August 3, 2010
August 3, 2010
From the outskirts of St Paul, MN we drove downtown to stop at the Visitor Center for the Mississippi National River and Recreation Area. Although the park consists of the Mississippi River that flows thru the Minneapolis metro area, it owns almost no land. Instead it provides matching funds to the riverbank owners. When I came here I wondered why this part of the river deserves this distinction.
The ranger said it was because this is the only part of the Mississippi with a waterfall and a gorge. She also said this stretch is important because this is where the production of flour was industrialized (think Pillsbury and General Mills). The answer seemed pretty weak especially since the stretch around my hometown is considerably more historic. This one seems to be another way for some politician to return Federal tax dollars to the local area. Aside from the money issue, for me it dumbs down the meaning of a National Park.
On our walk back to the RV, we walked thru Rice Park that has several statues from the cartoon strip, Peanuts. Apparently St Paul was where Charles Schulz called home.
We then drove a few miles upriver to the confluence with the Minnesota River. Atop the bluff here sits the historic Fort Snelling. We watch the park’s film but I can't convince Aimee to tour another fort. Fort Snelling was built in the early 1800’s when this area was the wild frontier.
The real reason I couldn’t persuade Aimee is because she is chomping at the bit to go to the Mall of America, the biggest in the country. When we get there Aimee is on sensory overload deciding which store to visit first. After a couple hours I am chomping at the bit, I convince her to see a movie with me at the theatre. We saw “Inception”. It was good but it made my head hurt trying to keep the complicated story line straight. We did a little more mall walking afterwards. Mall of America is a large circular complex with incredibly an amusement park inside. It seems they cheat a little to be the largest. We were surprised to see multiple stores in the mall. Aimee noticed three Best Buys; and I saw two Victoria Secret stores.
We spent the night at a local Indian casino. As usual it was crowded but what was surprising was the ban on alcohol. A dry casino! Good thing they didn’t search my refrigerator on the way in.
From the outskirts of St Paul, MN we drove downtown to stop at the Visitor Center for the Mississippi National River and Recreation Area. Although the park consists of the Mississippi River that flows thru the Minneapolis metro area, it owns almost no land. Instead it provides matching funds to the riverbank owners. When I came here I wondered why this part of the river deserves this distinction.
The ranger said it was because this is the only part of the Mississippi with a waterfall and a gorge. She also said this stretch is important because this is where the production of flour was industrialized (think Pillsbury and General Mills). The answer seemed pretty weak especially since the stretch around my hometown is considerably more historic. This one seems to be another way for some politician to return Federal tax dollars to the local area. Aside from the money issue, for me it dumbs down the meaning of a National Park.On our walk back to the RV, we walked thru Rice Park that has several statues from the cartoon strip, Peanuts. Apparently St Paul was where Charles Schulz called home.
We then drove a few miles upriver to the confluence with the Minnesota River. Atop the bluff here sits the historic Fort Snelling. We watch the park’s film but I can't convince Aimee to tour another fort. Fort Snelling was built in the early 1800’s when this area was the wild frontier.
The real reason I couldn’t persuade Aimee is because she is chomping at the bit to go to the Mall of America, the biggest in the country. When we get there Aimee is on sensory overload deciding which store to visit first. After a couple hours I am chomping at the bit, I convince her to see a movie with me at the theatre. We saw “Inception”. It was good but it made my head hurt trying to keep the complicated story line straight. We did a little more mall walking afterwards. Mall of America is a large circular complex with incredibly an amusement park inside. It seems they cheat a little to be the largest. We were surprised to see multiple stores in the mall. Aimee noticed three Best Buys; and I saw two Victoria Secret stores.We spent the night at a local Indian casino. As usual it was crowded but what was surprising was the ban on alcohol. A dry casino! Good thing they didn’t search my refrigerator on the way in.
posted by Mike and Aimee at 9:32 PM
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