Letterboxing in the Great Lakes Region

Thomas is attending a conference in Minneapolis and I am tagging along. We will travel from Minnesota to Wisconsin and over to Michigan so that I can add these three states to my letterboxing map.
April 6 - 13, 2013

And Now . . . Back to Minneapolis

This morning we slept until 7:30am and then got up and ready for our day. The plan was to leave Madison and make our way back to Minneapolis. Once dressed and packed we loaded the car and hit the road - and it was raining. We drove for about 50 minutes and then decided to stop for breakfast and coffee. While we waited for our food I logged into Southwest Airlines and got our boarding passes for our flight home tomorrow.

Snowy Trees

With our tummies full and our flights ready we started driving again. We hadn't been on the road for long when the rain turned into a light snow (which lasted the rest of the day). We made a stop at a rest area near Lyndon Station, WI to look for a letterbox by cheekee monkey called AMEN! which I found without a problem even though it was under an inch of snow. I took the box back to the car to stamp in and when I was finished I returned the box to its hiding spot and then took a few pictures of the trees with their light dusting of snow. Then it was back on the road. About an hour down the road we pulled into another rest area between Millston and Black River Falls to look for another letterbox. But the trail we needed was closed and we decided not to look for the box. So it was back in the car and on the road again. Our next stop was not until we crossed back into Minnesota. We pulled into the Minnesota Visitors Center and looked for hartwolfzell's Viking Territory box. The place was covered in about two inches of snow and the box was quite a ways from the parking area. It took me a little while to locate the box but I eventually found it. There was no where to sit so I had to stand and stamp in. It was quite challenging but I got it done. Then I rehid the box and made my way back to the car.

Since we are flying home tomorrow we had plans to stay at a hotel near the airport so we headed in that direction. And since we were in that area we decided to go to the Mall of America.

LEGO Dragon at the Mall of America

Now Thomas and I are not shoppers but we wanted to go just to say we had been there. The place is huge and we only saw about a quarter of it. I think we were there for about an hour and a half. We only went into a couple of stores and just actually wandered around the place. Now that we had been there and done that we left and went to have something to eat. While eating I decided to check Box Radar on my phone to see if there were any boxes near the Mall of America and our hotel. I found one - Mall of America by Shorty. So after eating we drove about two blocks and took a very short walk and easily found the box. Again with the snow all over there was no where to sit and stamp so this time Thomas helped me by holding things while I stamped in. Once the stamping was done and the box back in place we made our way to the hotel to get checked in. We are now packed and ready for the flight home. We had a nice trip and I was glad to get to see three Capitols that I hadn't visited before and to add three new states to my letterboxing map. But I have to say I miss our New Mexican sun. We have been here a week and we only saw sunshine for about four hours one day, the rest of the time has been overcast and rainy. I guess we will have to try and get out this way again in the Spring or Fall and hopefully when it is a little dryer.

From Kalamazoo to Madison

Another overcast and rainy day greeted us this morning and the temperature was hovering around freezing. We were up at 7:00am and ready to leave Kalamazoo around 8:00am. The rain wasn't too bad - a little more than a drizzle but very persistent. We drove to Maple Grove Cemetery which was only a block from the hotel to find Housepitality Hostess' Whack A Mole letterbox. It was a little confusing trying to find landmarks from the car but after about a ten minute search we found the box. I jumped out of the car and grabbed the box and stamped in while keeping warm and dry in the car. After replacing the box we headed west on I94 watching the rain fall and the windshield wipers going back and forth. Unfortunately with the rain and our time schedule we didn't really get to explore Kalamazoo. I hope to return to Michigan again when it is a little dryer. We had only driven about 30 minutes when we both decided we wanted to stop and have some breakfast and get some coffee. We saw a road sign for Waffle House of America so we took the exit for Lawrence, MI and made our way to the restaurant. Thomas and I both love Waffle House but we found out right away that this restaurant wasn't part of the chain. It was a local, one of a kind place. It turned out great - the waitress was great, really nice and funny and the food was fantastic and the coffee excellent. We had a nice meal and relaxed a little before heading back out into the rain. The drive from Lawrence to Chicago was pretty uneventful, mostly just on and off raining. I think we stopped once more along the way at a rest area for a few minutes but that was it. Unfortunately when we hit Chicago the traffic slowed to a snails pace. It took us around 35 minutes to go about 6 miles. It was not fun inching our way through Chicago in the rain and traffic and we were ecstatic when we were finally passed the city. We continued driving again without much to write about until we crossed into Wisconsin. Part of all the driving on this trip was to see three State Capitols that I had not visited before and also to add three new states to my letterboxing map. So far I had added two - Minnesota and Michigan.

