Museum Maniac

To say I enjoyed myself with my friends Lynn and Erik would be a monstrous understatement; leaving was difficult, but I had a lighthouse and waterfalls to visit on Lake Superior.

One of the things I had to do while I was in Ely, Minnesota, was visit the wolves. These majestic creatures have always captivated me, and it was mesmerizing being so close to them.

What an amazing couple of days I had on my way to a friends' home in Ely, MN. I learned about mining, the Bois Forte Ojibwe, and the incomparable Hollywood icon Judy Garland.

Just my luck; when I rolled through Tower, Minnesota, looking forward to checking out another train museum, it was closed. I guess I'll have to come back someday!

On my way to stay with friends and Ely, Minnesota, I detoured a little bit to learn about the Bois Forte Ojibwe, a Native American people who settled in the Great Lakes region.

There is so much to learn about mining in the United States, and this was an excellent place to start, especially with all of the big heavy equipment they had to explore.

Years ago, I visited Dorthy's House and The Wizard of Oz museum in Liberal, Kansas, and it only seemed right to swing into the main character's childhood home.

A wonderfully organized and well-documented museum in the town of Walker was well worth a couple of hours of exploring before I headed out of town.

The giant pole bunion by the side of the road caught my eye a few days before, so I returned to check out the giant and to see what was in the museum.

Rolling into Brookings, SD, I knew I had a while to wait before my Amazon package would be available, so I headed to the South Dakota Art Museum to check out their collection.

Explore historic Prairie Village and discover unique sites like Chapel Car Emmanuel. Journey through small towns, each with interesting stories, including St. Thomas Church's stunning glass.

After hitting the maximum number of days I could spend at the park in Arlington, I rolled over to another city park that sits right on the banks of the Big Sioux River and was much better.

I absolutely love the thrill of unexpected discoveries in small towns! After a fascinating visit to the Mead Museum, I visited the Saint Wenceslaus Catholic Church and Cemetery.

This is one of the funniest and craziest places I've visited, with a collection of over 8,000 clowns. It is definitely an unexpected treat in Nebraska.

After getting a little bit of work done, I decided to head into town and check out the local history. The Platte Valley Historical Society has done a fantastic job preserving area history.