| s/y Nine of Cups Roadside Americana - Minnesota June 2012 |
| Don't forget to check out: National Parks & Monuments? American Odyssey...Part I? (Las Vegas to Denver) American Odyssey...Part II? (Denver to Boston) American Odyssey...Part III? (Boston to Vegas) Birds of North America? Wildflowers of North America? |
| Gargoyles in Pipestone, MN were only a tiny introduction of what we saw in Land of 10,000 Lakes...Minnesota. For more gargoyles, visit American Odyssey II. |
| Minnesota really is a Land of 10,000 Lakes. Actually this is no exaggeration. There are 11,842 Minnesota lakes over 10 acres |
| Minnesota's flat, sprawling fields are home to lots of wind farms. We passed by the Suzlon Rotor Corp. where lots of wind generator blades lay waiting to be "planted". Nearby Lake Benton is known as the "Original Wind Power Capital of the Midwest". One of these babies cost about $2.5 million to set up and there are somewhere between 1000-1200 currently in operation in MN. |
| Huge barns and fields of grain were a common sight along Minnesota's back roads and byways. |
| At the Blue Earth rest area on I90, the nation's longest highway, a rather washed out yellow strip indicates the last bit of the highway to be completed. It required a bit of photo-enhancing so it was actually visible. |
| Hormel's Spam Museum in Austin,MN was a hoot. We got to pose with Spammy and tour this unbelievable facility dedicated to canned spiced ham. Check out American Odyssey II for more in depth Spam stuff. Blue Earth, MN ... home of the Jolly Ho-ho-ho Green Giant. It's also the birthplace of the "Chocolate Dream", now called "Eskimo Pie". |
| World's Largest Twine Ball (by one man) in Darwin, MN |
| Pipestone also provided us with a photo opp for the world's largest pipe and a chance to visit Pipestone National Monument. |
| World's Biggest Boot (size 638-1/2 D) in Red Wing, MN |
| In addition to Charles Schultz, several other famous folks hail to Minnesota: •Bob Dylan •Prince •Jesse Ventura •Garrison Keilor •Patty, Maxene and LaVerne Andrews (The Andrews Sisters) •Joel and Ethan Coen (The Coen Brothers) •Judy Garland •Walter F. Mondale •Winona Ryder •Tippi Hedren •John Madden •F. Scott Fitzgerald |
| Lots of huge corporations call Minnesota their home: General Mills Medtronics, Inc. Hormel (Spam, spam, spam) United Health Corp. Best Buy Target 3M XCel Energy BanCorp |
| This is Betty Crocker territory! |
| We're still wending our way across the country, but we're picking up the pace a bit. We'll head from here to Wisconsin, Ohio then Michigan and work our way to northern New York via Ontario, Canada. Come with us as we visit as many quirky, off-the-wall places as possible. |
| St. Paul is home to Charles Schultz creator of "Peanuts". Statues of his famous characters are found throughout the city. photo John A. Weeks III |
| A pedal pub in the streets of Minneapolis seemed a great way to socialize, exercise and drink all at the same time. |
| Don't forget Minnesota's Pipestone National Monument. |