Minnesota, Land of 10,000 Lakes and…
The Mississippi Headwaters!!!
06/09/2022 – 6/17/2022
The Journey West 2022 – Leg 7
Next up, the great state of Minnesota. The nickname is very appropriate. You don’t have to drive far to find a lake, especially in the central and northern parts of the state. We have two main objectives for a stop in Minnesota; to visit our good friends Vicki and Terry and to walk across the Mississippi River. We left Pepin and followed the Mississippi River until we crossed over it into Minnesota. A short 2 hours later we arrived at our new home in Mankato to visit with our friends Vicki and Terry for a few days.
It was especially nice catching up with them. We enjoyed a couple of relaxing evenings in their backyard around the fire, sipping wine and having dinner. The karaoke machine came out and we also watched a few home videos of our time in Indy. Oh, the memories….
New Ulm
Vicki planned a fun filled day for us in New Ulm. My mother in-law gave me a heads up before we came to Minnesota that there was a strong German influence here. She was not kidding. New Ulm calls itself “The Most German City in America”. I don’t know if that is true or not, but it was pretty German. Downtown is very charming with many German restaurants, pubs, and a bakery where we bought a delicious German coffee cake.
New Ulm’s Glockenspiel
Glockenwhat? A Glockenspiel is a set of bells covering a range of 2 ½ – 3 octaves. The Glockenspeil will play songs and figurines will come out and “dance” on the hour, ½ hour or ¼ hour. The New Ulm Glockenspiel has 37 fully chromatic three-octave bronze bells that were cast in Holland. They can be played electronically or by a keyboard. There are 12 animated figurines that can be switched out with a Christmas Nativity scene during the Holidays.
The New Ulm Glockenspeil plays 5 times a day during the summer months. Each of the figurines represents a significant facet of the community’s rich heritage. There is a Band, Dakota Indian, Pioneer Family, Brick Mason, Miller, Dancing Couple and of course a Beer Drinker. (It wouldn’t be German without it 😊) The concert was about 15 minutes long and very enjoyable.
Around Town
After our bell concert we headed over to Turner Hall for lunch. Turner Hall was erected in 1856. The Turner Society was conceived in 1811 as a concept of developing a sound mind and body through discussion of common problems and physical exercise. These values were brought to the US by the Germans that emigrated to this area in the 1850’s. For many years the Turner Society had a strong influence on the affairs of New Ulm. This hall has served as a school, community hall and cultural center. We enjoyed our Reuben Sandwiches and German Burgers.
Next up, a quick stop at Domeier’s for some shopping. Domeier’s is stocked with everything German. Candies, knick knacks, food and even lederhosen. Lots to explore in this little store. We walked out with some noodles, gummies and a couple of postcards. Bill wanted the hat but space is limited in the coach, right? 😉
Hermann the German
We took a short ride up the hill to visit Hermann the German. Hermann Arminius led several German tribes in battle against their Roman conquerors in 9 A.D. and defeated them near present day Detmold. Hermann symbolized liberty and unity and in 1874 a monument was dedicated to Hermann near Teutoburg.
A New Ulm architect conceived building a similar monument in New Ulm with the National Sons of Hermann Lodges. After some financing troubles and protesting, the monument was completed and dedicated 1897 with a three day celebration. Hermann stands high on the hill overlooking New Ulm.
Schell’s Brewery
Time to go sample some German beer… August Schell is the founder of Schell’s brewery. August came to New Ulm from the Black Forest by way of New Orleans and Cincinnati. Unable to find good beer, August attempted to make his own. It didn’t turn out so well. He worked with a brewmaster and together they built a small brewery in 1860 into a 6th-generation run brewery that employs over 100 and constantly has 20 beers in its rotation. Schell’s was also the first brewery in Minnesota to produce craft beers.
The tour was educational and entertaining and of course ended with several samples of their fine brews and their root beer, 1919. If you get a chance, try it. Very tasty. The tour started at the mansion August built for his family and the beautiful gardens then moved to the bottling room. We entered the brewing complex next and got to see the original copper pot used for fermentation.
The Schell’s represent a true story of achieving the “American Dream”. It is still a family-owned company and the 2nd largest family-owned brewery in America. If you would like to read more about their history click here.
