Repairs: More tire fun

Well it was bound to happen having driven over 30,000 miles in a year over a mix of smoothly paved and rutted dirt roads. This time I got another low tire pressure light just as I pulled into a space for the night- I measured the pressure and it was just a few pounds down, and figured I’d fill it up in the morning and be on my way. Nope.

Come morning that sucker was flat as a pancake, enough that I wondered why I felt off balance in bed when I awakened. Oops. Luckily I was parked in a Walmart lot in a small city and conveniently directly across from not one, but two tire shops that were open upon this discovery at 8am. No problem, thought I, I’lljust plop on the spare, drive across the street, see if I can get this one patched, and be off.

Ha. Ha. Ha. As those few of you (aka my parents) may recall from a previous post, the last low tire I had previously I run into the issue of oh so conveniently discovering that my spare was also flat after getting the low tire off while in Idaho. I got the tire patched, the spare refilled, and all was well. Or so I believed. Well, before touching the original tire this time I took the spare down from under the car and lo an behold, flat again. Like I sat on it and it squished under my weight (I’m hopeful this is less than the weight of a van, but one can’t be certain), and it registered no tire pressure on my little gauge thingy.

Fantastic. So, plan B- I grabbed a Walmart shopping cart, tossed the spare in, and wheeled it across the highway to tire shop number 1. They were very kind and refilled it for me, and upon my urging tested it for leaks using the tried and true spray bottle of soapy water method (thanks, Phelps aquaglide crew flor teaching me this) to identify an unpatchable hole, but one we thought would hole at least for as long as it would take to get this tire on the car and it over to see what gives with the super flat one on there now. Now, I live in a busted looking van, and am acclimated to looking mildly homeless as thus, but wheeling a shopping cart with a tire and being all gross and dirty as a result really added to my image.

Anyway, got back, spare temporarily refilled, and started changing out the tire on there. Started out by loosening the lug nuts, got one partially loose, but despite jumping up and down like a whacko on the bar thingy (technical term) most of them wouldn’t budge. After 20 minutes of me bouncing the van around, pulling, jumping some more like a kid avoiding taking the plunge off a diving board on the (I hope you’re taking notes on this technical manual) bar thingy, I broke down and called AAA because I hadn’t used it once this year since my lovely some kind of cousin gifted me a membership.

Which is, inevitably, right when a manager from Walmart’s auto division was heading to his car parked next to mine and asked if I needed help, and managed to get the lug nuts loose in a minute and called in the soon to be open Walmart crew to check out my tire, just as the AAA guy rolled in with his fancy high lift jack and made short work of the whole thing (I mean, I was a minute away from calling him off now that the nice man loosened the thingies but serendipity) so I gave him a stroopwaffle and took my tires to the now open and far less expensive than the place across the highway Walmart auto center, where I was told that I should probably get both tires replaced since the spare was leaking in a spot not able to be patched, and the original tire was patched for now but the puncture was so large and bendy that it could go out again any day. So two new tires it was and I was on my way once again. Phew!

Let’s hope that does me for this year on the tire front, and all I have to deal with when I get home is to fix up my bumper situation and decide whether to adjust the interior at all. Oh dear.

Wisconsin: Madison and northbound

After my brief foray into the Land of Lincoln it was back into Wisconsin kind of retracing my steps for a little bit as I went northward through the state towards Michigan’s upper penninsula. I spent a night in Lake Geneva, where I’d gone for a walk on my route south, then continued into Madison where I spent a nice but grey day exploring the sights. First up was the Mustard Museum- yes, a whole small museum deidcated to mustards. Glass shelves full of samples from all the states, countries of the world, medicinal uses, world records, silly artwork, the works. I take it that in normal times there’s a little ‘kitchen’ station where staff assemble tastes of dishes using odd mustard varieties, but alas. I made do with the self guided tour and managed not to buy anything because I still have one fun mustard sauce from Vermont I’ve yet to open.

Next was the Olbrich Botanic Garden where I spent a few hours walking through the many flowers, herbs, ponds, and walkways before hitting the obvious highlight for me, a Thai sala area which was serene just by stepping into its domain and glinted in the dimming bits of sunshine. What a special place! The indoor conservatory are was closed off and there were a lot of areas blocked off for maintenance and for Covid, but for a free garden it was a pretty amazing find to get some walking in before predicted rain.

Before leaving the city I drove by the state capitol building en route to the Fromagination cheese shop. This is like the fancy cheese mecca. I loved it and would drop a hundred bucks here easy if I lived nearby. As it was, I escaped with a small bagful of cheese orphan bits, small cuts, a fancy cracker basket and some local wine. I did a whole post about the cheese but it was so so good. If I worked here I’d weigh 200 lb easy. On my way out of own I picked up some cheesy bread at a shop and in the parking lot lost my composure completely and spend a solid 5 min laughing at an ambulance turned donut deliver truck. I am a sucker for a terrible pun. Oh dear.

