Hidden Falls

Hidden Falls is a sweet isolated waterfall that didn't have much of any traffic while I was there. It is spring fed and has an isolated as well as old timey feel to it. Back in the 1930's they developed the area to a certain extent - creating walls and stairs and such.  It's really quite neat. I guess it's right across the river from Minnehaha Falls Park but I couldn't tell. :)

It is hidden in that you need to take the correct path - there is no sign saying waterfall this way.  I parked in lot at the north gate. From Mississippi River Blvd turn down the big hill when you see the sign for Hidden Falls Park North Gate. It is right near Magoffin Avenue...depending on which direction you are coming from it's either immediately before or immediately after this road.  Park in the first lot and you'll see a building that has bathrooms. I'd recommend bug spray before you leave the lot as there were plenty of mosquitos. 

Walk past the structure into the tree line where you see a path in between the trees. Take this path and just walk. It is not especially far however it's not really very accessible so keep that in mind if you have issues walking.  For someone without any issues you'll not even notice other than watching where you step as some of the stones jut out.  You'll come to a tall winding staircase. Go past this to see the falls but definitely go up and see the falls from the top. The stairs are pretty. It takes you up to Mississippi River Blvd and the paved combination running/biking trail that winds along this street.

Staircase leading out of the ravine

From the top

There are other paths in the park that will take you along the Mississippi River.  You aren't far from Minnehaha Falls and Shadow Falls isn't too far away either.  I'm not sure if any of the other paths take you back to the parking lot though. You are a long way up at the top compared to where you were at the parking lot when you were at river level.  There are lots of mini falls along the way. 

It was very peaceful and a great way to enjoy your Sunday morning.

Jolly Green Giant

As I drove into the Mankato area from The Cities you get to a point on US 169 South where you come around this curve and descend into a valley there the Jolly Green Giant and Little Sprout sit atop a bluff welcoming you to the area "Welcome to the Valley".  I'm not sure I'd say it's startling but it sure gets your attention! Um, thanks but the Jolly Green Giant? Why is the Jolly Green Giant there?  Found out after I returned to the metro that the Valley of the Jolly Green Giant refers to the Minnesota River valley in the area. Then I find out there is a 55 1/2 foot tall Jolly Green Giant statue with a size 68 shoe and 48 inch smile in Blue Earth, Minnesota.  Hmmmmmm.....

So, naturally I went! Are you kidding me? Of course I had to check that out!

Driving west on I-90 and got off on the Blue Earth exit. No idea how to find the statue...until I got on the roundabout and there he is!!!  Well that was easy!

Ate at the Dairy Queen and had lunch with the Giant.  Fun times...in fact Jolly is still smiling!

Shadow Falls

Shadow Falls Regional Park is really easy to find and a nice and popular spot.  The actual falls is more difficult to find than what you might expect from the St. Paul map. However now that I've been there the map makes a little bit more sense.  I thought the red on the map was the sidewalk and that you basically walk into the falls like you do over the river at Minnehaha.  Not so.  If you get there early enough to score a parking stall in the little lot you walk towards Summit on the sidewalk along Mississippi River Blvd (north - towards the overlook which is right off the parking lot).

A short ways you will come to a big sweeping curve and a triangle of an intersection. Just keep following the sidewalk.  Across this tangle of roads sits O'Shaughnessy Stadium on the University of St. Thomas campus.  Right about there at the curve is a white sign saying something like "Welcome Ice Climbers" and then a number of rules.  It's a rather large metal sign just in the woods off the sidewalk.  That sign sits on a trail.  Take that trail down into the ravine and follow it until you finally hear and see Shadow Falls.  Incidentally you can hear the falls from the overlook and there is a rather dangerous looking and steep small trail that leads down that way as well.

The trail is very rustic.  It is packed down mud and it crosses the creek a few times. You'll need to crawl over fallen trees and pick your way through either the water or the mud (depending of course when you go there could also be ice).  Some kind souls created little walkways for crossing the creek three or so times.

It's a short hike to the falls depending on your point of view.  It's very scenic and quiet and there were far fewer folks down here than up top.  A few spots are very narrow and right along the edge of the steep ravine.  You cross the Shadow Falls Creek quite a few times which my dog thought was the bomb!  Oh dirty muddy little dog what will I do with you?  The creek is more than a trickle but not by a whole lot so the falls aren't ginormous but they are peaceful and sweet.  You can hear joggers and bikers up top yet you are surrounded by nature and her relaxing beauty.

