Weather had been a big factor on the way to Oshkosh. Saturday morning was nearly perfect for our flight to Rochester Minnesota. It was a cool 50 degrees so we started and idled for a few minutes to let the oil gently warm. As we sat we got to see the EAA Ford Trimotor doing touch and goes. Not quite full on Oshkosh but not bad.
I had struggled with Minnesota, initially I was thinking to visit Duluth as they have some nice hikes but we had just done the UP and Duluth was even colder. My next thought was Minneapolis but logistically it was hard and it was not that enticing. In the end I chose Rochester as a good base to see something that caught my eye and allow us to drop by the big city.
The flight was an hour and basically a straight shot. Arriving in Rochester we pulled up at Signature. Now Signature has a bad reputation among some due to high fees, high prices and poor service for piston planes. My experience is that it is very location specific. Today there were no fees, the gas was a good deal and we even got 50 cents off for buying on the weekend. The service was also friendly and efficient.
Our rental car was waiting and though it was 10 AM I checked and the hotel had a room ready. We stopped by and dropped our junk and then set out to sightsee. Our first stop was a famous water tower. As we pulled up we saw that there was a farmers market and after making some comments on the corn tower, we strolled the market.
Lately the markets we have visited seemed too pretentious for my taste. I remember farmers markets being full of fresh produce at good prices. Not anymore, everything was triple the cost of the grocery store and didn’t look any better.
After the market we headed off to see rural Minnesota. We drove East towards the Mississippi River through rolling hills of farms. There were a good many cows, we assumed of the dairy variety. Also lots of fields. I had figured that the land would be flatter but this corner of the state is hilly. Ironically Minnesota is ranked as the 5th flattest state, beating out Kansas.
The National Eagle center is located in Wabasha on the banks of the Mississippi. We had signed online up for the 1 PM program. The center is a small museum with information on Bald Eagles and other eagle related facts. The best part of the center is the eagle room where they have 3 rescue Bald Eagles. Two birds had bad wings and the third was rescued in our town with a significant tumor. The eagle was cured but had lost an eye and could no longer survive in the wild.
We finished the center and still had 25 minutes before the program so we walked across the street to get ice cream. We walked downtown and then back down the river eating our treat. We ate quickly and made the show with plenty of time to spare.
The show was 30 minutes learning about Bald Eagles and then 15 minutes with a live eagle. The highlight is watching the eagle eat. He had a nice chunk of fresh rabbit. Apparently we missed rat day. We were told that he sometimes takes it in one gulp but we got lucky and got to see him rip it apart and savor it. We really got lucky because we were also told sometimes the Eagle sends the food back out as part of the process. We were in the splash zone but luckily stayed dry.
After the show we drove up the Mississippi to Red Wing. We did not stop for any boots though we saw plenty of signs for footwear. On the way back we happened upon a covered bridge so we stopped to look. Apparently it is the only one in the state and was built in 1860 for stagecoach traffic. It had been moved a few times but was in good shape.
We have eaten well on the trip but there has not been much unique local food. Yes we tried local places but pizza and salad is pretty standard. Tonight I saw a taco truck and we decided we would give it a try. Long time readers will remember our taco truck adventure in Oklahoma City. That was a high bar to beat but we gave it a go.
Francis Tacos is a non mobile truck and the specialty is Tacos. Cc got Pollo and Asada, I got Chorizo and Al Pastor with a side of rice. I also ordered a side of sweet corn with mayo and chili. This was unusual but quite tasty. The food was excellent but I think Oklahoma City was slightly better though it may just be nostalgia talking.
We spent Sunday in Minnesota. I decided to see the big city so we drove up to Minneapolis. I was not too enamored with the city. They have a neat sculpture garden and nice parks but I could tell that it was mighty cold most of the year. Don’t think I will be moving there. They also had a race in progress while we were trying to view the sculptures.
After the big city we headed back to Rochester and enjoyed a walk in a nature area. We finished up with some local Mediterranean food which was quite good. The flight planning was pretty easy with good weather and only 120 miles. We had been sightseeing pretty hard and it was good to kick back for a few hours and read a book and just relax.
No comments:
Post a Comment