From Madison I pretty much booked it northward building my itinerary with roadside attractions and the state border in mind. I hit a stretch of highway construction from Madison which, super bummer, resulted in my tire picking up a giant metal bit and a great super flat tire in the morning. Womp womp. I’ll do a separate post about that fun, but regardless it was most of a day blown in central Wisconsin. After that was finally sorted I made it back up toward the Superior lakeshore and camped overnight by the Potato River Falls. It was a little rainy so I was glad to have chosen a spot not actually in the campground per say but rather kind of in the entry/picnic/parking area instead of down the muddy dirt road to the real sites. To be fair in the dark I couldn’t even see the road and only spotted it in the morning, but still. I did an early morning sunrise mini-hike to the upper and lower falls then continued on to locate some ridiculous sights like a mural of waterskiing Aquabats (aqua-acrobats), some super distrubing statues in someone’s yard that feature, among others, a George Washington in a bathtub, a baby smoking, and Abe Lincoln’s head on little legs?, the world’s largest penny, and the largest badger (fun fact- it’s popping over a fence with a little squirrel on a log in the background in what is now the lot of a strip club). Way to stay classy, Wisconsin! Don’t worry, I’ll remember you for the cheese and not the badger.

Illinois: Chicago

I’d been to Chicago before a few years back for a visit downtown for a few days and a couple of concerts, and it still remains the only part of Illinois I’ve been to. Again. This time it was because it was such a short jump across the state line and also to visit friends in the area. Most summers around this time I’m driving north from Green Bay to have a week of party on my friend’s family compound on Washington Island, Wisconsin, but with all the crazy this year not only can she not come home as usual from the Virgin Islands, but it’s just as infeasible to have anyone else congregate since the island has a strict lockdown going on like most places. In any case, this little mini-reunion was as close as I was going to get this year.

After a few weeks of very limited socialization it was so nice to spend a couple of days with my friend Inna at her place in the suburbs. En route I stopped by a farmer’s market that turned out to be in the town they filmed the movie Groundhog Day, which I would not have know but for a sign. I have a weird aversion to the actress in this movie so in my mind don’t like it and have not watched it in at least 20 years, but perhaps it’s time to gove it another shot. Anyway, when I reached Inna we went for a nice long walk to a neighborhood forest preserve, and I was treated to the amazing food fest that is the outlet for all the foods Inna likes that her husband doesn’t. Win for my belly! We had dinner feast of pierogis, salad, all the wine and dessert of figs with nuts and honey while sitting in her back patio on a beautiful late summer evening admiring the visiting skunk family (!) and bunnies, doing astrological insight readings, and generally breaking into a gigglefest and being ridiculous as usual. It was the best.

Unfortunately it didn’t work out to coordinate a visit with another friend Jackie because apparently having a baby kind of puts a wrench in spontaneous visiting and you know, pandemic, but I felt like I was close and sent some good vibes their way. The next day after even more delicious food (shashuka and greek coffee which I’ve been dreaming of ever since) we went for another nice walk at Fort Sheridan, highlights of which included beautiful blue lakeside shores, a giant hawk nest replica, a cemetery we couldn’t find a way through, and some cool condos and homes in the repurposed old fort buildings. Between all this fun, having a shower, doing laundry, refilling water, etc. it was an excellent stop and fueled me for another few upcoming weeks of uncharted territory and no expected meet ups until I reach home most likely.

After Inna’s, I ventured closer to the city for the night to walk through Oak Park in my perpetual Frank Lloyd Wright visitations. Conveniently for me, I was able to walk by about a dozen Wright designs, his studio/office, and two of F. Scott Fitzgerald’s homes in about an hour. Needless to say, it’s a pretty sweet neighborhood. If someone wants to gift me a few million dollars I’m ready to move in. No? Okay, maybe later. I also took the opportunity to have some deep dish for dinner in the neighborhood before finding a spot to park for the night. This adventure toward my inteded area took me through… some interesting parts of town it seemed. It was a little before 10pm and every few blocks the streets were being blocked off by police checkpoints and garbage trucks- is that a thing now? Based on some after the fact googling it seems that the city had been utilizing fleet vehicles like garbage and salt trucks to prevent access to areas where they expected crime/protests/looting/what have you… and it was right around the time there were issues in Kenosha but… seemed pretty quiet for the most part.

