer to west. A little later, we even had cloud cover for a little bit. No thunder with the clouds. So we pedaled happily along and called our hostess from our lunch stop. She pretty much insisted on picking us up at the beginning of the gravel roads, and also on loaning us her truck to get into town for dinner. She also would be more than happy to drive us back to pavement in the morning. We'll see.

Anyhow, we have sat and read, canoed, watched birds. We are about to go experience dinner in Battle Lake. This is a great day. I needed it after yesterday.

Miles today: 35
Total miles so far: 2114