Luverne – Jackson - 113 km ^119
The day dawned bright and sunny, with barely any wind and a
brilliant blue sky. The temperature was perfect as Route 90 beat a
dead straight path across the Midwest, passing through tiny hamlets,
some with barely 200 inhabitants. Yet, all seemed well in the
Midwest: the corn stood high, cattle were fat, and soybeans appeared
ready to be harvested.
I also discovered an hour was gained somewhere along the line -
quite where and when that happened remained a mystery.
Jackson – Blue Earth - 84 km
I woke to a beautiful sunrise, packed the tent, and after coffee
ventured further east. Route 90 led past more cornfields, soybeans,
pig farms and small villages.
Not much was happening except watching dare-devil crop-sprayers at
work. With the strong smell of pesticide in the air, I only snapped a
few pics and then moved upwind to watch a few more minutes.
On slinking into the tiny settlement of Blue Earth, I jumped at the
opportunity of a room, even if not entirely necessary. The next town
was 40 miles away, making it an awfully long day. Blue Earth was
referred to as a city, but with a population of barely 3,000, the place
was no more than a hamlet. The extraordinary thing was the village
boasted a gigantic 17-metre-tall "Jolly Green Giant", a human pea
statue, promoting the Minnesota Valley Canning Company. I'm not
making this up!