Owatonna, MN

Recently we spent a day exploring the bike trails in Owatonna, a town 30 miles south of Northfield.

Our first stop was to get some homemade pie, to-go, for a snack on the trail later. My husband’s bike club often stops for a break at The Kernel to get a piece of pie which the guys claim is delicious. A quick Google search of The Kernel comes up with this review:  “American chow, including an all-day breakfast & homemade pie, offered in this unfussy local diner.’” I like the description “unfussy local diner”.

We rode on three short trails along the Straight River, over and under bridges and around a couple hairpin curves on a wide, paved trail, lined with benches, street lamps, and mature trees. 

I noticed more than a few bat houses. I’m not sure when they were put up but it seems it was some sort of project at one time.

It was a gorgeous day and a delightful ride.

We stopped to eat our delicious pie selections at a picnic table along the river and spent a long while watching a great blue heron stealthily walk the shoreline looking for fish, or pie perhaps!

There were a lot of ducks on or near the river and multiple Canadian Geese on shore. The geese are nice to look at but messy to be around. 

After our initial ride and pie break we drove to explore a different park in Owatonna; Mineral Springs Park. In this park there is a statue of Owatonna next to a plaque explaining the Legend of Owatonna: a frail, Native American princess who was restored to health by drinking water from the mineral springs in the area.

Contrary to the legend, the town of Owatonna was named after the Straight River, not the princess. In the Dakota language Wakpá Owóthaŋna means Straight River and it was first settled in 1853 near the river.

There were actual mineral springs gurgling out of a large, water fountain and cistern in the park. We tasted the water…it was cold but had an “irony” taste to it.

There were more bicycle and walking trails throughout the park.

As we walked the trail along the river we stopped to read a red granite plaque with a Native American letter etched into it, credited to Chief Seattle in 1854. We normally do not stop to read lengthy plaques but after reading the first two sentences we were drawn in and began taking turns reading it out loud.

The the piece is called Teach Your Children. After doing some research on the internet I found out there is controversy as to how much of this letter was actually written by Chief Seattle and how much of it changed in translation and how much was really a part of one letter… but we enjoyed it none-the-less. We found it very profound and poetic. Here are a few excerpts from this letter:

“The President in Washington sends word that he wishes to buy our land. But how can you buy or sell the sky? The land? The idea is strange to us. If we do not own the freshness of the air and the sparkle of the water, how can you buy them? Every part of this earth is sacred to my people. Every shining pine needle, every sandy shore, every mist in the dark woods, every meadow, every humming insect.”

“Will you teach your children what we have taught our children? That the earth is our mother? What befalls the earth befalls all the sons of the earth. This we know: the earth does not belong to man, man belongs to the earth. All things are connected like the blood that unites us all. Man did not weave the web of life, he is merely a stand in it. What he does to the web, he does to himself.”

“We love this earth as a newborn loves his mother’s heartbeat. So, if we sell you our land, love it as we have loved it. Care for it as we have cared for it.  Hold in your mind the memory of the land as it is when you received it. Preserve the land for all children and love it, as God loves us all.”

Owatonna has a lot of areas to explore but this day we were focused on bike trails, parks, and pie! We were not disappointed.