I stayed in the Ukrainian Village/Wicker Park area and walked around in the morning to a funky 80s themed coffee shop where I had a kind of good, kind of odd, too sweet fancy coffee with miso, sesame and caramel. As per the new usual, the inside was pretty off limits so I couldn’t view all the memorabilia and decor but the small glimpse I got was good stuff. From there I went in search of a fountain in the neighborhood dedicated to a dog who kept pooping in an unwanted location, and saw some cool murals and beautiful rowhouses (again, if anyone wants to donate some cash my way… still no? Okay fine…) before taking off into the city again.

My next stop was the University of Chicago area to walk through the desolate but beautiful, ivy-laden campus. In college for a course on teaching children’s books I read a series of semi-mystery middle-grades novels set in this neighborhood with the kids attending the University Lab School, and one centering on the Robie House just across from the campus. This was one of my first steps into this Wright architecture rabbit hole, I think, reading this book and looking up all the visuals to help fuel my mental picture for the plot. Touring the actual home was pretty surreal given my probably 15 years past memory of this (!!) and the fact that I had a solo tour on a random weekday morning.

From there I went over to Jackson Park and walked the wooded island paths and through the lovely Garden of the Phoenix Japanese garden with stunning views of the Museum of Arts and Industry. Next time I come I’ll spring for a ticket to the museum but for now, I opted to continue northward to some free sights like the Bahai Temple (the only one in North America) which some call the lace building for good reason, and spent a while by the fenced off beach nearby watching videos for an online teaching conference to which my access expired at midnight that night, but frequently distracted by a vert dedicated squirrel meticulously burying nuts in the sand. My Illinois journey concluded with what can only be described as a nostalgic highlight, a sketchy driveby of the Home Alone house. I wish it were Christmastime, aside from the fact that then I’d be freezing my butt off. In any case, back to the land of cheeses!

Wisconsin: All the cheese (thanks from my waistline)

Vermont may remain my favorite food and beverage state, but man does Wisconsin give it a run for its money in the dairy department. I’d been to the mecca of cheeseheads before but only to visit my friend’s family lake home on the eastern Lake Michigan coastline, so the rest of the state has been new for me and yum yum yummy. My first cheesy stop was Marieke Gouda in Thorpe, which was my favorite cheesemaking stop of the Badger State. I could peek in and see the cows being milked, visit the little sweet calves (I had to google whether the multiple of calf was calves or calfs and hope it didn’t lie to me), see into the cheesemaking workroom through a glass panel, and feel like I was right in the process of making these delicious treats. Plus the little barn kitten came to beg for food from every diner outside and snuggled with me hoping for breakfast crumbs. Such a cutie. I got a couple of little leftover ‘orphans’- the teensy bits cut off from larger packaging, and a regular sized gouda wedge of a blend of ‘stinging’ plants like nettles, which all were super good of what I’ve tasted. Way to go, rare award winning female cheesemaker!

My second stop was in the town of Colby, which is where Swiss cheese was invented- just kidding, obvi Colby cheese is from here. I attempted to go to the original Colby cheese factory, which I drove by, but didn’t see a storefront? Alas. In town, however, I stopped by a shop featuring local cheeses where I picked up a Colby, some fresh curds (squeaky happiness!), and wonderful ice cream. Every time I eat a large amount of ice cream it makes me so happy in the immediate moment and so yucky for hours after because I so rarely consume fresh milk. One day I’ll grow up enough to just avoid but….

A little further on another day I stopped by New Glarus, an adorable Swiss-heritage town, where I of course got some Swiss-style cheese, and then in Monroe picked up some award winning Emmi Roth cheeses, and had dinner at a little cafe where the specialty is a stinky Limburger sandwich on dark bread with mustard and onions. Perhaps this would be a good test for engaged couples- go eat the stinkiest meal and see if you’re still able to stand one another in the morning without plugging your nose. It even comes with a mint! All kidding aside, it tasted pretty decent. The shop, Baumgartner’s, claims to be the state’s oldest cheese store.

My final big cheese stop was in Madison, where I picked up some cheese bread from Carr Bros. along with a few orphan bits, but the main event was an upscale artisanal cheese shop called Fromagination where they offer an assortment of fancy, expensive cheeses of which I bought many teensy bits. This is really the way to go to sample a lot of nice cheese, invest in the smallest possible amount to get a half dozen crackers worth of a $30/lb selection for a price I don’t run away from! Plus some of these hipster cheeses have funny names, like Goat Malone (named after the animal and town, but reminds me of the face tattoo guy), and one made of a mix of sheep, goat and cow called Ewe Calf to be Kidding Me. I got some fun Mozzarella from Cave, and a bunch of recommended and award winning little bits of some bleu cheeses, hard cheeses, and randomness.

My cooler is still about 1/3 full of cheese packages despite me eating a lot already. I made some great feta salad, a few caprese-style sandwiches, and some stellar cheese plates, snacks and meals with what I’ve tasted so far. All super delicious! Lucky for me I don’t often have access to a scale because, yikes.

