Romancing the Roads

by Gerry Hempel Davis

  The store contains fifty thousand items, and the truck stop sees five thousand customers a day.

  You’ll also find a three-hundred-seat restaurant with a fifty-foot-long salad bar as well as several fast-food options—and the list of amenities goes on.

  From what I hear, you just might want to plan your trip around the Walcott Truckers Jamboree held in July. I guarantee your memories will be priceless. You will be able to see the Super Truck Beauty Contest, eat one-and-a-half-inch-thick Iowa pork chops, enjoy live music, view one hundred antique trucks. Who could ask for more?

  West on I-80 there are plenty of places to stop for food, gas, and lodging, but Williamsburg and Grinnell probably have the most to offer, especially Williamsburg, which has a large outlet mall.

  I definitely look forward to discovering more about Iowa and perhaps attending the Walcott Truckers Jamboree!

  Minnesota

  The big state of Minnesota is known for its cold weather and such “creations” as eccentric former governor Jesse Ventura, the largest U.S. mall—Mall of America—its football team, the Mayo Clinic, and more. The natives’ speech has a very distinctive twang that is really quite enjoyable. No question, Minnesota is a beautiful place and a should-visit, particularly in the summer. Before my visit, I did not realize that the Mississippi River runs through Minnesota. I learned a lot about the Mississippi Valley and watched fascinated as the boats navigated the locks. The more I learn about Minnesota, the more I want to return—in the summer.

  Wabasha (Population Approximately 3,000)

  Wabasha is straight up the Mississippi on U.S. 61 off I-95, past the town of Winona. I drove around Winona to find that it is a small, friendly place with a lot of interesting history.

  Wabasha, the oldest city in Minnesota, was founded by a steamboat captain in 1851. Not that far from bustling Rochester, it is seventy miles southeast of Minneapolis and St. Paul. When I arrived in Wabasha, I felt like I had stumbled onto a movie set. The town is spotless. The countryside and the Mississippi River are beautiful. In Wabasha, with its relaxed, wonderful lifestyle, you feel as if you are actually stepping into a different era. It has a mix of interesting shops, and many of the original structures have been maintained or are being restored.

  The river seems to be the center of activity, from fishing to bald eagle watching. The Delta Queen and other river cruise ships call at Wabasha. The movie Grumpy Old Men was written and set here in little Wabasha.

  Note: I include the following because it is a unique tidbit, a bit of local history, and unfortunately a sign of our times.

  Anderson House

  333 Main St.

  651-565-2500

  When I visited several years ago, my stay at this landmark was an experience and, in ways, a step back in time. This hotel opened in or around 1856, when small Wabasha was a bustling Mississippi River town. In 1909 the Anderson family bought the hotel, and it became the Anderson House. Aside from its hospitality, it was known for its authentic Grandma Anderson cooking and the “cat option.” If you wished, you could choose a resident cat from the cat suite as a companion during your stay. Anderson House was indeed unique. A few years ago, when I began this manuscript, I called to check if everything had stayed the same since my visit. “All is status quo,” said new owners Teresa and Mike Smith. Unfortunately, in 2009, due to the economy, Anderson House closed. Hopefully, a new owner will be found to carry on its traditions.

  Restaurants

  Eagles Nest Coffee House

  330 Second St. W

  651-565-2077

  This lovely coffee house is a must-visit spot. When I called to see if it was still there, a nice gentleman answered. We chatted and had a delightful conversation, both bemoaning the Anderson House situation. When he learned of my book, he said, if I visit, perhaps Eagles Nest would do an author’s event. Oh, yes!

  Slippery’s Tavern and Restaurant

  10 Church St.

  651-565-4748

  This wonderful watering hole is the bar seen in the movie Grumpy Old Men and has been in existence since the 1970s. This was a fun spot. I don’t think there was a sad face in the joint.

  FYI: The movies Grumpy Old Men and Grumpier Old Men were written by Mark Steven Johnson about his father, a native of Wabasha.