Starkeller
A shoot-off of Schell Brewery is Starkeller, which brews Sours. We made a quick stop in here and tried their sampler, which was a pick of 8 sours. We all decided we are not big fans of the sours but it was fun trying them out and picking the one we liked best.
Morgan Creek Vineyards
We ended our day at Morgan Creek Vineyards. Morgan Vineyards also has a connection to Schell’s. One of August’s great-great-grandsons, Georg Marti, decided to go the route of winemaking instead of brewing. The results are some very nice wines. This was another great ending to another great day. (We seem to have a lot of those 😉)
Our table overlooked a beautiful lawn with a massive tree and red barn. Georg’s grandson is an accomplished classical and jazz pianist and provided some lovely background music. We chose to start with a flight, then picked our favorite to enjoy with our wood-fired pizza. Good friends, good conversation, good food and good wine. Does it get much better? I think not.
A big THANK YOU to Terry and Vicki for a great visit!
Headwaters of the Mississippi River
It is time to head north where we go to Itasca State Park and see where the great Mississippi River begins. When I was younger, I remember my grandmother telling me she and my dad had once walked across the Mississippi River. That seemed unbelievable to me, I mean the only part of the Mississippi I had ever seen was huge with big barges and riverboats. She pulled out some pictures and sure enough, her and my dad are skipping across on rocks. Ever since then I have wanted to do this. This dream was only cemented when I was at my dad’s this winter and we were watching some old home movies he had converted to digital. One was a video of a vacation his family took when he was about 13 years old and there they are, in action, crossing the river.
Finally, this little dream of mine will come true. We travelled up to Walker MN and stayed at Trails RV Park. A nice little park with spacious sites right along a system of bike trails. When I booked the site, I was excited as we would be able to ride our bikes. But, Bill’s knee was still acting up and we didn’t want to chance it. We also thought we might be able to get our kayak out and paddle around one of the many lakes up here too, but it was very windy and that didn’t happen either.
Itasca State Park
The main reason for our visit was just 30 minutes away. We made the short drive to Itasca State Park. The park is Minnesota’s oldest state park and was established in 1891 to protect the forest and waters surrounding the headwaters of the Mississippi River. First order of business was to download their app so we could pay the entry fee. I miss the personal interaction and ease of paying a person. Does that make me sound old?
Anyway, the fee is paid, we pick up a map and start making our way to the headwaters. We entered at the east entrance and drove north along the main park drive. We passed a grove of red pines, picnic grounds and a couple of campgrounds. There are bike trails and hiking trails as well. It is a beautiful park with a lot to do. I could easily spend a week here.
6 miles later we arrive at the Mississippi Headwaters Center. There is an outdoor exhibit with information on all aspects of the river; animal life, Native American life, exploration and commerce. We walk the 450 feet out to the river. I’m getting more excited by the minute. It was everything I expected it to be. Yes, there were quite a few people out there but it was not overly crowded.
I sat on a rock and took a moment to take it all in. I cannot explain why this was so special for me but I finally made it to the headwaters where my Grandma and my Dad were 70 years prior. And really, it did not look much different than the pictures my grandmother had shown me. I called my dad, turned on the video and shared the moment with him too.
Then the moment came… it was my time to walk across the river. Kona and I hopped rock to rock and made it across. Yay!! Then we just played around in the water and snapped a bunch of pictures. Next up, Bill made his walk across, he chose to use the rocks a little higher up. They were smaller and the crossing was a little more technical. LOL I chose to go the safer route on the larger, flatter rocks. I didn’t want “my moment” to include a spill in the water. 😉
Once I had my fill, we made our way back to the gift shop to buy our pin for the souvenir corkboard and a t-shirt to commemorate our crossing. It’s official, I have the picture and the t-shirt to prove it!
We made our way back to the highway via the 10 mile Wilderness Drive. This was a scenic 1-way drive along the west side of the park. Sadly, we did not see any wildlife but still enjoyed the scenic drive. This park will be going on my list of places to come back to and spend more time.
Our time in Minnesota has come to an end and we are about 2 weeks away from the end of our journey. Next week we will be in Medora ND exploring another National Park.