Wisconsin: Spring Green

Further south in the state I stumbled upon a small area packed with attractions and experiences ranging from classic to fantastical. Spring Green is home to Frank Lloyd Wright’s home, Taliesin, and his architectural school among other family sites. I’m not certain why I’ve developed this need to visit all the Wright sites I pass, but something about the Asian influence, nature ties, and the lines just gets to me I suppose. So here we go again! En route, though, I passed a rock that looks like an elephant while driving through lovely farmland. Totally surprisingly, it is called Elephant Trunk Rock.

Anyway, after a night in my van down by the river, I had a beautiful day for a tour of Taliesin with a small group of masked up folks. The tour I took (not the most extensive option) went through the architectural school, which was originally a school run by Wright’s two aunts, was later redesigned and transformed by the architect. The main drafting room was pretty cool with its sawtooth ceiling and rows of tables with triangular accents and great lighting. The building also has a dining room, music room, theater (under restoration) and I’m sure some things I’ve forgotten. Outside we viewed the windmill named the Romeo and Juliette windmill which powers the well, and seemed to fit perfectly channeling the silos on neighboring farms.

The home itself was really cool to tour since it was one of the spaces Wright was able to take all his ideas to full fruition without any pesky homeowner adding opinions. There were items from his extensive Japanese art collection, furniture he designed for the space, the typical long, running windows, and geometric lines everywhere. I think my favorite part was the surrounding gardens, but the whole place was memorable (not to mention the stories of multiple fires and a murder).

Down the road just a bit I stopped by the little Unity Chapel Wright designed early in his career. On the grounds are family graves, including one of Frank’s wives and was his original burial site per his wishes until the current wife dug him up and moved him. Take that, other wife. Also I guess not only is he not actually buried here anymore, but he lied about his age a lot so not even the dates are accurate. So… there’s that.

After that classy morning of art and architecture, I of course needed to get back to my own level and headed to a spot called the House on the Rock. I didn’t do the level of research this place warrants before touring because I was unprepared for how much crazy this place holds. I guess originally this was someone’s home they built on and around the rock face on a high outcropping, and this section of the site is super dark with a ’70s rec room vibe but filled with super random art and decor. From the original home additions came like a water wheel, a Japanese-inspired garden, a series of walkways leading up to the home and culminating in an Infinity Hall leading out over the cliff, and then a whole warehouse of crazy.

Now this huge additional warehouse area was insanity and was quite possibly even weirder given the limited numbers and distancing in the current time, because it added a semi-deserted, spooky feel to the whole place. A pathway leads visitors through a series of thematic areas beginning with an old-timey town filled with storefronts and homes you can peek into and are filled with kitchy antiques, a lot like a weirder version of Disney’s main street. My favorite was the apothecary for its old poster advertising the health benefits of tapeworms for slimming. Ha!

Further on are displays of creepy dolls, masks, dioramas of circuses with teensy figurines, dollhouses, windup toys, and all kinds of knickknacks. There are huge rooms filled with themes like air travel in history, sea-related items, trains, a working carousel (not open for rides I was sad to find), a creepy doll carousel with bizarre half-human figurines adorning the top, and all kinds of giant displays and creations. Scattered throughout were all these automated music scenes (think an orchestra made of mermaids and sea creatures) and little carnival game type things that you needed to buy tokens to operate. I was of course not about spending extra money for that, but lucky for me a few other groups ahead of me were into it so I caught glimpses of them in action. The whole thing was super weird, but totally entertaining and worth whatever bizarre nightmares might come in the aftermath.

The day of crazy sights was still not even close to over, though, because I decided after much internal debate and an Instagram poll to spring for a room in a funky hotel a few miles down the road called the Don Q Inn in Dodgeville. This place is a 2 star motel (accurate) but with the best ever theme room suites in addition to some regular rooms, though I can’t imagine why you’d stay here without getting one of the crazy rooms. The first thing that greets you upon arrival is an old plane in the yard, which has been a set in multiple movies but now is a rundown mess that looks like mice have taken over a plane crash. There’s a little tower that fits none of the rest of the exterior that I couldn’t identify the purpose of, but that’s just the beginning.

The lobby has a circle of old barber chairs around a fire pit kind of thing, and the motel has a pool that connects the indoor and outdoor sections with a swim-through canal and a sort of doggie door made of that carwash plastic draping. After a hot and humid few days the cool pool was great. The best part, though, was the room. Now I’d been tempted by the rooms with themes like a moon landing, an igloo, a jungle, a tipi, the list keeps going (seriously, check it out to see photos of these choices), but I am so pleased that I ultimately settled upon the hot air balloon room.

