Land O Lakes...

Not Enough Time...

Okay, we can't say enough about how beautiful Minnesota is. At least the areas we were in and experienced. We stayed at a place called Autumn Woods which is just south of Rochester. It is located among newer neighborhoods and parks and borders state route 63. It's a small park with gravel sites, good water, electric and a lot of birds that get off on soilng the dually. The park has two sections, shaded and sunny. While we were there, we opted for shady and it was a good thing - it was very hot. We met a couple who were staying at the park, had trouble with their pick up, brought it in for service, but had to wait for parts. They were without wheels for more than 2 weeks, which fouled up their wanting to go home. Luckily, they had family in the area and weren't really stranded. It made us think of what if that happens to us? We devised a plan and executed it by buying several bottles of wine.

Autumn Woods hosts an awful lot of people who get treated at the Mayo Clinic. We met some of them as well and understand that a lot of planning goes into them going there. Many of the stays are weeks at a time and the costs of staying at an RV Park outweighs the expense of a hotel. We're grateful for being healthy.

We were in the southeastern part of the state and the Mississippi river plays host to a lot of great places to visit. So sure, we wanted to see a lot of these places and did. But all of that had to wait, because I'm not going across the country unless I get to see the Jolly Green Giant.

So Julie and I trek out to Blue Earth to see him. It's a pretty cool story of how JGG came to be. Spoiler alert... he didn't always look like he does in the pictures. But the rest of the story means, get off your bums and go there. Whether it will be worth your while, or filled with regrets, it won't matter, as it's not one of the world's seven wonders. (that's code for don't blame us). We met another couple who were about the same age as us and for some reason, we connected. Maybe it was because of our outgoing nature, or maybe we all recognized how some adults show up at this place just to look at a big, weird green statue and how silly it all seemed but none of that seemed relevant. We wound up having lunch together, laughed the entire time and said our goodbyes. Truthfully, they're similar in how they love to travel, see things and enjoy life. Again, we didn't exchange numbers, as happened in Tomah with Scott. We're two for two and not in a good way. In the bottom photo, I'm supposed to be Spout. Sure, there's a small dug out section behind that board tlhat a ittle kid can stand in to get a picture. I was kneeling and bent over. Notice my hand hanging on so I didn't get stck in the hole. Ho Ho Ho my arse.

Later that day we visited the Spam Museum in Austin. Hormel. Okay, so if you ever ate the stuff and liked it get off the blog now. Because it's disgusting. Spam is sold all over the world (I believe 40 countries), and each has a favorite way to prepare the dish. Japan prepares a sushi spam. Ever have natto? Bean curd gone south and it offends my delicate sensibilities; an epic olifactory assault. Ice creams, desserts, mishmash of combinations that you could not begin to imagine. But during World War II, it kept the US Army well fed and an army travels on it's stomach. Dwight D. Eisenhower sent a letter of appreciation to the president of the Hormel company after the war. It did include the idea that it tasted lousy and soldiers didn't care for it, but they were never hungry. So thanks Hormel for helpng win the war!

We spent an afternoon in downtown Rochester, home of the famed Mayo Clinic. It's exploded in size since I visited there more than 25 years ago. I'm sure there's more to the Rochester area (The Mayo is the largest employer), but it's hard not to be overwhelmed at the campuses and buildings. We wandered around the older section of downtown and found a Thai restaurant for lunch. We found ThaiPop, which is owned and operated by Annie Balow, who learned how to cook from her mother and aunt. Everything is made fresh from scratch and has some unique twists. We'd go back there in a heartbeat.

Who knew the Mississippi was home to such beauty?

Mark Twain wrote a lot about the Mississippi and of course there are paddle wheelers and the river flows from Lake Itasca, MN through Minneapolis, St. Paul, Des Moines, Omaha, Kansas City, Memphis, and New Orleans. We crossed it from LaCrosse, Wisconsin and were immediately struck by the mountains upon entering Minnesota. I don't think either of us imagined what we saw, so we stopped at a rest area just before leaving Wisconsin to just look. Gawk is more like it. So we decided that there was a lot to do/see in that area, so we headed down to explore.

Let's go pick apples!

