The Great Minnesota Get-Together, 2018 Edition

Posted on December 31, 2018 by Crystal

New Year’s Eve may seem like a strange time to write a state fair recap, yet here we are.

People walking and rolling down and across a street.

This year I went to the fair twice: by myself on the first day, and with my husband, my sister, and her husband on the first Sunday. On my solo day, I started with a Skyride by myself (and had a great time) because I hadn’t been able to convince anyone else to join me on previous trips:

Looking down at the west end of the fairgrounds from an elevated ride.

Then I walked through the Midway just to see what’s there. The morning of the first day was a good time to go to that section because it wasn’t very busy.

A few people standing outside the Crazy Mouse roller coaster.

Enjoyed the Creative Activities building, with its… creative arts. Like this hand-stitched virus and bacterium key:

16 enlarged viruses and bacteria, such as smallpox, herpes, and the common cold, stitched in a square frame.

And this miniature kitchen, complete with a tiny set of Pyrex bowls in the cupboard:

Diorama of a kitchen with a fridge, stove with pots, wallpaper, tile floor, granite countertops, and more.

And the National Parks cakes:

5 double-layer round cakes decorated with park themes, such as Voyageurs National Park or camping.

I always think that I’d like rosemaling, the beautiful Norwegian art. But then I remember that I would never have the patience for something like this:

A blue ribbon-winning oval basket with lid, decorated with dark swirls and flowers.

And of course, I went through the seed art collection, which as usual featured timely topics, such as the MPR raccoon:

A giant racoon holding onto the top and side of a tall building, all parts made of seeds.

On my return visit, we retraced some of the routes I’d taken earlier, but we also did some other things, like watching a raptor show:

A man wearing a green Raptors Rule t-shirt while holding a small owl on his finger.

Stopping at the onsite grocery store:

A wood building with dozens of hand-lettered ads on the sides.

Looking at the gladiolus competition, which this year had a Looney Tunes theme:

An arrangement of peachy-cream flower stems, with 2 orange stems at the 3 and 9 o'clock positions, and long rabbit ears at the top.

Walking on the street where the animals also walk:

Vantage point near the ground shows mostly feet of several people, and a couple piles of poop.

The fair is better with friends because then you can try more foods but you don’t have to eat the whole thing. That would have been good for me on this UpNorth Puff Pastry, but I ordered it on my solo day. It had mustard and pickles, which I wasn’t expecting but should have because it was advertised. Other people really liked this one:

A hand holding a paper tray with a square pastry with a stripe of dark spices in the middle.

Australian battered potatoes — not new, but new to us. It was delicious, and a great example of something that needs more than one person.

A pile of flat round potatoes covered in melted cheese and ranch sauce and topped with bacon bits.

Grilled peach (which I thought tasted just like a grilled peach, but my sister loved it):

Half of a grilled peach with liquid in a compostable bowl.

Key lime pie on a stick:

A chocolate-covered wedge on a stick.

And I capped off the visits with corn fritters and delicious honey butter that I took out to enjoy on the free shuttle bus:

8 small fried dough balls with a scoop of butter.

More from the fair

Advertisement
Categories: Uncategorized | Leave a comment

Stomping on winter

Posted on March 21, 2018 by Crystal

One Saturday a few weeks ago, we got up early to head three hours north to Grand Rapids. We wanted to visit the Forest History Center for their special Stomping on Winter Day and still have time to get back to the Cities before a big snowstorm.

Selfie of the bottom half of two people wearing snowshoes.

I visited twice last year — once in June and once in October — and this sign makes more sense during winter!

Brown metal sign with a stick figure wearing snowshoes.

We started the day with a raptor show by Nature Connection from Bemidji

A woman smiling while holding a very small owl on her gloved hand, the bird facing her.

then headed outside.

Wood sign with carved, painted letters that say logging camp, with an arrow pointing left.

Snow-covered log building with greenery over the door.

We took a ride on a horse-drawn carriage

Assistant and driver behind two medium-brown horses.

went dogsledding

The front of a sled behind eight small, dark dogs going around a curve to the left.

and sledding down a hill

Selfie that is simply two boots in a bright green sled.

and even bowled with a frozen turkey.

An oblong object that is striking bowling pins, which are starting to fall.