This suite is 2 levels combined and features 3 tvs, multiple crazy rainbow light features, an alpine scene painted on the walls, an in-room jacuzzi bathtub deal with a waterfall feature as the faucet, and of course a hot air balloon spanning a floor and a half made of rainbow fabric and with the bed in the basket and a mirror above the bed. And the basket rocks a little because it’s on a platform and seems to actually use the ropes to help support it? In any case I was for sure not the intended audience as a solo person, but it was hilarious and so much fun to just hang out, eat dinner, drink some box wine in the jacuzzi, and sleep in this crazy bed. Did I manage to drop my pajama shorts down the gap between the basket and wall? Sure did. So I added rock climbing to the list of features this room has to offer and climbed down the 6′ or so to retrieve them and then back up the faux-rocks (maybe made at the FAST factory??). What an experience. Everyone should go and see this fun if ever you’re passing through this area.

All this one one day!!! Woah. It’s going to be hard to go back to my usual level of mild craziness.

Wisconsin: Apostle Islands to La Crosse

Crossing into Wisconsin from Duluth was exciting for a number of reasons: 1) only minutes into the state I came across a museum dedicated to accordions, 2) the grey dreary weather was clearing, and 3) it meant I was so close to all the cheese. Sadly the accordion museum seemed to be closed so I didn’t get to see whether Nancy 3 of the umbrella cover museum was in there nor could I tag Weird Al in a photo or something. The clear weather stayed, though, which was very nice as I took the afternoon to explore the northern lakeside. Along the way I stopped at a cluster of old homestead buildings, a little bridge, and the Davidson Windmill, which was built by a Finnish homesteader and still works (mainly for demos, but hey that’s good for a wooden structure built in 1900).

The rest of the afternoon was spent exploring the coastline around the Apostle Islands National Lakeshore. As has been the case for a while in these parts, I’d have been able to see and do a lot more here with a boat, but alas it was just walking the beach for me. I did, however, come across many cute marina-centric little towns and a park with all sorts of old broken fishing boats on display, so I imagined myself in a weird apocalyptic end of days… oh wait… Never mind that dark loop of crazy, look there’s pie for dinner! And again for breakfast! Okay, things are looking up.

And boy did the next day of roadside attractions deliver on that pastry-fuelled positive start. Stop 1: the world’s heaviest ball of twine! And yes, this is different than the largest ball of twine- there is one in Minnesota and one (on my radar for the future) in Kansas that vie to be called the largest but I guess one is made by a single person and one by a group? Anyway, this one was giant and weighs in at over 23,000 pounds, as described by the fact sheet maintained by the man behind this landmark- JFK, the self-proclaimed “only twine man JFK- having a ball with twine!” Quite the… interesting soul. What is it with the correlation between Unibomber childlike handwriting and these odd men? JFK twine man should hang out with the Porter Sculpture Park man- I think they’d be kindred spirits.

Next up was the town of Hayward where I drove by the sad, forlorn, closed up lumberjack games site, but just next door pulled up at the Freshwater Fishing Hall of Fame. This is, to say the least, a site that would not have been on my radar aside from the fact that it is home to a gimormous Muskie sculpture you can climb up and stand in its mouth. Oh yeah, that’s more my speed. The museum itself was full of boats, motors, record catch trophies and mountings, types of rods, reels, flys, you name it. Things I learned here: there were even more photos of old white guys that I’d predicted; I only know the brand of one kind of boat motor thanks to fun naming choices in Disney’s The Rescuers movie; the best name of a fish is the crappie; some fly fishing lures are quite amazing, artsy, and hilarious.

In town I also stopped to do laundry and found that the laundromat was next to the best dive bar of the state, the Moccasin Bar, home of ridiculous taxidermy scenes not limited to chipmunk picnic, woodland card game, animal courtroom, and much more. They’re the answer to a Trivial Pursuit question but no one knew which version I should aim to track down. So. Funny. Best way to spend my wash and dry waiting time by far.

From here I continued south to Chippewa Falls and Eau Claire, where I passed an evening sampling at the Leinenkugel brewery before a fun zoom birthday happy hour for my friend Amanda. Much needed influx of socialization! The next day before arriving in La Crosse, I did a few cheese-related stops (to be covered in a later delicious post) and later walked through the yard of the FAST fiberglass mold factory. FAST makes all sorts of statues for companies, pool slides, ads and signage, etc. and each one requires a mold, which once the contract is done gets tossed into the field of relics. Pretty weird stuff to walk through, like a graveyard of odd animals, devils, Big Boys, cars, donuts, Cats in Hats, corn cobs (perhaps from the Corn Palace???), traffic cones, knights, anything imaginable. I kind of imagined I was in (Harry Potter semi-spoiler alert) the room of requirement with all the hidden stuff in Hogwarts and I should have my eyes peeled for a horcrux. It was primo Creepy Cat photo territory (#creepycatroadtrip on Insta), like odd meets even odder.