You finally get to a point at the top along the trail where you see the falls.  I ventured half way down before I slipped and crashed on my tail and decided it was in my best interests to not go down to the ravine floor on this day.  Ended up slamming my butt onto a tree root and took that opportunity to sit and catch the breath that had left me.  The mud was like cement; super sticky and thick and slick.  So another time I will go to the bottom and I bet it is even more serene and wonderful looking up at the waterfall.  The waterfall is not mighty but worth the short jaunt to see it.

Continuing on the trail past the falls you come to a bit of a clearing to look down the Mississippi.  There is another unofficial trail that leads up from this point back to the sidewalk so you have time to walk the mud off your shoes as well as the dogs feet and time for the dog to get slightly dry before jumping back in the car.

 

Should you have the time and energy, a stroll through St. Thomas is recommended. If you don't have time for the whole thing just jump over by the stadium and walk to the fountain.  At least in spring it is surrounded by gorgeous buildings and purple flowers. It's a lovely campus.

Peanuts Quest

The City of St. Paul created a number of tributes to native son Charles Shulz. There were a hundreds of statues each year, decorated by local artists and placed around the metro - called Peanuts on Parade.  The first Peanuts on Parade was Snoopy in 2000. 2001 = Charlie Brown About Town; 2002 = Looking for Lucy; 2003 = Linus Blankets Saint Paul; 2004 = Doghouse Days of Summer.  They were auctioned off at the end of each summer and many were sold to private collectors.  But, there are enough still around to make a fun quest.  There were plaques on each indicating the name of the statue and who the artist and sponsor was. Many of those have been removed or worn away for one reason or another so I pick up pieces from other blogs to try to determine the names of those without the plaques.

Apparently Santa Rosa, Calif. picked up where St. Paul left off and had a series of their own Peanuts on Parade statues - so if you get to California....and Snoopy the Astronaut is at Kennedy Space Center in Florida.

So my quest began.  Adding a twist of difficulty some appear to move so where I found some may not be where you will find them...

Lucy at St. John's with Diamonds is found in the main entrance at St. John's Hospital in Maplewood. St. John's is at 1575 Beam Avenue, Maplewood, MN. From Highway MN-36 take US-61 N to Beam Avenue (on the right at the light).  Turn left just past the Costco on Hazelwood Street. Go up to St. John's Blvd and if you park in the lot directly on the left walk across towards the Heart Care Center but go to the main entrance (just follow the sidewalk).  If you find valet parking you are very close!  She's found in the breezeway so you don't have to hunt around at all!

Work Zone Charlie Brown is in the lobby of the Department of Transportation at the Water's Edge Building on County Road B2 West, Roseville, MN.  There is ample parking at the DOT which is near the Snelling Avenue intersection and just east of Rosedale Mall. Just go in the main entrance and you'll see Chuck.  There is a reception desk but I just told the guy that I was there to take a picture of Charlie Brown and he waved me on barely able to control rolling his eyes :) - it's right in the lobby near the reception desk.  Apparently Chuck travels to the fair each year too.

No Luck at the Lake found outside of Joe's Sporting Goods 33 County Road B East, Little Canada, MN. Joe's can be found just off of Highway MN-36 at the Rice Street exit.  Cub Foods is on Rice and County Road B. Go past Cub on B and Joe's is not far - on the left.  It sits outside and is easy to find.

Supposedly there is a Snoopy at the corner of Finn and Grand on or right near the University of St. Thomas. Found the location but couldn't locate Snoopy.  Unless it's not outside anymore.  This one was called St. Thomas' Snoopy and was decorated with tons of images and donated to the university by an alumnus.  Apparently there have been vandalism attacks against it in the past so it was probably removed once again by the university and put in storage. Sad.

I Love Sleepy Eye found a few hours southwest of the metro in the burg of Sleepy Eye. The western end of Highway 14 (known as Main Street in Sleepy Eye) sits the cute little Dyckman Free Library.  Right on Main Street sits Linus.  Hard to miss? Well maybe, but I missed it my first trek through town. :) So, if you are head west and find you run out of city turn yourself around and I bet you'll find him! He is directly across from Hardee's and kitty corner from a few gas stations. 

Renaissance Dog and Stargazing both Snoopy statues found at the St. Paul Public Library - Rice Street Branch.  The Snoopy's look out at Rice Street and there is a parking lot at the corner of Rice and Hatch St. The address is 1011 Rice Street. I went early on a bright sunny day so the reflections of the windows produced less than ideal conditions for taking pictures.

