May 30, 2014 Minnesota, Kellogg, Wabasha, Lake Pepin

Friday, May 30

Woke to honking geese, garbage trucks and other noise.  Early morning.  We go to a nearby McDonalds for breakfast and wi-fi.  Plot the day, which includes getting an oil change and filling the propane tank at nearby locations before heading out of town.

Greg says drivers here remind him of home for the first time.  Aggressive.

We leave the city for rolling hills, dairies, cornfields.  The corn is about 3” tall.  We can imagine how different the terrain will look in a few weeks.  Apparently, Minnesotans are a happy bunch!

 We head back to the river to the small town of Kellogg (no, not THAT Kellogg), home to Lark Toys, a really fun toy store/museum/carousel/ice cream shop.  The first thing we see upon entering is a beautiful Carousel.  All the figures were designed,  hand carved from Minnesota woods, stained and painted here.. They aren’t typical carousel animals.  The deer has real antlers.

 There is a display of toys created in Minnesota, which includes Twister,  Tonka Trucks, Nerf Balls,  Gumby and more.  And then there is “Memory Lane” which is extensive exhibits of toys that our grandparents, parents, we and our kids and grandkids have grown up with (excluding electronics).  There is also a bookstore, a candy shop, ice cream (Greg had blackberry, I had caramel and chocolate), and lots and lots of toys.

A fun stop!

 There are 4 friendly llamas outside including Francis.

Next is the town of Wabasha and the National Eagle Center.  The town is named after a tribe of Indians, whose leader Wapahasha is represented here.

The Eagle Center is very well done.  They have four bald eagles, with Harriet being the grandma at 33 years, and one golden eagle, all of which had serious injuries and can’t be released.   David explained  a lot about their eagles and in a while there was a small presentation with Donald, the Golden Eagle, during which time he was fed (pork was on today’s menu).  The woman who gave the presentation was very enthusiastic and informative.  Eagles eat about 1/3 of their weight each day but only have a walnut sized stomach.  So they have a storage area in their throat. They rarely drink water – get their liquids from their food.  Golden Eagles are land eagles – won’t eat fish, whereas Bald Eagles often live by water and fish is a large part of their diets.

Moving upriver, we stopped at a park by Lake Pepin for lunch.  Lake Pepin is a very wide (3 miles wide x 21 miles long) part of the Mississippi.  There was a marina and quite a few sailboats on the lake.  An 18-year old named Ralph Samuelson invented water skiing here in 1922, using 8-ft long pine boards!

Next stop was the city of Red Wing.  Home to Red Wing Pottery which began in 1877 as Red Wing Stoneware Company.  We watched Mark Connolly crafting a lid and another man making a pot.  Beth got a cute mug to replace the tea mug which has gone missing this trip. 

Also in Red Wing is the Red Wing Boot Store and Museum, home to this 2,300 lb boot – 20’ long, 16’ tall.  Red Wing Shoes started in 1905 and produces about 2.2 million boots per year.  Displays show the process.

After we go to Memorial Park, which is on a bluff overlooking the city and River, similar to LaCrosse, we head for the  local Walmart.  It has been a hot day – still 84 degrees at 7 PM!!