  Sightseeing

  A walk around town is very enjoyable. Just a stone’s throw from the Anderson House I discovered an Antique Center, Wabasha’s Old Town Shops, and the Old City Hall.

  Old City Hall

  257 Main St.

  651-565-2585

  There is a year-round indoor flea market with a farmer’s market, home-baked goodies, and possibly a treasure or two to find.

  National Eagle Center

  50 Pembroke Ave. S.

  651-565-4989

  www.nationaleasglecenter.org

  Here you can see Harriett, Angel, and Columbia, three injured eagles that cannot be released back into the wild and have become stars. Some girls have real luck after adversity. The center teaches observation and conservation. The staff visits places with the three feathery girls, who are always main attractions at the center or on the road trips.

  Wind, Whisper, West

  128 Main St.

  651-565-2002

  www.windwhisperwest.com

  This gallery, now dubbed “the Kimono Capital,” was not open when I was in Wabasha, but I think it bears mentioning. In this little town, you will find the world’s largest collection of Japanese wedding kimonos. No two are the same. Making these kimonos is a fading art. Kimonos can cost from $8,000 to $60,000. If a purchase is not on your agenda, know that a kimono can be rented for three hours for $2,000 to $8,000. Owner Richard Fuller, a retired marine, brought the collection here to his wife’s hometown. These beautiful garments (produced in the 1970s and 1980s) are on sale for a fraction of the original price.

  LARK Toys

  Lark Lane, 63604 170th Ave., Kellogg

  507-767-3387

  www.larktoys.com

  To be accurate, LARK is in the tiny town of Kellogg, a very short drive from Wabasha. Take scenic Highway 61. Lark is right along the highway. Just turn off onto County Road 18 and make a left on Lark Lane. What fun it is to be in this big toy factory, regardless of your age. LARK Toys will do you good, and you will only smile and want to stay and stay and stay. The enterprise was started in 1983 by two talented teachers who in their spare time made toys and sold them at fairs. Taking friends’ advice, they started their toy factory, and the rest is history. In 2008 they decided to retire and sold the establishment, but all has remained the same. There is truly something for everyone, be it riding the carousel with its hand-carved animals, playing miniature golf, taking a rest at the Café, or indulging in some butter and cream fudge made in the Fudge Tree shop, or seeing and petting the miniature llamas—Francis, Eliot, and Irving. You will never see so many toys under one roof again. Trying to choose what to buy is a yeoman’s task, but what a fun challenge. It is a great place to do some Christmas shopping, whatever time of year it is.

  Visit Wabasha; you will be charmed.

  FYI: Mall of Americas is just fifty-five miles from Wabasha. I have been told that it’s a shopping mecca.

  Red Wing (Population Approximately 15,561)

  Red Wing is but a short distance north. I did not have time to visit, but next time.

  Historic Red Wing Pottery

  1920 Old West Main St.

  651-388-3562

  www.redwingpottery.com

  This third-generation family business began over 140 years ago.

  Red Wing Stoneware Company

  4909 Moundview Dr.

  651-388-4610 or 800-352-4877

  www.redwingstoneware.com

  This company has maintained
its “American-made” status since 1860.

  Austin (Population Approximately 25,000)

  Everyone knows SPAM, the king of curious and mysterious meats. Well, Austin has devoted an entire museum to it!

  SPAM Museum

  1 Hormel Pl.

  507-437-5100

  www.spam.com

  Austin is off of I-90 and intersects U.S. Hwy 218. Take Exit 178B for the museum, where you will learn more than you ever thought could be attributed to this unusual but always (for the most part) popular meat concoction. Forty-four thousand cans of SPAM come off the assembly line per hour, and it is cooked in the can! When founder George Hormel decided to retire and take his wife to California, he gave the business to his son Jay, who would become a most (understatement) creative entrepreneur in the world of meats. Aside from SPAM, there three thousand other Hormel products!