Stargazing

Renaissance Dog

Remember, Restore, Rejoice and (maybe) Bound to Be Linus are part of the Premiere Bank gang. Apparently these rotate between Premiere Bank branches so you might not always find them where I did.  These were found at the Premiere Bank at White Bear Avenue and Beam Street in Maplewood.  It is directly across the street from Walgreens.  You need to turn on Beam as they sit at the entrance off the parking lot.

Remember, Restore, Rejoice

Bound to be Linus (unsure if that's the name)

Lucy Loves Chocolate and Swirlie Charlie were a drive by, hey, look! moment.  Seen as I was on the on ramp to get from Hwy 61 South to Hwy 36 West I had to backtrack to figure out how to get to them. The address is 1081 Highway 36 but you need to take a frontage road to gain access. While on Hwy 61 south heading towards the 36 junction there is a frontage road on the right. Take that to the left and drive all the way around past the big curve. The Whitaker Sports and Import Cars building is on the right - if you keep going you'll be able to hit the onramp for Hwy 36 W.

Swirlie Charlie

Lucy Loves Chocolate

The Capitol Grounds

The grounds of the state capitol are quite nice. There is much to see as they have many memorials and monuments.  The day I went was windy and below zero so I buzzed through quite quickly but it is definitely worth a return trip in spring.  The capitol building was undergoing renovations so it will be good to go back to see the finished product and take a tour inside.

First of all, finding the grounds was unexpectedly easy.  You will find various parking lots and ramps however metered parking is found along a number of streets as well.  Going on a Sunday like I did, meters were not enforced.  Signs are well marked and not terribly confusing like some can be.

From I35E and I94 take University Avenue exit 107C which is marked with State Capitol signs. Go straight on 12th St E.  You can find a map to download from www.mn.gov at the very bottom under Citizen Resources click on Capitol Area Maps and then choose State Capitol Complex.

On 12th Street directly in front of the capitol is the Veterans Service building which has a replica liberty bell.

From there you can find:

Peace Officers Monument (the car in the background is on 12th St)

 Korean War Memorial

 Vietnam War Memorial

And lots more....

Good spot to explore and learn and appreciate all that we have and be thankful for those who provide and serve to help make this life a good life.

Chauncy the Corpse Flower

The University of Minnesota Saint Paul Campus houses the College of Biological Sciences (CBS) Conservatory.  The home of the corpse flower that recently bloomed in February 2016.  The Conservatory offered free parking along the street that houses the conservatory and had a live stream of the corpse flower.  Here is a shot of Chauncy, the Corspe Flower, about a week before it bloomed.  This photo is from February 2.

Not much of a wait to get in that day at noon - of course there was a raging snow storm that day as well.  :)

Chauncy bloomed on Super Bowl Sunday (February 7) however I didn't go then as the flower didn't fall down/ open fully like it looks in the photo in the lower corner of my photograph above.  Little did I know that doesn't necessarily happen and did not happen with Chauncy.  I asked a student about it while I waited in line and she indicated that it doesn't always happen.  She indicated that Chauncy is not as big as some corpse flowers - some get upwards of 10 feet tall.  This has to be pretty good sized for living in a container though I'd think.

The day after the bloom opened, boy oh boy were there a lot of people (great for the conservatory and the line moved pretty fast which was good for me in order to make it back to work on time).

The flower is a deep red color but this is as far as it opened up.  I didn't smell the rancid meat smell that they say it smells like - to me it smelled like warm dirt.  It wasn't so awful. :)

Pretty cool!

This is university run and is free to the public but you are welcome to donate if you wish. They have many rooms with all sorts of cool plants.

Fun facts about Amorphophallus titanum (corpse flower):  it warms itself up in order to spread the smell farther to entice pollinators to it and it is native to the island of Sumatra.

If you visit you'll want to check campus maps to find parking - I was lucky enough to be able to take advantage of free parking on the street both times.  The conservatory is the building that says Biological Sciences Greenhouse (it's address is 1534 Lindig St.)  From Snelling turn west on Larpenteur (from Roseville that's a right turn and from St. Paul that's a left turn).  A few stoplights down is Gortner - turn left into the University of Minnesota St. Paul campus. The first road that you can turn left on is Dudley turn left.  Left on the next street which is Lindig. The first building on the right is the greenhouse (conservatory).  Again, you can't park in front of the building but there are meters on Gortner just as you pass Dudley St. as well as Gortner Ramp which you'll find on the right after you pass Buford St.  

