Alexander Ramsey Park has been called the "Little Yellowstone of Minnesota." The park, located in Redwood Falls, my father's hometown, encompasses 219 acres and is the largest municipal park in Minnesota.

1930's Civilian Conservation Corps shelters and bridges provide an architectural accent to the park's natural beauty, which includes the picturesque Ramsey Falls. The park also has campground facilities, four miles of paved hiking rails, a catch and release trout stream, and a zoo, making it a focal point for events and summer activities.

I visited the park with my dad before we drove back to Pipestone. The views throughout the park are beautiful. While standing on the bridge above "Redwood Falls" we watched a fish try to climb the ladder that bypasses the dam.

I walked along the path to the other side of the park, while dad moved the car. He and the rest of the family had spent time in the park the day before while we were up at the mall. I took my time and took in the little details, like all of the bees in the flowers.

Dad met up with me again by a meadow where we saw a bunny. We also heard a pileated woodpecker and were trying to find it amongst the tree branches, but didn't have any luck.

We walked up to one of the shelters and took in the view from above the trees. The Redwood River is 127 miles long and is a part of the Mississippi River's watershed, via the Minnesota River. The reddish bark of the region's dogwood trees is believe to be the source of the river's name.

In the United States, Mall of America definitely could live up to that statement. I could tell you all about our trip, but MoA's video called Mall of America in 60 seconds does a much more efficient job:

Lori, Nicole, and I brought Nicole's girls with us on July 18th for the MoA experience. We drove up to Bloomington after a giant family breakfast in the hotel, and spent the entire day at the mall. We visited the aquarium first, then headed to the heart of the mall to "Nickelodeon Universe," where we enjoyed every roller coaster and thrill ride in the park. We rode many of them more than once. The five of us girls had a great day together!

Wall, South Dakota may be in "the middle of nowhere" on the edge of the Badlands, but is it truly nowhere? Wall Drug's marketing has made this tiny town famous not only in the United States, but worldwide.

It all began in the 1930s when Ted and Dorothy Hustead bought the "original" Wall Drug Store. Ted was a recent graduate of pharmacy school and was ready to move forward with his career as a pharmacist. The two of them spent their first five years struggling in the town of just over 300 people, when Dorothy had an idea:

"I think I finally saw how we can get all those travelers to come to our store."

"And how's that?" [Ted] asked.

"Well, now what is it that those travelers really want after driving across that hot prairie? They're thirsty. They want water. Ice cold water! Now we've got plenty of ice and water. Why don't we put up signs on the highway telling people to come here for free ice water? Listen, I even made up a few lines for the sign:

"Get a soda . . . Get a root beer . . . turn next corner . . . Just as near . . . To Highway 16 & 14. . . Free Ice Water. . . Wall Drug."

They created their signs, putting them up along the highway on the following weekend. The signs worked. Travelers started stopping in before Ted and his son could get back! The store has never struggled for visitors since. 

Today, travelers are enticed by 5 cent coffee and free ice water at Wall Drug advertised on signs and billboards as far away as Paris, Kenya, London, and the Taj Mahal. In fact, people who have never been to the United States know more about Wall Drug than any other roadside wonder. Hundreds of billboards line the east and west approaches of Interstate 90; I saw the first one when we were in Idaho headed east.

O.K., we know the place exists, but what is it? It is a drug store, a cafe, a photo stop, and a place to get out of the car and stretch your legs. Honestly, it is difficult to describe; this place has a lot going on. A life-size T-rex roars every five minutes or so, alternating with a make-believe mine blast on the other end of the hallway, not to mention the six-foot-tall rabbit on wheels, a miniature Mount Rushmore, and a giant saddled jackalope! 

Day 2 on the road to Charlotte was a shorter, more relaxing one. We left Gillette at 6:30 a.m. Mountain Daylight time, and headed back to the interstate via the gas station. While we were fueling and washing off bug guts, another driver pulled in and immediately asked, "Which one of you served?"

This was the 4th time someone had talked to me at a gas station in two weeks. Since you haven't seen my car, I should tell you that its back window has a yellow ribbon cling that reads, "Support Our Troops," a "Johnson & Wales University" cling, and an "82D Airborne" sticker. On the passenger side of the car, behind the rear door, I also have a magnet from a friend that has the date he was Wounded in Action, Airborne Jump Wings, and a Purple Heart. It turns out they do draw attention, which I find quite satisfying.

Anyhow, at this gas station, I only talked about my dad since he was there. The man who had started the conversation wanted to personally thank whoever had served, so I'm glad my dad was there with me.

The Day 2 Highlights Included:

1) Continuing the license plate game - I started over to see how many I could see each day. I saw 37 different plates again; a lot of duplicates from day 1, but overall I was getting closer to seeing all 50!

2) Corvettes. I have never seen so many in my life! When we got into South Dakota I started noticing cars on the west bound side, REALLY nice cars. Then, I realized ALL of those really nice cars were Corvettes. I decided to start counting after Dad and I talked on the 2-way radios. We were both seeing Corvettes headed west. I was up to 13 when a group of 32 came cruising along. By the time we stopped at the Missouri River in Chamberlain, South Dakota, I'd counted over 170 and I'd probably seen just as many before I'd started counting. At the river, we found out there was a Corvette convention in Spearfish, SD and that 300 of them had been in Sioux Falls the night before. I'll be able to recognize a Corvette from a mile away without any trouble!

3) Antelope and Deer... "Home, home on the range..." Sorry.

4) My music collection... I listened to a lot of things including the Zac Brown Band's Foundations album since my friend Rob had mentioned Highway 20 Ride in an e-mail I received from him that morning.






5) Stopping at Wall Drug in Wall, SD, the Missouri River in Chamberlain, SD, & The Corn Palace in Mitchell, SD... We were tourists.

The Missouri River as seen from the Rest Stop at Chamberlain

6) Arriving, at the end of the day, in Pipestone, Minnesota, and seeing my mom for the second time since Easter, when she left to take care of my grandmother.

My father and I set out from our home in northwest Spokane, Washington at 5:30 a.m. on Wednesday, July 14, 2010, in two separate vehicles - my Chevy Malibu and his Chevy S-10 Pickup.

As we drove east from Spokane, we traveled along Interstate 90 out of Washington, through the mountainous panhandle of Idaho, across the exceedingly vast state of Montana, and then dropped down into Wyoming. 796 miles and only 4 stops later we arrived in Gillette, Wyoming for the night.