Cumulative Miles: 1,740
Number of Speeding tickets: 0
Lesson learned: Cheese Curds are pretty awesome!
Another full day here, folks. I left Wisconsin Dells early, heading for Minneapolis/St Paul. I'm still getting up early - guess I'm still on east coast time. It was only about three hours on the road, but I made a point of stopping each hour to stretch, walk, and fight road weariness. One stop I made was at a creamery/cheese factory recommended by Colleen's friend, when I asked for something quintessentially Wisconsin. Of course it involved cheese. I purchased a nice piece of locally made provolone, some salami, and crackers. These became my lunch when I got to St Paul, spread out on a blanket at Lake Como.
You probably know that St Paul is on the Mississippi River. Up here, it resembles the kind of river you and I encounter on a daily basis - not the behemoth it becomes as it winds its way to the Gulf of Mexico. I wonder if the Mississippi knew when it was young that it was going to grow up to be one of the mightiest rivers in the world? Most of the US, west of the Appalachians and east of the Rockies dumps its runoff into the Mississippi basin. Pretty amazing.
I hit the jackpot with the campground where I'm staying tonight. It is probably the cleanest, best maintained I've ever stayed at. Manicured lawns, freshly chipped pathways, and just so pretty. It's on a lake that was breathtaking at sunset. Add to that, the temperature being about 70 and the humidity quite low. I took a walk after dinner and it was magical. I'm staying here two nights, so I'm hoping after my day tomorrow I'll get to take a dip in the lake, where the designated swimming areas and beaches look so appealing.
My plan tomorrow is to hike to the Minnehaha falls in Minneapolis and then go to the...wait for it....Minnesota State Fair! Apparently it is one of the largest in the nation. I'm sure the exhibits will be over the top, the livestock will be better groomed than Ryan Seacrest, and EVERYTHING to eat will be fried (not that I'm complaining). Can you think of anything more wholesomely American??
Looking forward to hear about the State Fair. It's randomly featured on the food network and some of the fried foods look amazing. Chuck used to go almost every year before moving down to Florida. Enjoy!