LAST DAYS IN WISCONSIN AND HEADING FOR HOME

The last weekend at the farm brought a variety of activities. John planted the lilac that Steve and Diana gave "The Farm" in appreciation for their stay.

Jim invited us to share his "Beer Can Chicken". This is chicken prepared on a charcoal grill using a special support that holds a beer can. The can is half full of beer with special spices added. Jim's spices are a secret. The beer can is inserted into the chicken cavity and placed on the grill. Cooking time was about 1 1/2 hours. The chicken turned out moist and flavorful with a nice crispy skin. Along side the chicken were fresh morel mushrooms with potatoes and also fresh portabelo mushrooms sliced, onions, and potatoes. What a feast.

Sunday, we drove to Eleva, Wisconsin, to visit cousins of John and I. We are some of the descendants of the Ryder side of the family. My mother had twin sisters. One twin had 3 boys and the other had 2 girls. The six of us who were able to get together used to gather each year for a Thanksgiving celebration when we were kids. Then we were in grade school. Now we are all senior citizens.

Today we said our good byes and headed west on I-90. After 50 miles, we exited onto US 14 at Rochester, MN, and continued on the 2 lane highway.

This evening finds us in New Ulm, MN. We have fresh flowers from the farm on our table and are in a very nice Minnesota State Park.

It was 95 degrees and humid when we set up our camp.

Marlene made a very tasty dinner of fresh potatoes, green salad, and a small fillet of salmon.

After dinner, we took a long 3 mile up and down hill walk to the center of town. New Ulm is an old German settlement. Established in 1854 by German immigrants. The streets are straight and wide with alleys behind the houses. Houses are neat and trim. The three mile walk was strenuous and was longer than we expected. By the time we arrived in the downtown area we were both tired and thirsty. Fortunately, one of the first businesses established in the city in 1860 was the Shell's Brewing Company. They make a delightful array of beers and we found a tavern on main street that had all their beers on tap. What was even nicer was the fact that Minnesota has a no smoking law for restaurants and taverns and this tavern smelled fresh and clean and was filled with the local town folk. Unfortunately we arrived about 30 minutes too late to hear a local oompa band perform live. We ordered a couple of drafts and engaged in a conversation with the bar keeper and his helper. By the end of the evening, the helper offered us a ride back to the park which we graciously accepted.

What a wonderful end to the first day back on the road.

This building is the old post office which has now been turned into the Chamber of Commerce, historical society, museum, and visitors center. It sure reminded us of Germany.

Here's the downtown.