Aug 23, Thursday
Lindbergh State Park
Charles A. Lindbergh State Park is a small park near Little Falls and only has 24 camping spots, with 15 having electrical outlets. We had to stop at the dump station for water, and the campground was mostly empty when we arrived. We had site 11E, which was wide, and we were able to find a good level spot.
The Lindbergh family donated the 100 acres of the park in 1931. Across the street was the Charles Lindbergh House and Museum, which was closed on our days there.
Little Falls
Since it was late, we decided that we were going to take a drive and find a good dinner spot. We stopped for a brief time at a park in Little Falls on the way out and took in the Mississippi River. It was bigger than the tiny river we had seen two hours north. The town was small, but they had large murals on some buildings, and their downtown area did not look too depressed.
Belle Prairie Church
On our way to dinner, we pulled over when we saw an exit sign that said historical site. A sign marked the site where Father Francis Xavier Pierz arrived and established the second-oldest Catholic parish in Minnesota. The site also had an old log cabin, which was locked up.
Ernies on the Lake
Ernie’s was a restaurant/bar on Gull Lake in Brainerd, MN. We got there about 4:30 pm, beat the dinner crowd, and got an excellent table overlooking the lake with lovely afternoon shade. Dinner was not served until 5 pm, so we ordered some local craft beers and enjoyed the beautiful scenery. It was the lake community’s destination and started filling up quickly. At 5 pm, I ordered the rather expensive pistachio-crusted walleye, and Lisa got the Chicken Strip Basket. They were excellent. We also got joined by some ducks.
Campground
On the way back into the campground, we saw a deer and some black squirrels. We were back at the camper by 7 pm.
Aug 24, Friday
We left around 10 am to see as many quirky attractions as possible.
Alexandria
Our first stop was Alexandria, where we saw Big Ole and the Runestone Museum.
Big Ole is a 28-foot-tall Viking statue that was built in 1965 as an attraction for the New York World’s Fair. The shield says “Alexandria, Birthplace of America,” referring to the belief that the Norseman may have visited the site in 1362 because of the Kensington Runestone found near there in 1898.
Down the block from the statue is the Runestone Museum, which features dozens of exhibits highlighting Norse history, the Native Americans, Minnesota wildlife, early pioneers to the area, and most importantly, the world-famous Kensington Runestone! They have historical buildings in the back called Fort Alexandria, a military stockade built in 1863. There is also a forty-foot replica Viking ship in one of the buildings called the Snorri.
Nyberg Sculpture Park in Vining
This is a quirky metal sculpture park near Bigfoot Gas and Grocery in Vining, a city with less than 100 people. Ken Nyberg started building his first sculpture, a huge foot, in 1989. Two years later, it received such positive recognition that it was placed at the entrance to the town. Now, he has sculptures all over town, but mostly in Nyberg Sculpture Park, which is in the center of town.
Vining is also proud of Karen Nyberg, a native and a NASA astronaut who flew twice to the International Space Station. Besides the sculpture dedicated to her in the park, a wall commemorates her in the nearby gas station. She is the daughter of Ken Nyberg.
Chief Wenonga Statue in Battle Lake
A 17-foot statue of Chief Wenonga stands in a public park just outside town, directly across from the lake. The sculpture commemorates the battles near the lake between the Ojibwa and the Dakota in 1795 and 1850. Chief Wenonga played a role in 1795 as a young Ojibwe Chief.
World’s Largest Otter in Fergus Falls
Otto the Otter was built by local high schoolers in 1972 to contribute to the town’s centennial celebration because Fergus Falls is the county seat of Otter Tail County. He’s 40 feet long and made of concrete-covered metal that rings when you tap it. We had to walk through a big flock of docs to get to the statue, which looked long at the pond in the distance.
World’s Largest Coot in Ashby
A coot is a type of duck that is common throughout western Minnesota. This Coot represents the largest Ashby area sportsmen club called Coots Unlimited, which holds an annual fund-raising banquet called the Coots Unlimited Banquet. About 400 people attend.
Worlds Largest Crow in Belgrade
Created in 1988 to honor the state centennial, the big bird stands over 40 feet tall from the structure’s base to the top of the bird’s head. The giant metal and fiberglass crow is 18 feet tall and stands on a 30-foot replica twig, possibly symbolizing the animal’s unique ability to use tools. The monument is near the Crow River, which feeds into Crow Lake, where both get their names from Sioux warrior Chief Little Crow. Given the number of crow-named landmarks in the area, a crow just seemed like a natural fit.
Worlds Largest Ball of Twine in Darwin
One man, Francis A, made the largest Twine Ball in the World. Johnson. It is 13 feet in diameter and weighs 17,400 pounds. He started his obsession in March 1950 and wrapped for 4 hours daily for 23 weeks. He used a crane to continue wrapping it over the next 39 years on his farm until it was eventually moved to an open-air shed in town. When he died in 1989, the city of Darwin moved the ball onto a special city lot across from the park on Main Street to the current gazebo with its Plexiglas panels. There was also a museum, but it was closed when we were there.
Dinner
We headed back toward the Park and drove through Freddy’s Frozen Custard in St Cloud for dinner. We had to maneuver around a lot of construction, making it challenging.
Back to the camper just before 8 pm.
Aug 25, Saturday
We left at about 10 am and headed to Minneapolis Northwest KOA Journey