Jelly Belly Jelly Beans

And now that we had crossed into Wisconsin I was hoping to find a couple of letterboxes to complete this state. We reached Pleasant Prairie, WI and took an exit and headed to the Jelly Belly Wisconsin Visitor Center. It was raining when we arrived so we went inside to take a free warehouse tour. It was a simple little tour on a small tram that takes you around the inside perimeter of the warehouse and explains the history and making of Jelly Belly jelly beans. It was interesting but they don't make the candies at this location so it was just videos and set ups - but still enjoyable. After the tour you get a small bag of jelly beans and then you can go to the sample bar and taste as many of the flavors as you want. Once the tasting was done we did a little shopping and then headed outside to find CinemaBoxers' Know What I Mean Jelly Bean? box. It was a nice hand carved Jelly Belly logo and WooHoo! I had now found a letterbox in Wisconsin and I can add it to my map - my 41st state. I brought the box back to the car to stamp in since it was still raining and when I was done I quickly ran out to replace it. Now time to continue our drive.

The next part of our drive took us to the Milwaukee area. We didn't actually go into the city, we ended up in Wauwatosa at the Wauwatosa Cemetery. Here we looked for and found LauRN's Banksy Box Series. There were three boxes in the series and since it was raining we drove around in the car looking for landmarks and then I would run out and get the box so that I could stamp in while nice and dry in the car. We did find all three boxes and when we were done we continued our drive to Madison.

Mosais in the Wisconsin Capitol Rotunda

It was about 4:15pm when we arrived in Madison so we made our way to the Capitol for a tour. The building didn't close until 6:00pm so we had plenty of time to walk around. We talked to a very nice woman at the information desk where I got my Capitol Collection stamp, a self guided tour book, some suggestions of what not to miss and some postcards. Thomas and I ended up spending about 55 minutes walking around taking pictures and marveling at the beauty of the building. We both agreed that this is another Capitol high on our list of favorites. The chandeliers, marble, murals and the dome were incredible.

Wisconsin Capitol

After touring the inside of the building we walked around the outside of the building and took a few pictures. We didn't linger outside because there was still a fine drizzle and we were starting to get wet. Thomas had talked to the woman at the information desk to find out where we could get some great Wisconsin cheddar cheese. She suggested a place across the street from the Capitol called Fromagination. We made our way to the store and the staff was so helpful. We tasted about 12 different cheeses and ended up getting some 8 year aged cheddar and 12 year aged cheddar. It was so good. After shopping we asked the guy who had waited on us for a suggestion for dinner in the area. He said that all the places around the square were good but he named three of his favorites. We ended up at a place called DLUX. Thomas and I ended up with the same thing - the special for the night - a chicken caesar burger with romaine lettuce, tomato, caesar dressing and crusted parmesan. We also shared an order of parmesan and truffle cream fries. It was so delicious. It was nice to sit and relax out of the rain and just talk about the day. Once we were done eating we decided to head to the hotel and check in. We are now showered and in our pj's just taking it easy. Tomorrow we return to Minneapolis where we will finish up our trip.

A Day in Michigan

We woke up this morning in Hammond, IN and found the skies extremely overcast but it wasn't yet raining. We dressed and got our things ready, loaded the car and headed out. No sooner than the tires on the car started rolling, it started raining. At first it wasn't too bad but just 20 minutes into our three hour drive it became a full blown thunderstorm - thunder, lightning and heavy rain. I couldn't see more than 50 feet in front of me. After about 50 minutes of driving in this we decided to exit the highway and stop for some breakfast and coffee and just take a break from the downpour. After eating and relaxing a bit we ventured back onto the highway. The rain went from just a tiny drizzle to full blown downpours on and off for the full three hours we drove from Hammond to Lansing, MI. We ended up taking one other break (besides the one for breakfast) just to get out of the rain. Thomas and I kept saying that it would be nice if all this rain went to New Mexico.

