Sunday, May 27, 2018

At the very start of the Mississippi River

Years ago, we went through Minnesota from the west on our way to Duluth/Superior but never got up north to see the Headwaters of the Mississippi so this time, we planned better.

The river starts out as a stream leaving Lake Itasca in northern Minnesota then travels all the way down to the Gulf of Mexico.


The yellow circles show where the Headwaters are and where we're standing and where it exits into the Gulf of Mexico

This historic marker dates back to the 1930s, and indicates the Mississippi River's total mileage at 2,552 miles. Since then the river's course has been shortened and altered by flooding and channeling.

Here is the historic marker with some goofy tourists blocking your view.
Ah....better....Now we can read the sign.


We've been here too...way at the southern end of the river.


Here is where the river exits the lake and  begins its long journey south.

Good timing...we had it all to ourselves.

Then, this guy had to get out onto the rocks...carefully....
We left our previous RV park at 6 am in order to get here early as we were 235 miles away. We had really good timing to see the river begins its beginning trip south. A busload of school children had just left the area and, as you can see, a new bunch came in right after we got done....

So much for our peaceful time communing with the river.
Even Katie got in the act. She smelled the water, then jumped in and proceeded to be, what we call, "Our Wild Thing"

...and off she goes!
This is what the river looks like a half mile away from the Headwaters.
Someone looks very happy to finally be here.

Right at the start.

...had to get in the water.
Some up close flowers for you flower lovers.

You guys coming or what?
...and off it goes....down towards New Orleans....
The headwaters are about 800 feet from the parking lot.
Nice peaceful walk through the forest to get there.

One last event for the day:

When we closed the door to the coach it locked both locks. Well, we only lock the deadbolt only and do not carry a key for the other lock. So, we got locked out of our coach!

After a few futile attempts to get in, we decided to enjoy the Headwaters and then try to get in.

We lock all the windows so there was no way to try to slide a window open. (Once before, I crawled through a very small bedroom window but our slide was in so that was not a choice this time.) I tried many times to pry the door open enough to get a screwdriver in to push the lock away but....not to be. Frustrating to say the least.

I called our road side service number and was put on hold, this being Friday before a major holiday weekend. While on hold, I grabbed some very small screwdrivers from my car and tried to pick the lock.....doggone if I didn't get it open ! I hollered over to Kim, "WE'RE IN !!!"

Nothing like a little excitement to make our trip memorable. (which we both could do without).



Here's our trip so far....



Anyway, all is well, we're heading to Duluth, Minnesota next. See you then.

Steve/Kim/Katie


Tuesday, May 22, 2018

The Pilgrimage to SPAM


SPAM Museum?? Really?? In a rural town in SE Minnesota also! But....in Austin, Minnesota, you'll find the SPAM Museum.

So....as we got out of our coach, the people next to us, getting out of their car, remarked, "Making the pilgrimage to SPAM eh?" We grinned, said "Yes" and went in.


If you didn't know....SPAM is made from pork, hence the pigs in the foreground.

What a cool place! SPAM cans, history, exhibits, and someone walking around with Bacon SPAM samples ! Even a SPAM Train travelling above.





How it's made....we always wondered....even though we ate it anyway.

After they combine all the ingredients, they seal the cans and then cook them in a large oven for 3 hours....in the can! Then they cool them, label them and ship them off to your local store. The factory, one of four (?) in the world is outside of town.


For all you Monty Python fans!



Kim is almost 20 cans tall.


Here's the SPAM Train above with every type of SPAM made


Hormel started, years ago, putting hams in cans....canned ham...remember?


SPAM musical instruments

"Life with Father is a lot more fun since we found SPAM". Too funny.

"I see a lot more of my wife since she found SPAM" Interesting ad campaign.

Here's all the SPAM varieties. Turns out they make a few of these only for the foreign markets, like the Philippines, South America, Japan.

SPAM sent millions of cans to the troops in WWII.

SPAM is owned by Hormel who used to be in the meat packing business.

Some of the original Hormel products from way back.

You can make your own SPAM can here and time it to see how fast you need to be. Obviously, this is Kim having a go at it.

Ok, we all have wondered: How SPAM got its name. Turns out the owner's son came up with the product and here's how the name came about.

Some of Hormel Foods' brands that they own.
...and then there's the Gift Shop. Anything you could want with SPAM on it.




You can buy all the varieties here....which we did !

And we bought some souvenirs!

You should see people's reactions when they see me in my SPAM gear!

They have SPAM singles and even SPAM Lite. We bought one of each and gobbled them down in the coach afterwards. Don't go here hungry. Katie loves SPAM....surprise, surprise.

Speaking of Katie....

She likes to keep me company when I do the blogs...even working the keyboard.

Katie says, "Hi fans ! Aren't I cute?"

Fun tourist stop on our way to Minneapolis.

Steve/Kim/Katie


Oh, if you're tired of these blog entries, please let me know and I'll take you off the list.

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