Minnesota

I have had the pleasure of visiting Minnesota a couple of times before, thanks to the fact that a dear college friend, Melissa moved up to this part of the world.  However, Jess had not yet been here, so we needed to make sure to spend some time in this fair state.  In researching, I truly wanted to see the Boundary Waters between America and Canada, but I could not really figure out how to do that properly.  It seemed that we needed a boat and a guide to make it possible, and well, the van holds a lot, but we didn't pack a boat.  So, we took a different route.

As in North Dakota, Minnesota seemed to be searching for some roadside attractions, and so between Fargo and Minneapolis, we encountered many fabulously large attractions.  There was the World's Largest Prairie Chicken (if you don't know what that is, don't worry, I still don't really understand it).  There was America's Largest Viking Statue of Big Ole, but why he holds a sign that says "Birthplace of America," I haven't yet figured out.  And of course the World's Largest Crow which stood proudly at the center of a Memorial Park.  Again, I'm not totally sure...  But my favorite was probably the Largest Ball of Twine (Built by One Person).  It was in the tiny town of Darwin which was proud of their claim to fame.  The ball of twine which took this man twenty-seven years to build was on the town flag and proudly displayed in its own building.  There was even a Twine Ball Inn (which I'm not sure is actually still in use...).  Some of our drive took us on two-lane roads, my very favorite way to see America.  The towns each had a sign with their population number on it.  While most were in the high hundreds or low thousands, there were several that could easily be counted to, like 34.  

I know it is hard to see... but this is the ball of twine...

One attraction just outside of Minneapolis, I had already been to twice before, but it is sort of a right of passage for this area.  The Mall of America was a big deal when it was built.  I remember reading about it as a kid, and I believe even watching the Mighty Ducks visit the mall.  It is a spectacle for sure.  Not only is it a huge, multi-story mall, but there is a small theme park in the middle.  We rode the indoor roller coaster, because again, it is a right of passage, right?

We ventured into Minneapolis to spend a few days, but were surprised by what we found.  I had been warned by a friend at home about what was still going on in Minneapolis, and someone we met in Fargo gave a similar warning.  I listened, but felt like it was a big city, we would be aware of our surroundings and would be just fine.  What we discovered, though, was a seemingly empty city due to a combination of COVID restrictions and continuing protests. Restaurants were closed, a book store I wanted to visit was closed, art museums were open some days, but not Wednesdays.  Our hotel, while we felt safe within, was even closed up with the restaurant, bar and pool all closed.  So, while we felt safe, we quickly realized there would not be much for us to do in town, so we adjusted our plans, all for the best.

Researching Minneapolis ahead of time, there were a couple things I wanted to see before we left town. The first was the Mary Tyler Moore statue. The story of that bold, working single gal of the 70s took place in Minneapolis (even though it was filmed elsewhere). The iconic scene where she threw up her hat took place on a busy Minneapolis street corner. About 20 years ago, when the statue was put in place, Mary herself was there, bringing with her thousands of hats so that the whole crowd could throw hats in the air together.

The Minneapolis sculpture garden was also a place I wanted to stop, and it did not disappoint. Unique, huge statues were scattered around the park, and made for some fun photo shoots.

With our bonus day in Minnesota, we decided to head north to the scenic coastline, a place truly more our speed anyway. The Land of 10,000 Lakes likes to claim that they have more coastline than California, Hawaii or Florida. It depends, it seems on just how you define coastline, but if you include coastline of a lake, Minnesota far exceeds the other three. No matter what, the coastline of northern Minnesota that lines Lake Superior is stunning. 

We went to Tettegouche State Park and went for a short hike to see a stunning waterfall, one of the many in the area.  Palisade Head was next, providing sweeping views of the seemingly endless blue water. It is astounding to see the blue water meet the blue sky, but know that it is only a lake, not an ocean. Iona’s Beach was a lovely quick stop. It was a beach made up of small pink rocks. When the waves hit just right, the beach “sings”. As the waves retreat, the tiny rocks “tinkle” hitting one another creating a unique instrument of nature’s creation.

Tettegouche State Park

Pallisade Head

Iona's Beach

Just driving along the coastline was a treat. It was very reminiscent of our time in Maine with lush greenery meeting a rocky coastline of endless blue. One of my favorite sites were the roadside collections of lupines. I had dreamed of seeing them in Maine when we went a few years ago, but we were a bit late for them, and I was terribly disappointed. As a kid (and a teacher), one of my favorite picture books is Miss Rumphius. It tells the story of a woman who was told by her grandfather to do three things in her life: travel the world, live by the sea and make the world more beautiful. She struggles with the last one, but finally decides to scatter a large amount of lupine seeds throughout her small town. A new dear friend of mine, Mr. Lou, who visits our school and shares stories with our students, brought lupine seeds (to go along with the story, one of his favorites as well) for us all the last time he visited our class in person, just before shut down. They have reseeded themselves in my own back yard, but the climate does not seem to be right to make them want to bloom. No matter what, seeing these lupines along the side of the road, in deep purple with small scatterings of pinks and whites filled me with joy.

We spent the night in Duluth, a relatively small town with a bustling sea port and beautiful views of Lake Superior. I was sorry for the reasons that changes needed to be made in our trip, but I’m so thrilled with the opportunities those changes provided.