My final attraction of the day was the world’s largest six-pack, which are 6 can-shaped tanks at a factory that makes beverages including beer, so I guess some days it really IS like a giant six-pack. After this into to La Crosse, I had dinner in a lovely and expansive park on the Mississippi, and the next day found a great spot on the river to rent a kayak for the morning for a few hours of peaceful time on the water. So nice and a little exercise before even more cheese stops. In the words of That ’70s Show, hello Wisconsin!

Minnesota: Boundary Waters and the Superior coastline

The drizzly, windy weather followed me east into the Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness, but after a grey and stormy evening the morning turned blue and mild.  After a hunt for a place to rent a canoe and explore (I mean, it’s in the name) I was sadly unsuccessful- all the local places I could find on the water were only doing longer rentals for multi-day trips, and without a roof rack or anything a place in town wasn’t an option.  But instead I had a beautiful day hiking a loop along Bass Lake and Dry Lake past wildflowers, lily pads, cattails, pines, and waterfalls.  It was pretty quiet overall and since the day turned warm I stopped and found a nice rock to read on and swim for a bit.  My swim spot was obviously used for backcountry camping and it made me wish I’d packed my stuff and could just stay and camp out for the night, but I was too lazy to go get a permit and haul my stuff out a few miles so late in the day.  This was also the day when, looking at a few photos of myself, I was close to giving myself a haircut seeing how terrible the ends of my hair look.  So far I’ve resisted the urge since I only have old craft scissors but… blegh.

Onward to the coast, I was treated to a beautiful double rainbow on the road as I drove up as far north along the coast toward Canada. I stopped to do a little hike called Magnetic Rocks, but man was this place poorly labeled so I have no idea whether all the rocks were magnetic, there was some special rock, or the name means something else entirely. This small formation was the closest thing to a unique rock I could find? I kept getting peeks at the beautiful interior lakes and at the first Great Lake of my trip- Lake Superior. I reached the town of Grand Marais in the late afternoon and walked out to a little lighthouse at sunset which was kind of magical, especially when I settled in by the water listening to dueling from opposite ends of the park buskers while enjoying a delicious fry bread taco from a place across the street. Finally! I’ve been searching for fry bread since Montana and have come close but either places were closed or there were no veggie options. Yum yum fried goodness covered in cheese and stuff.

Had a night in the forest outside town, then returned to Grand Marais in the morning for a coffee resupply mission before going off to Cascade River State Park. This day was just what I needed. A few hours of hiking through the evergreens and ferns along the river and all its waterfalls. If I could bathe in pine scent it would make me eternally happy. Okay, I guess there’s probably a pine scented body spray out there, so I’m gonna have to get on that, but not quite the same as the extra fabulous aroma of pine boughs and fresh greenery and rain. I have loved my adventures in the desert and mountains and plains, but the lush rainy forest os definitely my natural habitat. The rainy day offered *such* sweeping views over the forest and out over the lake, but there’s a different beauty to the mist.

I stopped and walked around Temperance River State Park, too, then continued south to Father Baraga’s cross, a spot on the coast where a missionary washed ashore safely in a storm against the odds. It was a lovely cloudy view, but also a nice spot to cook some lunch and dinner for later. Later on I walked up to Palisade Head near Silver Bay, which is a cool tall cliff from where, according to my book, on a clear day you can see across to the Apostle Islands, but… not so much today.

My last stop of the day was to Iona’s Beach which is a pretty pink rock beach, and when the waves hit right make that cool clapping sound as the water recedes. I camped on the lakeside near Two Harbors and thus was conveniently right across the street from a pie shop where I procured two delicious slices (peach blackberry and something called Great Lakes which was a berry and rhubarb mix) before taking off southbound to Duluth. I walked around the Leif Erikson rose garden and watched the harbor for a bit before aiming for the Wisconsin border. Minnesota was pretty great! Gotta come back one day and actually plan to take advantage of the northern waterways. I’m coming back for you, canoe wilderness!

Minnesota: the Paul Bunyan trail to Voyageurs National Park

North of the twin cities quickly turns into the land of Paul Bunyan and his woodland entourage. Outside Brainerd I spotted Paul’s giant footprints in the scenic Kohl’s parking lot (my sandals for scale), Babe the blue ox in Elvis style, a corn cob man named Colonel Cobber (story here), a giant statue of Paul’s lady friend Lucette (who has the prettiest spot next to a lake and the cutest little library), and the big man himself- he would be the world’s tallest Bunyan if he just stood up.

I spent the next day at Itasca State Park doing a few little hikes up to a (closed) fire tower through a million mosquitoes, on a loop between several small lakes, and along the bank of the (may I say very well named) Mary Creek and Mary Lake, and some nice marshy spots.