  Note: One cannot mention Minnesota without giving Garrison Keillor a mention. No one is quite like the man who talks about Lake Wobegon, created A Prairie Home Companion, and ad-libs to perfection. I smile just writing his name and reflect on how much I admire and enjoy his shows and music. I am glad to be driving when his program is on, and listening to it two days in a row is just fine.

  Rumor has it that GK is retiring. Alas, but his CD’s will help.

  South Dakota

  This beautiful state should be investigated and enjoyed. I-90 across South Dakota is a great road with some extraordinary sights that are natural wonders. At the welcome centers, be sure to pick up brochures on various South Dakota places. I found several excellent ones, especially the “Guide to Antique Shops in South Dakota.”

  Mitchell

  About a quarter of the way (heading west) into the state, Mitchell is definitely a good place to stop. For one thing, the mayor was a woman when I was there. How wise to have a woman at the helm. While Mitchell has the usual mix of stores, gas stations, and motels, it also features a variety of unusual museums, including the following, among others:

  Enchanted World Doll Museum

  615 N. Main St.

  605-996-9896

  Middle Border Museum of American Indian and Pioneer Life

  1331 S. Duff St.

  605996-2122

  Soukup & Thomas International Balloon & Airship Museum

  700 Main St.

  605-996-5533

  Corn Palace

  604 N. Main St.

  605-995-8427

  www.cornpalace.com

  This is a one and only. To say it is unique would be an understatement. The original Corn Palace, a huge mosque-like building, was built in 1892, but the establishment moved two blocks away in 1914. It moved again in 1921 to its present site. It was originally built to show and emphasize the early settlers’ harvest. The siding of the building is real corn sawed lengthwise and applied to the sides. It is definitely uniquely artistic. Each year the corn is stripped off and a new scene is “painted.” The murals on the walls depict South Dakota lifestyles. The palace is used for many different events. You can purchase all kinds, and I do mean all kinds, of corn products. What a good opportunity to pick up that unusual gift. This building has another name: World’s Largest Bird Feeder. Everyone must try to visit the Corn Palace at least once. You will not be alone as there are about five hundred thousand visitors a year. Admission is free.

  Outside the Corn Palace there are antique shops, as well, of course, as various tourist traps. Mitchell has a special, albeit a bit touristy, feel, but I recommend a visit. Just don’t forget the winter weather. Leaving Mitchell, the drive along I-90 is a delight. The sights are beautiful, and the places to stop are many.

  Badlands National Park

  I-90, Exit 131 for those travelling west, Exit 110 at Wall for those traveling east

  605-433-5361

  www.nps.gov/badl

  It has taken 30 million years to produce the Badlands with its multicolored buttes and rough stone spires. All 240,000 acres are impressive.

  There are three main units in the Badlands. I drove the North Unit, which is a loop road with many scenic overlooks. The interpretive signs at the pull-outs are excellent and informative. I could easily ramble on about the Badlands, with their red and brown hues, massive formations, and winds, but it is all in the eyes of the beholder. Don’t miss seeing this American wonder. It is another magnificent treasure. Stop at the Ben Reifel Visitors Center (605-433-5361) five miles into the park. You have time to plan your visit; geologists state that with the two-inch-per-year erosion rate, it will take five hundred thousand years for the Badlands to disappear.

  Wall

  Wall Drug

  510 Main St.

  605-279-2175

  www.walldrug.com

  Wall Drug is located at the junction of I-90 and Route 240. Don’t worry, you won’t miss it as many billboards will remind you of this gathering spot. Originally just a small town in South Dakota with a drug store, a Catholic church, and fewer than five hundred very poor residents, Wall was transformed in or around 1931 when Dorothy and Ted Hustead bought the drug store. I think it was Dorothy who, after a rough start, came up with the idea of offering free ice water to travelers crossing the hot prairie. A burgeoning business was born. Now there are long blocks of tourist temptations in the numerous old-fashioned stores. Many consider Wall Drug a national institution, and it still offers free water. More than twenty thousand tourists stop at Wall on a typical summer day! Hours: 6:30 a.m. to 8 p.m., seven days a week, year-round, except New Year’s Day, Easter, Thanksgiving, and Christmas. I have learned that since I was at Wall, so much has been done: the mining and panning display has been enlarged, the shooting gallery has been doubled, there are two singing raccoons, the original pharmacy has been moved and enlarged, and the art collection is most impressive.

