Day 9 ~ Minnesota

Set off to St. Paul after hiking up Barn Bluff. Most of the trails were overgrown, and not knowing where the trails led I hiked to the north end of the bluff and looked down on Red Wing. Walked around Red Wing for part of the morning.

Mural capturing the history of Red Wing

Headed to Indian Mound Park in St. Paul, which happens to be a beautiful park in the middle of the city.

Located six huge mounds in the park and a great view of the city. Dedications to the original Americans can be found throughout the park. This sculpture was beautiful.

The eagles were soaring overhead calling out to the great spirit. Off to St. Anthony's Falls. Part of the fall is the property of the Univeristy of Minnesota, there was a small park that was packed with people. Limited parking so I didn't spend the time seeking out a parking spot, and instead headed toward Pipestone.

I drove the backroads to Pipestone, which is one the border of South Dakota and Minnesota. The river was overflowing into the road in many parts. The trees along the road were standing in water. I remembered the trees at Walden pond in the spring standing in water after the pond flooded. A local resident had told me they had twenty four days of rain just before I arrived.

Henderson is a small town, much like the small towns in Maine. A main road, appropriately named "Main Street." Very neat town, small boutiques and shops lining the neat streets. One of the sotre fronts grabbed my attention though "Toody's Treats." I stopped and walked around a bit, but with nothing happening I headed further down the road through Gaylord to Morton. Another out of the way town. It looked to be a thriving town at some point. Beautiful murals, although faded, covered the exteriors of the corner buildings. The people were different than any I had encountered. I'm not sure how I would describe them. Time warp was one thing that came to mind. When I walked in everyone turned to look at me. I must have had city dripping off of me from the looks I received. I grabbed a water and asked for some ice. When I got to the counter to pay I was behind a woman, slightly unkempt that tried every lighter on the rack. Staring at each one examining every aspect of it and lighting it again. I couldn't help but think of Jim. I mused at what his reaction might have been standing there watching this woman hold up the line, well actually just me, to try every one over and over.  As I was leaving a man came through the door who the cashier congratulated. His reply was "someone has to populate this town," which I found amusing as the town was sparsely populated.

I passed through Redwood Falls, another small town with beautiful murals that reminded much of Philadelphia. After passing through these small towns cars were replaced by horses, and again the landscape was dominated by cows and farms. More wind turbines. One farm had made one of the turbines into an airplane.

Just before Pipestone there was a bend in the road where both sides of the road were turbine farms. I stopped and stood in awe looking at them, and took take a few shots.

I was surprised at how loud they were. This was the first time I was this close to them that I could really experience the size and power of them. Standing under them they sounded like airplanes. I could understand why people had the NIMBY attitude they had about them standing under them. The size is just astounding!

I looked for a place to stay, but all the places I found were overloaded with RV's, so I headed to South Dakota. I found a place to hunker down for the night in Kennebec, South Dakota. The night breeze felt great. I fell asleep listening to the crickets chirping~such solitude. Covered a lot of miles in a day and was exhausted.