On the other side of the park lies the marker of the start of the Mississippi River, though it’s been much under debate over the years and there’s definitely more water labeled Mississippi north from there on my map, but this is the spot they chose after lots of research based on the signage I glanced over apparently not well enough. Compared to the massive expanse it becomes on the journey to the Gulf, this 10′ or so span is a little easier to ford. I dipped my feet in, crossed over and back, and enjoyed the sunshine for a bit before taking off.

Then it was onward to Bemidji where there was yet another Bunyan sighting by the water alongside a statue to a local tribal Chief. A bit further northeast I reached Voyageurs National Park, one of those parks that is mainly on water. This one reaches the Canadian border and consists of many many islands and boating trails. Most of the best things to do are only accessible by water, including a multitude of camping spots on the islands, but I found a nice campground on the water that was drive in. A nice spot to do some cooking prep and take in the beautiful sunset over Kabetogama Lake.

The park highlights the old waterway routes fur traders and explorers used in this area, so it was cool to learn a little more about the local tribes, the French-Canadian voyageurs, and the logistics of making canoes and navigating the maze of rivers and islands here. If I had access to a boat I could have gone to a funky rock garden in the park, but alas. I was close to renting a kayak for the day but the weather was super windy and drizzly so I decided to wait and do it when I go to Boundary Waters instead and the weather was nicer. More water, here I come!

Minnesota: Twin Cities area

The extent of my experience in Minnesota previously has been a few stints in the airport, my main memories of which are there were cute shops and a lot of good looking men, so not bad! On my way north from Iowa I took a brief pit stop in Blue Earth, which aside from having a lovely name is also home to a statue of the Jolly Green Giant and some little sprout figures around town. As far as I can tell the town doesn’t have any affiliation with the vegetable company’s original location before it was absorbed by Pillsbury, so maybe it was just a nice place for a giant to settle. I mean, what better spot for a vegetable giant who is nice and ‘green’ than Blue Earth?

Next up was the adorable German town of New Ulm. This place is filled with gingerbread style houses, manicured lawns, overflowing flower boxes, and was all just as orderly as one would expect from a German community. After a few hours sleep I roused myself at 4am and found a nice little city park close to a state park where it was fairly dark to lay out my little picnic blanket and watch the Perseid meteor shower until the sky became light and the deer were getting inquisitive and grunty. I found a spot to get another couple of nap hours in during a downpour, which provided a relaxing soundtrack but also was so intense that my occasional leak sprouted again so that was fun to wake up to and deal with. I plopped my bowl down and shoved some towels around and took off to explore the town.

As with everything else in the world these days, timing was not on my side. The cool glockenspiel clocktower played some nice songs at noon, but the figures that normally come out to do a little show remained hidden behind a door thanks to a broken gear. The park around the town mascot, Hermann the German, who stands guard atop a tower on a hill was closed for construction, so I had to make do with a peek from below. I managed to totally walk by Hermann’s alleged footprint (full of controversy– so silly) on the wall outside the chamber of commerce just where I parked as I had my head down under my raincoat hood. Oops. But, once the rain let up my luck turned around a bit. I stocked up on European cookies at an adorable shop where I imagined myself back in Bavaria for a moment surrounded by the litte cuckoo clocks and gnomes (including one I really wanted of a gnome riding a pig). I drove by the family home of Wanda Gag who wrote and illustrated the classic children’s book Millions of Cats- beautiful house, and if you don’t know the book (her most famous of many) take a peek because it’s a great story but suuuper dark and creepy. Love it.

The next couple of days I spent around the Twin Cities with my base as a little beach by Lake Minnetonka. On my way to my little parking spot I stopped briefly at a two-story outhouse (how does this work????? I must know), past a big ‘pearly gate’ in St. Peter’s, and then by Prince’s Paisley Park where I didn’t do the tour but just walked by and took in the multitude of fan art, mementos and tributes along the path. My last stop of the night was in the town of Excelsior to have a sit on a bench dedicated to town eccentric Mr. Jimmy, who allegedly served as the inspiration for the Rolling Stones song ‘You Can’t Always Get What You Want” after a chance conversation with Mick in the drug store after a Stones show nearby. It seems like an ideal little upscale town to spend a week vacationing at the lake, certainly deserving more than my little drive by visit.

In Minneapolis I spent a beautiful pre-humidity morning in the sculpture park. I love a sculpture park! In addition to taking in the fabulous art, I was totally impressed by the perfect spacing and thoughtful selection of the pieces, and even more so by the incredibly responsive loudspeaker system… if anyone (usually a child) touched a sculpture, tossed a rock, or dipped a toe in the water a pleasant voice gave a specific reminder to please refrain from whatever it was. Either a great recording system or one watchful employee!