Michigan State Capitol Dome

Anyway, we survived and made it to the Michigan Capitol Building. We parked at a meter on the side of the building and made a quick dash into the building to enjoy some warmth and dryness. The staff at the Capitol were so friendly. They gave us a self guided tour book and stamped my Capitol Collection book and gave us some suggestions for what we should see and do in the building. One of those suggestions was to see the House Chambers first. The House was starting session today at 1:30pm and if we didn't get to the Chambers before they started we wouldn't have been able to see it. We ended up spending about 45 minutes walking around this beautiful building - taking pictures and learning some history. This is high up as one of my favorite Capitols. The staff was extremely nice, the building was beautiful and well kept, and they had security people walking around but you didn't have to go through any security checkpoints (so none of the paranoia that is sweeping our country). As we were leaving we thanked the people that helped us and headed outside expecting to walk back out into the rain. To our surprise it wasn't raining - at all. So we walked around the outside of the building and took some pictures and then returned to the car. Since it wasn't raining we decided to try and find a letterbox. We drove to Mount Hope Cemetery to find "His Eye is on the Sparrow" by King Edward/Princess Di. Just before we got to the cemetery it started raining again so we decided to drive around the cemetery and try to find all the landmarks from the car and luckily we were able to find the box and all I had to do was dash out and get it and bring it to the car. I sat in the car to stamp in and then replaced the box without getting too wet.

From Lansing we decided to head over to Grand Rapids. We got a suggestion to visit the Frederik Meijer Gardens & Sculpture Park. It rained lightly the whole drive and we wondered if we would enjoy a walk outside to see all the sculptures. Thankfully the rain stopped for a while and we did enjoy the park. After paying our fee we started our visit with the Butterfly exhibit in the conservatory. They have a whole area where they raise caterpillars and then there is an area where all the butterflies are flying around freely. The butterflies are species from all around the world so they are diligent about checking your clothes when you leave the area because they don't want to introduce non native species into the park. From there we went outside and walked all around the sculpture park.

Light of the Moon, Igor Mitoraj

There was no rain but it was cold - the temperature was around 37° and there was a little breeze. But we really enjoyed all the sculptures. My favorites were The American Horse by Nina Akamu, Neuron by Roxy Paine, Listening to History by Bill Woodrow and "I, You, She or He" by Jaume Plensa. When it became too cold we decided to head back inside. We walked through a temporary exhibit called Connected and Disconnected: The Sculpture of Hanneke Beaumont. There was something sad and eerie about the pieces and I am still not sure if I liked the exhibit. We did see two of her sculptures outside in the park but seeing an entire collection was a little weird.  Also inside the building we got to see two Chihuly pieces, Lena's Garden in the Taste of the Gardens Café and Gilded Champagne Garden Chandelier in the Grand Atrium. We had a great time at the gardens and sculpture park and after about two hours we decided to move on. It wasn't raining so we decided to try to get some letterboxes. We ended up at Oak Hill Cemetery to find Angel Winks' ROY G BIV series. It worked out great because the cemetery was divided into sections and was really well marked. It also had roads around all the sections so we could drive around and find landmarks and locate the hiding spots for the boxes without leaving the car. Once I had the spot I would run and get the box and bring it back to the car for stamping in. This was great because the whole time we were at the cemetery it drizzled on and off. We ended up finding the entire series and were done by 6:00pm. Now it was time for dinner - we saw a sign for Steak 'n Shake and decided to go there. We love this place and there are none in New Mexico. After a good meal we were back in the car and making the drive to Kalamazoo for the night.

