Day 3

Got up in the morning exhausted.  Dreamed my bike had been dismantled, leaving only a frame with wheels left and a passerby thinking I was an idiot when I screamed that there was nothing left.  Was glad to get out of Rockford, IL.  My trip was uneventful until I began to cross the Mississippi River when a squall blew in.  I barely made it to the Visitor Center on the other side when gale force winds and pelting rain came in.  I holed up inisde the Center for an hour or so speaking with the Groundskeeper, a kindly old man until the weather broke.  I anxiously waited and hoped to catch a glimpse of the Bald Eagle he said hunted in the waters around the Visitor Center.  Day 3 brought me by Blue Earth, Minn where the earth by the river is so dark it's blue, and the home of the Green Giant.

.. yes, the actual, "eat your vegetables" Green Giant.  No, I didn't deviate to see it as I was 170 miles away from the South Dakota border and was in no mood.  Upon crossing into South Dakota I saw my first Bison.  True enough they weren't wild... but they were Bison nevertheless.  The jerky was good.  Fireworks are also a big thing out west.  The Missouri River was pretty cool.  I had seen an article in Red Rider where a lady on a similar trip took pictures of a particular bridge... guess what I did as well.  :)  I had been riding on flat land for so long I longed to see the mountains again.

I arrived at my destination eager to explore the next day.