We finished the day by showshoeing through the woods.

Facing a snow-covered path lined with pine trees.

Looking back at two paths of snowshoe tracks.

Facing up in the middle of dozens of tall, thin pine trees.

Tree-lined inlet of the Mississipi River.

Date of visit: February 24, 2018

More from the Forest History Center

 

Categories: Itasca County | Leave a comment

2017 in review

Posted on December 31, 2017 by Crystal

The year started with one of my favorite winter activities, Checkpoint Minnesota, a statewide scavenger hunt that was unfortunately in its last year, unknown to everyone. I’ll miss it, though I admit I never officially submitted my visits, because I enjoyed the motivation to get out and explore during the cold. We only made it to four of the 10 checkpoints during this year’s event, though we had been to two of the others in the last two years, and later in 2017 we coincidentally went to two more.

a woman in a purple coat standing next to a blue sign in front of a gray windmill
a woman in a purple coat with her arm as far around a large otter statue as it goes, behind a blue Checkpoint sign
a woman in a purple coat holding onto a blue Checkpoint sign, giving a thumbs-up sign with her other hand
wooden decoration of a seagull skiing

March for Science Minnesota

I was out of town for the women’s march in January, so I made sure to be in attendance for the March for Science in St. Paul on Earth Day. The homemade signs were clever and inspiring, and I was happy to see so many people marching proudly. I had to leave the event early for a family wedding shower, so I didn’t get to see the rally at the capitol.

large group of people, many holding handmade signs, walking toward the capitol building

Old-school Dairy Queen in Moorhead

On an overnight trip to Fargo-Moorhead, I requested dessert at the “rogue” Dairy Queen, where they play by their own rules and serve a “heritage” menu of items that more modern restaurants don’t anymore. I had a Mr. Maltie frozen chocolate malt on a stick.

barn-shaped building with a red roof and white sides, with Moorhead written in blue script near the top

Highland water tower

This St. Paul water tower is open to the public twice a year, and we climbed it during Highland Fest in July. The tower was designed by Clarence Wigington and completed in 1928. It was retired from service only a couple months ago.

looking up at the top of a six-sided brick water tower

Lynx win their fourth championship

Two years ago, I wrote about the Lynx dynasty after Minnesota won its third championship. Now it’s four in seven years. I was fortunate to once again be on press row taking statistics for the deciding Game 5, this time at Williams Arena.

streamers falling next to the scoreboard as the clock expired

Roadside attractions

None of these were destinations themselves this year, but it’s always fun to come across one of these statues on a road trip.

Minnesota state parks and SNAs

At one point, we were trying to visit all of the state parks. While we’re technically still working on the parks passport, we haven’t added many new stamps over the last couple years. Instead, I’ve started visiting scientific and natural areas (SNAs) more frequently. So these two categories are combined into one.

Minnesota Historical Society sites

I decided that 2017 was the year to complete visiting all 26 MNHS sites. And I’m happy to say I did, finishing with a Christmas tour at the Mayo House in Le Sueur on Dec. 16! Counting places I’d been before, I made it to 18 sites this year.

First-time visits

Especially with the MNHS trips, we saw a lot of towns for the first time:

Hawley

dark brick building with a small sign that reads Hawley Lanes

Olivia

wire corn decoration on a lightpole at sunset

McGregor (which has an emu!)

emu behind a wire fence

Pequot Lakes, during a five-day family reunion

red-and-white bobber-shaped water tower

Redwood Falls, for a family wedding

a bank that manages to look like both a spaceship and a castle

Christmas tours

And, as has already been documented, I closed out the year with road trips to see Christmas lights, within about 2 hours of the metro.

2018 resolutions

In 2017, we crossed off several longstanding wish-list visits (Moorhead DQ, Maplewood State Park, Lost 40), so I need to add some new ideas.

I’d like to go back to Moorhead to see the Hjemkomst ship and the Hopperstad Stave Church. I’d also like to eat ice cream at the Peppermint Twist in Delano, visit the National Eagle Center in Wabasha, go biking near Lanesboro, take a ghost tour in Pipestone, see a water skiing show, watch a movie at a drive-in theater, go to the Northwest Angle.

New state parks on the list: Moose Lake, Great River Bluffs, and Glacial Lakes. I’d like to go back to Interstate for a pothole tour and see the bison again at Blue Mounds. And I’d like to see five new-to-me SNAs.

