Osceola, Wisconsin - I had to plow through a pretty obnoxious road detour to get to Osceola, but it was totally worth it, as their library has USB ports. So without further ado, some more photos:
This one is from a week or so ago in Minot, North Dakota. There are huge numbers of Swedes and Nords and such up here, and Minot is proud home of the Scandinavian Heritage Park, a beautiful tribute to the region. Here we see two of the highlights: a 20-foot tall statue of a gaily colored horse, the Swedish national symbol, and a full-scale replica of an ancient Scandanavian church. The church really stands out, plunked as it is in the middle of some fairly ugly minimall sprawl.
This is from Itasca State Park, Minnesota, where you can walk across the first few feet of the Mississippi. Since then, I've crossed the Father of Waters, by my count, 9 times, with many more to come.
Grand Rapids, Minnesota - The hometown of Judy Garland, hence the yellow-brick road motif. I was too busy getting my bike repaired (needed the rear wheel and tire replaced - $100 - ugh) to visit the Judy Garland childhood home.
Ganesh was also thrilled to see the requisite statue of Paul Bunyan and Babe. Not sure how many giant Paul Bunyans there are in Minnesota, but this one was in Bemidji.
Here's what I came to Hibbing for: they renamed the road running past Dylan's home. I tried to get a sense of what the town was like when Bobby Zimmerman was growing up there, but the parade made that kind of difficult.
This one is from a week or so ago in Minot, North Dakota. There are huge numbers of Swedes and Nords and such up here, and Minot is proud home of the Scandinavian Heritage Park, a beautiful tribute to the region. Here we see two of the highlights: a 20-foot tall statue of a gaily colored horse, the Swedish national symbol, and a full-scale replica of an ancient Scandanavian church. The church really stands out, plunked as it is in the middle of some fairly ugly minimall sprawl.
This is from Itasca State Park, Minnesota, where you can walk across the first few feet of the Mississippi. Since then, I've crossed the Father of Waters, by my count, 9 times, with many more to come.
Grand Rapids, Minnesota - The hometown of Judy Garland, hence the yellow-brick road motif. I was too busy getting my bike repaired (needed the rear wheel and tire replaced - $100 - ugh) to visit the Judy Garland childhood home.
Ganesh was also thrilled to see the requisite statue of Paul Bunyan and Babe. Not sure how many giant Paul Bunyans there are in Minnesota, but this one was in Bemidji.
Here's what I came to Hibbing for: they renamed the road running past Dylan's home. I tried to get a sense of what the town was like when Bobby Zimmerman was growing up there, but the parade made that kind of difficult.
2 Responses to “Pics from the sticks”
Leave a Reply
About me
I'm Tom Moran, a bicyclist from Fairbanks, Alaska. I'm spending the summer of 2006 riding from Anacortes, Wash., to Bar Harbor, Maine.
Hey Tom. I really enjoyed the picture of the Norwegian stave church. It looks quite authentic; I didn't know any were built in the U.S.
Most Stave churches were built in Scandinavia in the Middle Ages, beginning just before the Black Death. The construction methodology was derived from Viking boat building. Wood is used both structurally (for bearing) and artistically (when carved).
They are some of the oldest remaining timber-frame structures. Stave churches have corner posts (called "staves") and a framework of timber wall planks standing on sills. These are the stave walls, and therefore the name stave church.
Many have tiered naves, like wedding cakes...like your photo depicts. Cool.
(Much more magnificent than 2x4 stud walls with drywall on the inside and thin veneer on the outside...as is the usual thing today).
Hey Tom. I really enjoyed the picture of the Norwegian stave church. It looks quite authentic; I didn't know any were built in the U.S.
Most Stave churches were built in Scandinavia in the Middle Ages, beginning just before the Black Death. The construction methodology was derived from Viking boat building. Wood is used both structurally (for bearing) and artistically (when carved).
They are some of the oldest remaining timber-frame structures. Stave churches have corner posts (called "staves") and a framework of timber wall planks standing on sills. These are the stave walls, and therefore the name stave church.
Many have tiered naves, like wedding cakes...like your photo depicts. Cool.
(Much more magnificent than 2x4 stud walls with drywall on the inside and thin veneer on the outside...as is the usual thing today).