Wandering through town I walked past a pretty church, some college campus buildings, the statue of Mary Tyler Moore tossing her hat in the air, a mural of Bob Dylan, the Twins’ ballpark, a lot of very empty and quiet streets, and a few small reminders of the upheaval that had been so noteworthy of late. My day ended where it started with a return to the sculpture garden and Walker Art Center where I’d secured a ticket to free evening hours which luckily happened to be that day. What a busy (and hot) day!

The following day I spent the morning at Minnehaha park and walked around to see the falls and river, made some eggs, and get some stretching in before meeting up with my cousin (okay, cousin’s daughter) and her kids. We walked along the Mississippi while Jenny’s kids asked me to quiz them on math problems and play 20 questions and I caught up with yet another of my relatives I haven’t seen since her wedding. Oops. I’m so bad at keeping in touch but and trying to improve!

Later I checked out some other areas of St. Paul like a park outside a beautiful library that had Peanuts character statues, and one across the road of the Miracle on Ice coach, and later drove past two of F. Scott Fitzgerald’s homes (of course both super gorgeous). Then, it was off to… the Mall of America! Ha. I wanted to see this hot mess but also was significantly motivated by another wave of storms coming through with high winds and rain and tornado watch. Between not really wanting to drive in that with no clue where I was really and my leak from the other day, the thought of covered parking while visiting was perfect.

This place was… well it really was the mall of America. So many stores. So much fast food. At least 3 Starbucks. A casino. A spa- well really at least one normal nail and massage spa, and one meant just for kids (skewing girls) and their dolls. A storefront ‘museum’ which you had to pay entry to go in and take pics in front of graphic walls for social media. Mini golf with Sasquatch. An aquarium. A mirror maze. Of course the iconic amusement park in the center of the crazy. The list goes on. It was an entertaining way to get a lot of steps in as I wandered and got lost a lot.

Bought a book, a snack, and escaped consumerist mecca just in time to watch that sideways rain and the sky go from pitch black with bursts of lightning to eerie pink sunset. Surreal. Then when the coast was clear, the van was go!

Nebraska and Iowa: rivers and lakes with a side of ice cream

I’d driven across Nebraska twice and popped over for a coffee brunch once and to visit Kevin’s mom’s new house in progress, but hadn’t stayed overnight there and was so close I had to veer over the border from SD for a night to check it out. I was told that the Niobrara River was pretty so I made that my intended destination for the night, but first I decided to stop at the smallest town in America. Monowi is a teensy patch of town, population 1. The lone resident is an older woman named Elsie who serves at town mayor, librarian, bartended, pretty much everything. For many years it was population 2 but her husband passed and now it’s all Elsie. She’s been highlighted in many features so you can learn more about her, the exodus that left the town dwindling to its current state, etc. She’s even been in a few commercials- one for Arby’s (which is pretty funny), and one for Prudential insurance that hits more on having it all on her shoulders. I stopped in the cafe/bar and had a drink while chatting with her and the other guy working, and soon a few semi-locals came by so I could see the ‘town living room’ in action before taking off down the road.

The spot on the Niobrara I was aiming for had a lot of standing water on the road so I went to plan B and found a spot on the Missouri instead.

A little later on I ended up going back to Iowa where I’d spent 6 weeks this spring, taking advantage of being close by to impose myself on my friend’s mother’s hospitality again to do laundry, prep some food in an actual oven, shower, and all that good stuff. She wasn’t there so I had the place to myself and it was nice to have a little downtime I didn’t realize I needed. While I was back in Sioux City I took a walk past the oh so picturesque industrial area along the Floyd river into the downtown area and back, I checked out a church garden with lots of sculptures where my host family has a connection, and rode out some crazy lightning storms over a few days. I had fun seeing this place in one more season and observe the garden in full bloom, the okra seeds sprouting like mad, the neighbor’s fields I watched be planted now in their green glory, and sit out and watch the always lovely sunset.

When I was finally ready to take off I made sure to stop at the Blue Bunny ice cream center in its hometown of Le Mars which I’m sure was closed when we last were here. I tried more samples than I’d like to admit and was finally handed this enormous “small” which was so so delicious and worth finishing, but a reminder that my belly doesn’t eat this much milk often. My sugar rush lunch sustained me for my drive north to the ‘Lake District’ of Iowa.

I spent that evening and the next day in the Okoboji area, hanging out by the lake at the various waterfront restaurants and bars, out for a morning walk with the birds and froggies through the marshy lakeside, laying on the little beach, and watching the families enjoy themselves and boat around. My friend described this area as ‘the Hamptons of Iowa’ which was pretty funny. This would be a great spot to come for a few days with a group or family, and a lovely second goodbye to the Hawkeye state.