  Driving Diva Observation: See what happens when you have a product that is in demand, the price is right (ice was free in Wall), the promotion is sensible, and the place is convenient.

  A stone’s throw from Wall Drug is the Buffalo Gap National Grassland Visitors Center. Its slogan is “Anyone can love the mountains, but it takes soul to love the prairie.”

  Deadwood (Population Less Than 2,000)

  Readily accessible from I-90, Deadwood is a real cowboy, stagecoach, and gambling town, albeit with modern facilities, set in the Black Hills (actually they’re dark green). The entire city of Deadwood was named a National Historic Landmark; therefore, its original character and flavors have been maintained. I think you will find it hard not to like Deadwood. Do not think the town is without modern amenities. It has all the necessities, but the old-timey aspects add to its wonderful aura.

  History: In 1875 John B. Pearson found gold in a narrow canyon in the Black Hills, where, without question, the gold rush was on. Thousands of greedy and hopeful prospectors filled the area with competitive, rowdy tempers frequently flaring up. Deadwood proper was established in 1876. By 1877, the wild community was becoming more orderly and organized.

  In 1891, thanks to the railroad, Deadwood started to prosper, but wild shoot-’em-ups were still happening. Wild Bill Hickok and Calamity Jane were often in town. It was in Deadwood that Wild Bill, while playing poker, was shot in the back of the head by Jack McCall. Wild Bill was holding a hand of aces and eights, now known as the “dead man’s hand.” And then there was the mysterious murder on a Sunday in 1876 of the Rev. Henry W. Smith (the first Methodist minister to come to the Black Hills). Needless to say, many of this ilk are buried in the Mount Moriah Cemetery on the fringe of the city, including Wild Bill Hickok and Calamity Jane.

  Gambling and prostitution were common in this South Dakota town. Even during Prohibition a lot of these activities went on behind closed doors. Prostitution remained a business until 1950, when the state shut down many of the brothels. It wasn’t until 198
0 that the last brothel, Pam’s Purple Door, was closed.

  In the 1980s local businessmen lobbied to legalize gambling to help increase tourism and preserve the historic buildings of Deadwood, many of which are Victorian in style.

  Each evening (except Sunday), there is a reenactment of the capture of Jack McCall on historic Main Street. All the spectators follow the actors to Old Town Hall for McCall’s trial. This is a must-do! A visit to this historic landmark city is indeed unique and an experience to be savored.

  Note: During the first two weeks of August, this area is visited by about five hundred thousand “hog riders”—motorcyclists attending the Sturgis Rally (www.sturgis.com). It is quite an event at which everything is going on and then some.

  Silverado Franklin (formerly the Franklin Hotel)

  709 Main St.

  605-578-3670

  www.silveradofranklin.com

  This hotel creaks with history. From the minute I ascended the front steps and walked across the front porch, I was delighted to be on the property, although I wish I had dressed for the scene. When I was there, its big porch with rocking chairs was inviting. They are now gone. The original, meticulously laid tile floor in the main lobby was covered with slot machines the last time I was there. Now I learn the machines are all across the street, and the tile floor is covered with a rug. Since my visit, the Silverado has purchased the property, the gambling has become more prominent, and although there are still shades of “back when,” new formats are definitely evident. One of the hotel’s motto is “Stay and Play.” Good luck.

  The wide, prominent staircase in the lobby leads to the Emerald Room on the second floor, where, back when, the ladies would meet. Remember that separate rooms for ladies and gentlemen were the norm. There is the famous fainting couch in case a lady felt a “spell” coming on. Do try it, but don’t faint.

  The Franklin is now under the ownership of Silverado Gaming. One cannot talk about this hotel without mentioning Mr. Bill Walsh, the man who kept this historic gem going for so many years before the ownership changed.