http://www.cornpalace.org/

The Corn Palace City - Mitchell, South Dakota -
was the site of my respite from the road, the elements, and the mosquitoes for 2+ weeks.

I relaxed at my brother's house, did a little house painting,
watched movies and news and baseball on TV, and read Homer's Odyssey.

The latter was suggested to me
when my brother rented the Coen Brother's own Odyssey movie,
"Oh Brother, Where Art Thou?"
which I highly recommend.

A major accomplishment during that time was replenishing
some of the weight I had lost on the first leg of the trip.
Housesitting while my brother and family were vacationing
in Michigan for six days, I drank 4 gallons of milk.

I returned to the road a little skinnier than I started in June,
but well rested. My feet were actually too rested,
and I paid the price over the first few days back on the path.

 My return to the road at Edgeley was
eventful and almost auspicious.

Brother Tom drove me back to North Dakota early on Day 65.
We stopped in Ellendale for breakfast,
then on to the junction of Highways 281 and 13.

Within minutes of turning back east and taking to the road
with Fannie the flag and my backpack,
I was stopped by Gina and Mary Musland whose farm
is located close to the intersection.

An hour down the road,
Joy Powers of the Edgeley Mail
invited me to give an interview for her newspaper.
Quite synchronistically,
she was preparing to take her son off to college the next day
at Vocational-Technical School in Mitchell, SD.

I met several more locals on the way to Lamoure, the next town,
including Duane Young who was the second person of the day
to offer me a ride.

I accepted his offer. My feet wouldn't let me do otherwise.
Thereafter, I decided to accept unsolicited ride offers.
This has helped speed up the second leg of the trip.

Publicity and attention continued as I trekked on to Oakes, ND.

Entering Oakes with Fannie the Flag waving,
I noticed a fellow in a Cadillac driving by, staring, then waving.

He turned out to be Marlow. And, Marlow was so struck by this
man marching down the road in Red, White and Blue carrying a flag
that he cruised to Rudy's Bar and told Karen Odegard
that she had to do an article about this event for the Oakes Times.

Karen (left), who generally does advertising for the paper, took up
the challenge. She went to the office and procured memo pad,
pencil and digital camera.

As I was nearing the middle of town,
she appeared and invited me to do another newspaper interview.
We had a good chat which would continue.

Karen (left) was most accommodating.
She purchased a room for me at the Travel Inn,
introduced me to her husband, Rick,
and friends, including Marlow, at Rudy's Bar,
and treated me to a malt at the Angry Beaver Lounge.
The next day when the weather threatened
and I decided to stay on an extra day,
Karen drove me
around the area to towns like Stirum, Lisbon and Gwinner.

Karen, your hospitality was extraordinary.
Thanks so much.

After my stay at Oakes,
I proceeded to Forman, ND.

It was another healthy jaunt of 24 miles.
I devoured a small pizza and a cola at the town pub
and set up my tent at the green but not too buggy park.

Shortly thereafter,
Roger Kudelka (right),
a retired accountant for Ingersoll-Rand,
passed by and started a conversation.
Soon, he too conducted an interview
to submit to the Forman News.

Then, he graciously invited me to visit
the Sargent County Museum.
Roger gave me a private tour of this new museum
with a grand collection of old stuff.

Roger's wife even provided refreshments.

Crossing the Red River and
passing into the Land of 10,000 Lakes,
I was gifted with a ride from a man from Texas,
home of my alma maters, TCU and UTMSH.

My Texan friend let me off in Elbow Lake, MN.
After breakfast, I proceeded to the local library
to check email as I often do.

Gail Hedstrom (left), the Elbow Lake librarian,
was taken by my walking project,
induced the Grant Herald's editor to take a photo,
and sat with me for an hour-long interview.
Great interview.

We had a fun time talking about almost
anything and everything under the sun.

Thanks, Gail.