The conservatory is open Monday - Friday from 9am - 3:30pm and is open to the public.  Be sure you sign in/out when visiting.

Enjoy!

Minnemishinona Falls

Minnemishinona Falls seems it might be an out of the way not so well known area although it does have a small picnic area and parking.  It is a free site (no state park sticker required).  It is on Judson Bottom Road which partially is on County Highway 41 and partially is it's own rustic road.  Again there are brown destination signs to guide you to parking and once you find that there is another sign to tell you which way the falls is - which is just a skip from the parking area.

Frozen falls are pretty cool.  This is a 42 foot waterfall. These had a fracture along the top of the frozen falling part and I'd love to be there when it finally let's go.  It is in the country but across the street is a residence but just look for this bridge which is on the left side if you are coming from Mankato.  From County Highway 41 you take the exit for Rockford Road and roundabout your way to get onto Rockford Road, which is also County Highway 41.  At one point you'll see a sign for Judson Bottom Road going off to the left just keep going straight because the falls is just up the hill after the curve and on the left.

Not far from here is Minneopa State Park and Minneopa Falls.

Pretty cool difference between winter and summer!  Doesn't even look like the same falls.

August Schell Brewing Company

August Schell was born in Germany in 1828. At age 20 he moved to the US and co-founded New Ulm, Minnesota.  In 1860 he began building the brewery on the banks of the Cottonwood River.

This was a 2015-16 Checkpoint Minnesota (Department of Tourism location scavenger hunt) site.  When I was there they were not open yet and it was like a mini-tourism park with a coupon station, museum and gift shop along with the stately mansion and the brewery. They give tours but I had my dog with me so we left before they opened.

Ah, but to find it.  I used Mapquest and was directed to turn from US Highway 14 W onto 20th St S. This doesn't actually happen. I can only assume that it did at one time but don't fall for it.  You actually want to turn from US 14W onto 448th Street which is where the big stone Willkommen to New Ulm sign sits.  448th Street will turn into 20th St S once you get into town.  From there it's easy to find and they have those brown destination signs to help you along.  Should you miss this turn and keep going into town on US 14W you'll end up on the north side of town and try as you may you won't get from 20th North Street to 20th Street South. Siri must have been cold because she would tell me when to turn only after I had already passed the desired street.  That created extra anxiety and exhaustion teamed with instant realization that a dog probably isn't allowed on premises so I got in and got out quickly without too much exploring.  But, it was winter and cold and they weren't open so there wasn't much to explore anyhow.  Worth a trip back to take a tour I think. Apparently they make 1919 Root Beer - I'll be trying that thankyouverymuch.

Just down the road near Mankato you can check out Minneopa State Park and Minnemishinona Falls. Both of which are dog friendly and super cool.

Zumbrota Covered Bridge

Zumbrota Covered Bridge in Zumbrota is the last remaining authentic covered bridge in Minnesota and is on the US National Register of Historic Places. 

According to Wikipedia: "The bridge was completed in November 1869 as a replacement for Zumbrota's original bridge which was destroyed by the spring flood of that year. The covered portion of the bridge was added in 1871. The bridge served until 1932 when it was moved to the fairgrounds. In 1997 the bridge was moved to its current location in Covered Bridge Park, about 100 yards from its original location."

The bridge is on the edge of Covered Bridge Park and is located at the end of West Avenue in downtown Zumbrota near 2nd Street. It spans the north fork of the Zumbro River and is 116 feet long. There is a small circular area that you can park in at the bridge and it is near the library and other parking is very close by.  There is a paved trail and although it was below zero and windy the day we visited which didn't allow for much exploring, apparently there is a campground and picnic shelters among other things in the nearly 80 acre park.

45th Parallel

1st stop: The 45th parallel which is the line of latitude bisecting the Northern Hemisphere; exactly half way between the Equator and North Pole:  45 degrees north of the Equator and 45 degrees south of the North Pole.  There is a boulder with plaque near Community Park in Falcon Heights (north of the Twin Cities). Park at Community Park, located at the corner of Cleveland Ave N and Roselawn Ave W, and walk up Cleveland Ave towards the residences (away from the park) on the side of street with the sidewalk. Very shortly you will pass Loren Avenue and there sits a boulder which marks the spot.  I nearly walked right past it. The 45th parallel is said to run through Roseville so Roselawn Ave must mark the city border with Falcon Heights.  Pretty cool.