Minneapolis

The two events we have on our agenda for Minneapolis are the State Fair and the Mall of America. We arrived during the first week of the fair with beautiful clear weather. This is the second large midwestern state fair for us and we were interested in comparing the Iowa State Fair to this one. My sister-in-law's family has been here several times and they enjoy the fair very much so I knew we were in for a treat.

We spent the day visiting the farm animals, people watching, inspecting the crafts, checking out the fair sales items and munching on fair food.  One unique food item to this fair was the “Cookie Jar” – a tub full of freshly baked chocolate chip cookies. A long line was in front of the booth selling the cookies and the aroma around the booth was irresistible. We also noticed that funnel cakes and kettle corn (two items that are a staple for me at fairs) were kind of hard to find. Lots of places selling brats, cheese and beer though. We very much enjoyed our day of fair food binging.

Lots of quilts were on display in the Home Goods building. I liked the way they displayed the crafts in groups representing a wide variety of topics, including: holidays, countries, colors, western, children and many other subjects. Quilts were displayed alongside clothes, knitwear, paintings, and carvings. The groupings added to the enjoyment by the crowd.

The midway was colorful, we like to walk through it in the evening so we can see all the lights. Makes the midway a bit magical rather than sleazy.

I especially liked the Birthing Center, where all day long you can watch animals giving birth with an educational dialogue on what is happening.  It was fascinating. We arrived about 30 minutes after a heifer had been born and she was just starting to walk around.  It was a hoot watching her struggle to control those limbs. She seemed so happy to have legs – every now and then she would hop around like she was full of joy. Elsewhere in the Birthing Center, you could see the animals that had been born that day – most of them were resting and close to their moms.

The commercial buildings were blessedly free of spas and hot tubs (unlike the buildings at the LA County and Orange County Fairs). Steam rooms seem to be popular, along with cookware and vacation packages to Vegas and Branson. Overall, we thought the fair lived up to its reputation and enjoyed it very much.

The Mall of America is touted as the largest mall in America and I suppose it is. But other than that, it was pretty regular. There was a good-sized theme park in the center of the mall which would be attractive to young families and there is a very nice selection of restaurants. We went through the place in a few hours and didn’t buy much.

Coming out of the state fair, we did have an adventure. A few miles down the road, a wrench symbol came up on the dashboard display and the engine quit. We were able to pull over to the side of the road and stop.  Checking the useless manual yielded the equally useless recommendation to “contact our service department as soon as possible”. Checking the internet forums implied an issue with the drive train had developed. Russ tried starting the engine after a few minutes, the error message cleared and we tried driving again. This time we got a few more miles before a repeat of the issue along with a dead truck. So we called a tow truck and arranged to pick up a rental car at the airport. Interestingly, the tow truck was able to take the truck to a Ford dealer whose service department was open until midnight! They took a look at the issue, determined it was a throttle something or another (replaces what we know as a carburetor), and told us that they had to order the part and get clearance from the extended service people, so we went home to our trailer. We were scheduled to leave Minneapolis the next day but were able to extend our stay at the campground. They had the truck repaired by 11 am the next day.  So even though we had a stressful night and lost a day of travel, everything worked out fine. I was grateful that this didn’t happen when we were pulling the trailer or were in an area with no phone service (which is quite a bit of Wisconsin.)

We now head north to see some of the wilderness of Wisconsin.

Not really touring Minnesota this trip, just a stop in Minneapolis for the fair and mall.

Passed through Harmony, the largest Amish community in Minnesota. Did not get to explore, but will go on list for when we explore Minnesota.

Several nice statues on display on the fair grounds.

Enjoyed seeing the 4-H families working together.

Noticed that the animals that had won in previous years, had their photos placed on banners and displayed in the barn.

When we saw this guy from a distance, we were fooled into thinking that they were showing zebras which was very puzzling. Getting closer, we realized that they were wearing coverings to keep them clean.

Some farmers taking a break. We later saw them working the horses in the parade.

This mule sure enjoyed visiting with its fans.

Several miniature ponies were available for petting.

The crowd started picking up around noon.

The afternoon parade was short and was reminiscent of a small town holiday parade.

Dance troupes seem to be a big part of the area. We have seen at least one school in every small to medium sized town we have passed through.

These new born ducks were cuddled together for warmth.

The Birthing Center kept the newborns for several days.

This little heifer had just stood up for the first time. Her mother had been non-stop licking her clean.

She almost found dinner. The announcer said that it took from an hour to several hours for the babies to find their food.

Another new born from a previous day.

The quilts were amazing and plentiful.

This one reminded me of a bunch of kaleidoscopes.

Quite an optical illusion.

Amazing wood models were displayed.

As evening approached, the crowds just got bigger.

Have no idea what happened to the baby that belonged to the stroller.

A walk through the Midway ended a very enjoyable day at the fair.