With the rain and cold and all the things we did today we are exhausted. Hopefully we will get a good night's sleep so that we are ready to begin our trip back west to Minneapolis tomorrow. We won't make the entire drive to Minneapolis tomorrow, we will just make our way to Madison, WI with a few stops along the way. I'll write about all that tomorrow night.

The American Horse, Nina Akamu, 1998

Neuron, Roxy Paine, 2010

I, You, She or He, Jaume Plensa, 2006

Listening to History, Bill Woodrow, 2001

Lena's Garden, Dale Chihuly, 2009

Gilded Champagne Garden Chandelier, Dale Chihuly, 2003

The Rain and The Road

Thomas had to be at his conference at 7:30am so we got up around 6:30am and got our bags packed. Thomas left for his meetings and I finished packing. Once I had all the bags together I thought about what I was going to do for the morning. Unfortunately it was cold and raining. And not just a little drizzle but hard rain. So I decided to sit in the room and read for a while. Around 9:00am I got all our things into the car and had everything ready for when Thomas' meetings were done. I then went across the street from the hotel to Espresso Exposé for a little breakfast and coffee. I sat and surf the internet and read some blogs. I also got a few emails out. I eventually got tired of sitting in the coffee shop so I left there and put my computer in the car and grabbed my book. I then went to the building where Thomas was having his meeting and sat in a comfy little chair next to a fireplace and waited for Thomas to be done. The rain continued all morning and the temperatures were between 32° and 35°, so very wet and cold. Thomas ended up getting out a little early and he met me in the lobby and we walked to the car. It was still raining and there were also little ice crystals coming down. We got settled in the car and headed east.

The drive was not great. It rained the entire day. We drove from Minneapolis and about an hour later we stopped to have a little lunch and then it was back on the road. We made our way to Madison, WI then onto Milwaukee, WI. From there we headed south to Illinois and about 30 minutes north of Chicago we stopped for dinner and to get out of the traffic and rain. Finally around 8:30pm we arrived in Hammond, IN where we are staying the night. It has been a long day and we decided that driving in the rain sucks. Tomorrow we head into Michigan and I hope the rain slows down a bit.

A Cold and Wet Day in the Twin Cities

I have to start off by saying that today was a pretty boring day. It was very wet, although it didn't actually rain today it did rain all night and the news this morning said that the Twin City area got about a half inch of rain overnight. It was also cold - when I left the hotel at around 8:45am it was only 34° and with the wetness it felt even colder. But I ventured out anyway not really sure what I was going to do. I ended up driving to St. Paul and made my way to Kaposia Park. There was an event (Monster Mash) in this park back in October 2012 so there were quite a few boxes in the park. Also there is a neighboring park - Thompson County Park that also had boxes. When I pulled into the parking area there was not another car and I thought to myself - 'Am I the only idiot out in this weather.' - but that didn't seem to deter me. I took out the clues and read them. A few of them started with the same directions - walk past the playground and baseball diamond to the paved path. I think the weather was getting to me because I had a hard time finding the path. I then read a few other clues and some of them said to cross a bridge into the other park and some said to go around the log building. I did try to find one box around the log building but I didn't have any luck, not sure if I was in the right place. Anyway, I decided to nix this park and go to Thompson County Park. Here I began looking for a series of ten boxes called Monster Mash. I started on the trail which was wet, muddy, icy and snowy. I ended up finding the first two boxes on this part of the trail and had some difficulty stamping in. Everything was wet and I had to stand and stamp in as well as hold everything. I didn't want to put anything on the ground because it would be wet and muddy. The next two boxes were on a different trail and again I didn't have any problems finding them but the stamping in process was pretty awkward. Then I continued on the trail to the 5th box which I found without a problem but I couldn't get it out of its hiding spot - I finally figured out it was frozen in place. So I abandoned that box and continued on the trail but the trail got much wetter, more muddy and had ice and snow. I decided I wasn't in the mood to continue on - so I called it quits and returned to the car.

Witch Hat Water Tower

Once in the car I realized I was really cold and my hands were a little achy. I put the heater on and sat there to warm up and noticed the temperature was only 40° and I wondered why I didn't stop letterboxing sooner.