Categories: Aitkin County, Beltrami County, Cass County, Clay County, Crow Wing County, Dakota County, Hennepin County, Itasca County, Lake County, Le Sueur County, Morrison County, Olmsted County, Otter Tail County, Pine County, Polk County, Ramsey County, Redwood County, Renville County, Washington County | Leave a comment

The most wonderful road trips of the year

Posted on December 25, 2017 by Crystal

When winter rolls around, I hop in the car to look for Christmas decorations on Minnesota main streets. I’m surprised that five years into these trips, there’s still so much variety to be seen. Not counting the simple snowflakes and wreaths, I keep spotting more tinsel or white-light shapes around nearly every corner.

My first trip of the season was a solo venture out west on 212 to Brownton, then north to Hutchinson and back on 7.

A snowflake, though with blue as well as white, in Norwood Young America:

six-pointed white snowflake with a blue star center

and this fun stack of presents:

a red present on its side on the bottom, a leaning gold present, and a small green present on top

I ventured off the main road when I saw a sign for Biscay (which I hadn’t heard of), and I’m glad I did.

Christmas tree made of white tinsel
Four-pointed gold star hanging from a red swoop
Tall, skinny red tinsel bell
Green tinsel tree with a gold diamond at the top and a red base

Candy canes across the bridge in Glencoe:

a white wire candy cane on a light pole at the top right, and four more in a diagonal row off into the distance

And stockings down the entire street in Winsted:

a red stocking with candy canes in the middle, a diagonal row of the same stockings to the bottom left, and the Winsted water tower at the right

Cologne’s white wire shapes:

Wire snowman tipping his cap
Wire drum with two drumsticks above, made of many different colors of lights
White wire candle with a halo, and a poinsettia with berries at the base

A sleigh in Missile Park in St. Bonifacius:

a wire horse pulling a man in a sleigh at the right, with a US Army statue in the background, at dusk

The next evening, we took a trip to Le Sueur to do the candlelight tour at the Mayo House. The park next to the house has this very bright tree:

giant tree glowing with white lights, and a small white house in the background

A week later, my husband and I took a trip up 169 and back to the Twin Cities on 65. I got to take pictures from the passenger seat.

Princeton variety:

Two red tinsel candles with gold circles around their flames
Greenery wreath with four sets of three red berries, and three white candles in the center
Greenery wreath with four sets of three red berries, no candles in the center
Greenery tree, almost completely filled in, with a gold tinsel star and red tinsel trunk
Six-pointed snowflake with six swoops alternating
A red lantern hanging from spiral greenery

This fun garland in Onamia reminded me of the Grinch tree:

two swoops of greenery with multicolored light bulbs, and a red bell hanging off the top greenery

A park scene in Onamia:

wire train set under a real pine tree, with three green tree decorations in the snow at the right

I enjoy the decorations that cross a street, like this one in Milaca:

double strand of greenery draped across the street, with big red bows at the corners, and a white circle in a wreath at the center saying Seasons Greetings MILACA

On the next street was this very festive bank:

brick building with four white pillars wrapped in greenery, greenery draped across the top front, and gold tinsel letters spelling NOEL at the top

After turning east at Lake Mille Lacs, we went through Isle. I first thought these swoopy stars were a fancy boot:

lamppost with a Seasons Greetings banner, with white swoops and star shapes above

Santas in the library window:

five homemade paper Santas

On the east end of town, I wondered why Santa wasn’t in the sleigh on the roof, then I noticed he is piloting a boat:

brown garage with a white wire sleigh and reindeer on the roof at the right, a blow-up boat with Santa and standing reindeer at the left

Ogilvie has a simple version of the decoration we saw in Milaca:

wreath with a white center that says Seasons Greetings

Finally, on a sunny day two days before Christmas, we took a road trip south on Highway 61. Wintry trees along the highway:

Pine trees along highway 61

Red Wing snowflake:

closeup of a white tinsel snowflake

and a decoration that stretches to all four corners of the intersection of Bush and 3rd:

looking up at a white light decoration that comes from four corners and meets in the middle, with multiple strands that look like bunting and two stars dangling on each side

