Fording the Mississippi and Entering the Plains

What was suppose to be a lower key day, turned out to be one that was filled with interesting sights that not only were a lot of fun but also provided lots of laughs. It started out waking up in my hotel in La Crosse and gazing out the window to see the Mississippi River in the daylight. After taking it all in, my dad I got some breakfast (mine was fried eggs, bacon, and wisconsin cheddar wedged between two buttermilk pancakes... NOM!) and then headed out to explore the town. La Crosse had a cool old midwestern feel to it. There was some really cool shops such as a cheesehead shop, a 1930's style ice cream parlor, an old school records store (a la Empire Records), and antique shops that had old midwestern artifacts. Definitely a nice little suprise. Before heading west again, we made sure to stop by the worlds largest 6-pack of beer. And yes, it is actually considered a 6-pack because it is full of beer at all times... see below.

Then just like in the Oregon Trail, I forded the damned Mississippi River... and somehow my freakin oxen drowned and then I died of dysentary. How can you die of dysentary the day after breaking a leg?!?! Oh well, I just clicked restart, tried again, and forded the river successfully. At that point we made it to Minnesota and took Scenic Route 16 for a little while in the Root River Valley and then met back up with the Interstate and set course for Rochester, MN. If you don't already know, Rochester is home to the Mayo Clinic. It was an impressive campus of structures, which I had hoped to tour but made it too late. Nonetheless, it was very cool to see, but as my dad said, "I hope to never have to see it again" rang very true to me because I'd definitely only want to see the place for pleasure and not for the more solemn reason. After that quick excursion, we continued on west through the rolling plains in search of some more light hearted activity.

Thanks to the suggestion by Laura C, my own personal Minnesotan (?) travel agent, what would have been a relentlessly boring trip through southern Minnesota turned into one big laugh fest. Along the Interstate,unbeknownst to any unsuspecting passerby, in the middle of nowhere, was none other than than the Spam Museum! I couldn't even make this up. Literally, a museum dedicated to Spam, brought to you by your ham company, Hormel. For such a gross food, the museum was surprisingly pristine and extremely well done with a retro feel to it. After a 15-minute video documenting its history and its global appeal, we were free to roam around this quite large museum filled with tidbits about Spam, as well as interactive videos, games, assembly lines, trivia, and artifacts. I don't think I've ever seen so much Spam in my life... and I guess I'll admit the possibility for a fraction of second that I wanted to try Spam. If anyone ever happens to pass through the area, defininetly go spend an hour there... you won't be disappointed.

Once we were back on the road, we continued heading west towards South Dakota. While the scenery was pretty much the same (rolling hills/plains, farms, and the occassional pack of cows), there were many many wind farms along the Interstate. I probably saw at least a few hundred along this stretch of road and was quite impressed by it. I don't really see why people object to having wind turbines in sight of their homes... I find them quite appealling and interesting... but I don't want to get into politics in this blog, so that's the end of that. Anyways, after traversing through the entirety of southern Minnesota, we finally made it the true start of the Great Plains, in Sioux City, South Dakota. I never thought I'd go to South Dakota in all my life, but I'm here now and I plan on enjoying it. The hotel we are at has had the best rooms we've been in so far, and some of the best decor of any standard hotel room that i've been in. Very impressed! After a huge dinner of fish, pheasant, potatoes, and salad, we headed to Great Falls park to take in the last bit of daylight. Great Falls park while not rivaling anywhere near Niagara Falls, was quite a breathtaking park. Our timing was impeccable and as we got our first glimpse of the falls, what started was a light show of the Great Falls and a laser show accompanied by some cool history about the Indian tribes of the area and the settlement of Sioux Falls. It was really amazing and made the many mosquito bites that I got there worth the visit. Oh and one more thing about Sioux Falls, it has the freshest tap water that I have ever tasted!

Well it is once again a very late night. Time to get some semblance of sleep and then head west across the plains of South Dakota tomorrow. Hopefully I'll spot some buffalo. Also, the next blog should have some cool pics coming due to tomorrow's planned adventures, so be on the lookout for the next entry! Thanks to everyone who has been reading so far. And if you are reading this and haven't become a "follower" yet, please do so... thanks!