Since I was cold I decided to find a coffee place so I punched that into the Garmin and found a Caribou Coffee place just .7 miles from where I was. I was there in less than five minutes. I got a hot coffee and sat in a nice comfy chair and surfed the internet for about an hour. I really enjoyed the place - it was warm and comfortable. After finishing my coffee and bored with the internet I decided to head back into Minneapolis. My plan was to just head on back to the hotel and rest for a while and then maybe take a walk. But on the way I saw a landmark for a box that I had clues for so I took a small detour and found The Witch's Hat at the Witch Hat Water Tower. This was a quick and easy find but again the stamping in was a pain in the butt. But I got it done and replaced the box and returned to the car. Now I really did head back to the hotel. I gathered my things and went up to the room. The housekeepers were just getting ready to clean the room. So I decided to go for a walk around campus.

U of M Football Stadium

Don't know if I mentioned it or not but our hotel (The Commons) is on the University of Minnesota campus. So I walked and took pictures and then ended up at Espresso Exposé for another cup of coffee. About an hour and a half later I returned to a clean room.
Once in the room I sat in a comfortable leather chair and read for about an hour. Thomas returned from his conference and we talked for a little while. Around 5:30pm we decided to walk down the street to find something to eat. We ended up at a place called Stub and Herbs. This place was old and a little run down, a greasy spoon sort of place and the food was wonderful. We had a nice, enjoyable and relaxing dinner and then returned to the hotel. We got most of our stuff organized and packed because Thomas' conference is done in the morning and then we are heading further east for a few days. I will let you know where we end up tomorrow.

A Day in Minneapolis

We started this morning a little later than we usually would. I think the past week and the traveling caught up with us. We were both so tired by the time we got to the hotel last night that we ended up sleeping about 10 hours. This morning we left the hotel around 9:30am to head out for breakfast and to find our first letterbox. The sky was very cloudy but thankfully no rain - but for the entire morning we letterboxed in 32° to 39° temperatures.

Wild Turkeys

We headed for a coffee shop to find Wake Up Call by Tricky Troy. As we parked and got out of the car we encountered about 7 wild turkeys just walking along the sidewalk and in someone's yard. We asked a guy walking by and he said that it happens quite often. Anyway we made our way to the coffee shop but they really didn't have anything for breakfast so we got a coffee and the letterbox and sat and stamped in. WooHoo!!!!! My first box in Minnesota and that makes the 39th state that I have letterboxed in. After returning the box and finishing our coffee we went and had breakfast at a place called nuff. It was a great breakfast - I had a black forest ham and swiss cheese omelet and one pancake and some orange juice, Thomas had french toast and scrambled eggs and coffee. After eating we continued our letterboxing. Our next stop was at the Sunset Memorial Park Cemetery to find R.I.P. Creepy Oatmeal Guy. This was a quick and easy find and I stamped in while sitting in the car. Once I was done and the box was back in place we headed to our next stop. This was at St. Anthony's Cemetery. Here we found Ancient Gods Series: Baba Yaga by estella_naparella. This was also a quick and easy find and again I stamped in while sitting in the car. I rehid the box and we headed to our next box. We parked at Deming Heights Park and started our hunt for Ancient Gods Series by estella_naparella. After a short search I found The Nymph and took it to a bench to stamp in. I then put the box back in place and returned to the car to head to the next box in the series. There were two people right where I needed to be to find the box so we decided to head to the next box and then return here. So we drove a little further up the road and found a spot to park. I took a short walk and found The Stag. There was no place to sit and the ground was wet from the rain yesterday so I stood and stamped in. I then replaced the box and returned to the car and then we backtracked to the second box. Now the coast was clear and I went in search of The Archer. I ended up empty handed. I am not sure what I did wrong but I couldn't find the box. So after 15 minutes of searching we decided to stop and head back to the hotel so that Thomas could get ready for his conference. By this time the sun was out and the temperature had risen to 54° and the day was beautiful.