We headed to LaCrescent and stopped in Rushford, where we found Magelssen Bluff Park that has spectacular views of Rushford. After lunch at Shawnee's Bar & Grill, we arrive at LaCrescent, where the Apple Blossom Trail winds on the spine of bluffs that look down on the valley towards the Mississippi. It was the wrong time of the year to ride through there. But we spotted a winery and decided to stop. Nice place and a patio that looked down the hill, but we couldn't find anyone. Zip, Nada. So we packed up our disappointment and kept moving. No, we didn't steal any of the wine that was sitting there. Maybe we should have.

We wandered down towards the valley, stopped at an apple place, but there wasn't much... wrong time of the season. On the way home, we stopped at Great River Bluffs State Park and drove up to see the views of the Mississippi from the heights of the park. The park has camp sites, but doesn't appear to accomodate the Puffin. We need the luxury of electricty, water and sewer. But if dry camping is your thing, it's a great place to go.

Winona

The next day we headed to Winona, which is home to old victorian homes, universities and an outstanding outdoor culture. We stopped at Lake Park and walked the 5.3 miles around Lake Winona and people were everywhere... the weather was beautiful. Not many food places were open because we were there on Labor Day weekend. There was, however, one place that was open and happens to be the oldest restaurant in Winona. It was late afternoon, so when we ordered, they were out of most items on the menu. It didn't matter, because it was cool to eat there right across from the park and lake. The Lakeview Drive In has car hop service, which we didn't use - again too beautiful.

The picture of the Veterans Park (on the right) is where Julie got soaked as the sprinklers turned on. She didn't care. It was late afternoon and we went to see the victorian homes, which were not what we thought. I mean we're tourists, right? Can't love everything. So we headed to the Bluffs that looks down on Lake Winona and the town. It was pretty impresive.

Fly Like an Eagle

The next day we went back to the edge of the Mississippi, this time visiting Wabasha, home of the National Eagle Center & Museum. Okay, this is a terrific place to spend time, as we learned a lot about Eagles, the types and how the population is growing. What's special about this place is that they provide 24X7X365 care to the eagles pictured below. The two were injured and cannot exist in the wild, as one cannot fly any longer and the other does not have the ability to see to fly straight without crashing into walls, trees, etc. There are caregivers that reside there, with one always on site. The dedication and passion of these people is amazing.

One of the things we learned is that eagles use their beaks like a can opener. They can swallow in large chunks, which we saw as one of the eagles was being fed. But while this is an area of a lot of eagles, there are also large numbers of hunters. Not that the hunters shoot at eagles, but the ammunition that the hunters use for other game can be deadly to the eagle population. Think of an old penny. It's lead based and lead is lethal.

Look at the tip of Lincolns nose. Eagles that ingest that tiny amount would perish. Newer pennies contain zinc, which is not the focus. But think about lead based ammunition or fishing lures. So there's an effort to have people change their equipment for hunting and fishing to further protect the eagle population. We never knew any of this and felt like we learned an important lesson i about our planet and its inhabitants.

We found a Pub just down the street to eat lunch. It was a small place, The Old Triangle Pub, which was really good. We spent a lot of time chatting with the bartender who was fun and told us a lot about the area. After that, we were headed back to Rochester, but stopped in Kellogg to visit the Lark Museum. This place is a riot because it transforms you back to the days of your youth. Like looking at Tonka Toys, or Hot Wheels, games like Candy Lane, Clue, Monopoly or you perhaps you liked Battleship, or Operation or Easy Bake Oven or Howdy Doody. Toys that date back decades. But wait - they had a collection of sodas and wow, were they wild. Julie tried to buy me some new undies, but they didn't have the large size I needed.

There was an old Merry-go-Round with hand carved animals, mini-golf, book sections and a restaurant. There's a ton to see and look at. Lark Toys also makes toys that are sold all over.

She Took Me For A Ride

Well, at least from near our campground to downtown Rochester. The bike path system and walking trails are well mapped out and using a small sample of the loops available it was a fun ride. We took our time and rode along the Zumbro River, and eventually reached the downtown near where we had lunch earlier in the week.

We agreed that our time in Minnesota was too short - way too short and we'd come back to explore a lot more. While we did a lot here, we need to keep moving west - so yeah, South Dakota is next and Julie put up some pictures to show what we're seeing and doing. Why? Because I'm behind. I could easily win a lazy contest because I'd enter a week late.