We drove through Minneiska quickly and didn’t get close to any of these, but I wanted to include them anyway:

White-outlined candy cane with red stripes and a big, green bow
Gold angel with white wings and halo, playing a white trumpet
Red-and-blue tinsel nutcracker saluting
Red-outlined candle with white dripping wax, with a yellow halo around a red flame

Kellogg started out with a plain snowflake near the highway, but driving into town we saw this great reindeer swag:

garland stretching across the street, with a wreath with three candles in the middle, and matching wire reindeer facing the center on both sides of the wreath

and then we stumbled across this simple and beautiful star display on the other end of town:

white strands across the road that look like bunting, with one white wire star in the center

More photos

Previous Christmas road trips

Categories: Carver County, Goodhue County, Hennepin County, Kanabec County, Le Sueur County, McLeod County, Mille Lacs County, Wabasha County, Winona County | 1 Comment

The Great Minnesota Get-Together, 2017 edition

Posted on November 26, 2017 by Crystal

After Thanksgiving may seem like a strange time to post photos from the Minnesota State Fair, and I agree. A broken computer left me without my photos for almost three months, but I’m back now — so without further ado, here’s what I saw on the first Sunday of the 2017 fair.

one of the streets at the fairgrounds, packed with people, with the space needle in the distance

This pileup of ducklings was the cutest thing I saw:

more than a dozen fuzzy yellow ducklings crowded into the corner of their pen

We were at the right place at the right time to see a mini parade of horses:

two Clydesdales pulling a wooden trailer with two women in black formal dresses

The Hamline Dining Hall is always a good choice for a rest from the chaos, and this time it was a particularly inspired choice because it started pouring about 30 seconds after we walked in. I had the delicious Swedish wild rice meatballs and potatoes that were way salty. I mean, way, way, way too salty. My tray was a fun vintage version from Bonanza:

a white tray with a plate of three meatballs, white gravy, a roll, potatoes, a cup of coleslaw off to the left, and a glass of an iced purple beverage

I think it was required of all fairgoers to take a photo of the new ferris wheel, which we decided to ride after I claimed I would be disappointed to go home without doing that. It was fun but only went around one time!

the tall ferris wheel, at an angle at dusk so the colored lights are visible

While on a walking loop I needed to get a closer look at these papers, which turned out to be the results of the Milk Dash 5K run unceremoniously masking-taped to the side of the restroom building:

four pieces of 8.5x11 white paper with lots of words printed, all held to a brick building with lots of messy masking tape

This year we stopped into Monty’s Traveling Reptile Show for the first time, after talking about it every year:

closeup of a tank holding a water monitor at the front looking left, a sign reading the name Hydro and vital statistics such as 6-8 feet, 50-60 pounds

My favorite item in the Creative Activities building was this beautiful Danish bakery, with tiny details like having the building’s address be 2017…

corner view of a white stucco building with red accents, a white border fence, a Danish flag, red tablecloths on three patio tables

…and on the inside, many more perfect details such as pots in the cupboards, pies waiting for their top crusts, and the Scandinavian wedding cake that first caught my eye:

same building, showing one floor with a kitchen scene with an oven, wooden cupboards, cookies cooling on the stove, dough rising in a bowl, and a baker behind the counter

Runner-up favorite item: this “pixellated” quilt of Minnesota roadside attractions, such as Paul and Babe in Bemidji, and the big loon in Vergas:

closeup of the two scenes that look like pixellated Polaroid photos with handwriting descriptions

There was plenty of topical seed art, as usual, such as the changing of the name of Lake Calhoun back to its Dakota name:

framed artwork of a lake with lettering that says Bde Maka Ska

and the eclipse, which had just happened at this point:

a long, short framed artwork with a three versions of the eclipse, including a ring in the center, and August 21, 2017 at the bottom

I won’t include a photo of the wall of honey jars, like I usually do, though it remains my favorite spot at the fair. Instead, given that the holidays are coming, I’ll end on two Christmas photos:

the tree room

many different types of Christmas trees with award ribbons

and fancy decorated cookies.

a display of 14 cookies on sticks, such as a reindeer portrait, a white star on a red background, four decorated trees, and a winter version of the Spoonbridge and Cherry

More from the fair

Categories: Ramsey County | Leave a comment

Blog at WordPress.com.