Spoonbridge and Cherry

I left Thomas at the hotel to get ready for his conference and I decided to go to the Minneapolis Sculpture Garden. My main reason for going was to see the Spoonbridge and Cherry (which I learned about on Roadside America) but once I got there I really enjoyed the entire area and the sculptures. I spent about an hour just walking around and taking pictures. After leaving the gardens I drove around in downtown and saw the Mary Tyler Moore statue (also seen on Roadside America). By this time I was feeling worn out and decided to return to the hotel and get something to eat. I ate in the hotel restaurant - The Beacon Public House. I had nachos with ham hock, cheddar cheese, pepperoncinis and kalamata olives with a local beer (Summit Oatmeal Stout from St. Paul). I also ended up getting a buffalo chicken taco as well. It was all good and I just sat and relaxed and ate and had my beer - it was a nice way to end the day. Now I am showered and in my pj's just relaxing in the room. Tomorrow I have the whole day by myself, not sure yet what I am going to do. I will fill you in tomorrow night.

Hare on Bell on Portland Stone Piers, Barry Flanagan, 1983

Bronze Woman IV, Thomas Schutte, 1998/2000

Junge Frau (Young Woman), Georg Kolbe, 1926

Cavaliere (Horseman), Marino Marini, 1949

Standing Glass Fish, Frank Gehry, 1986

Ordovician Pore, Tony Cragg, 1989

Without Words, Judith Shea, 1988

The Traveling Begins

Our trip began early this morning as we left Santa Fe in the dark, telling our dogs goodbye (they will be cared for by our friend, Bruce) and headed to Albuquerque for our flight to Minneapolis. We didn't encounter any problems checking in and going through security at the Sunport was a breeze and before we knew it boarding began and we were off to Denver (the flight was only 52 minutes) where we had an hour and a half layover. While waiting Thomas and I talked about this being our first trip where we didn't have to worry about his dad. For those who haven't heard or didn't know Thomas and I have been taking care of his dad for nine years now since Thomas' mother passed away. His dad had been declining since Christmas and we have had him on hospice since then. The hospice team was really helpful and we were very glad to have them and their support. Early on Easter morning Cliff passed away. Even though we knew that his time was limited and had been preparing ourselves it was still a shock and the past week has been a little confusing.

Minneapolis, MN

Trying to get things organized and taken care of and getting ready for this trip - which is a work trip for Thomas - has been a little crazy. We both feel that getting away will help and hopefully we will be able to get some rest and relax a little. Anyway the rest of the layover was quiet and we just read until it was time for the next part of the flight. The flight from Denver to Minneapolis was about an hour and 45 minutes - I ended up sleeping most of the way and all of a sudden we were landing. We got our bags and made our way to the rental car place and we were ready to start our trip.

The weather in Minneapolis when we arrived was cloudy with a little drizzle and the temperature was around 54°, so just a little different from Santa Fe.

Minnesota Capitol

We had made plans to visit the Capitol Building in St. Paul so we set the Garmin and headed out. It only took about 15 minutes to get there and we took a self guided tour of the building. It is a beautiful building and I wish we would have had more time to enjoy it. But the building was closing at 3:00pm and that only gave us about 50 minutes to wander around. I was glad to be able to visit and I may go back on one of the days Thomas has his conference. We left the Capitol and decided we needed something to eat. On the way to the Capitol we had passed a barbecue place and decided to give that a try. So we made our way to Famous Dave's and had some great food. We had brisket, chicken and pork with sides of fries and mac & cheese. They also have cornbread muffins which were delicious. The mac & cheese had little bits of jalapeno it and was also really good.

Great Barbecue

The meat was cooked just right and was very tender. They also had bottles of barbecue sauce on the table that you could put on the meat - sauces called Devil's Spit, Sweet and Zesty, Wilbur's Revenge XXX Hot, Rich and Sassy and Texas Pit. I tried them all but my favorites are Devil's Spit and Sweet and Sassy. We also decided to get some dessert to take back to the hotel for later - I got banana pudding and Thomas got some bread pudding. (They were both good - as we just finished eating them.) By the time we finished eating the rain was coming down harder and we decided to just head to the hotel and check in and get a little rest. We kind of have some plans for tomorrow but we will see how the weather is when we wake up. I'll be back to let you know how tomorrow goes.