What an experience! We did the 4 hour Mystery Cave wild cave tour (the longer 4 hour one). Mystery…read moreCave is not only a super cool place to see (being 450 million years old, having fossils, being rather "untouched", etc) but the tour itself was amazing. Jake was a friendly, knowledgable, and engaging tour guide. He was very willing to answer questions (and I had a lot) and had lots of knowledge to share. His genuine interest and energy, along with the cool-ness of Mystery Cave made this unforgettable experience. If you're physically able (and do read the disclaimers/etc on the website), I highly recommend doing the wild caving tour!

Mr. cave was a fun and interesting and informative place to go check out if you're in South East…read moreMinnesota. The state Park pass and the two tickets for myself and my girlfriend to go to the caves tour, which took about an hour ended up being just under 40 bucks. Our tour guide Dayton. Took us through a whole group of well plotted out tunnels that are easy to maneuver in and also safe for the most part as long as you are somewhat capable of maneuvering. From what I saw, it was also mostly handicap accessible. Remember to wear a jacket it can get cold down in there.

Pretty cool little excursion in LaCrosse. Easy drive up. Not a lot of signs alerting which…read moreparking lot is for the highest vantage point so my tip to you: drive through the open gates and drive until you see a parking lot with a gazebo-esque type outdoor building and that will be the highest point. Quick walk out to the edge. Some wild flowers added to the experience. It was a beautiful morning. Very clear and we were able to see the Mississippi river, Minnesota and of course Wisconsin. Worth taking the half hour to take in this view.

Nice little place to hike and just take in the scenery . I can only imagine how more beautiful it…read morewould be when the leaves change colors. Went a tad early.

This Iowa landmark is one of 4 (that I remember) that requires a drive in the country, while…read moreenjoying the vast stretches of rural beauty. The other 3 are the Estherville Meteorite, the highest point in Iowa (Hawkeye Point at 1670 feet), and the Field of Dreams baseball diamond. 75 years after that fateful plane crash, folks are still coming to the informal shrine to "Where the Music Died". They come to Iowa for reasons they can't even fathom. They turn into the small parking lot, not knowing for sure why they're doing it. We arrived as innocent as children, longing for the past. People will come, Ray. OK, that's from Field of Dreams, but it fits. After a brisk walk of about 1/2 mile starting from the big glasses, what I found was a stainless steel guitar and a set of three stainless steel records marking the exact spot where the plane carrying Buddy Holly, Ritchie Valens, & JP ''The Big Bopper'' Richardson came to rest following their final concert at the Surf Ballroom in nearby Clear Lake. A second monument was erected on the 50th anniversary of the tragedy honoring their pilot, Roger Peterson. Waylon Jennings was also at the Surf that day, but gave up his seat to Richardson, and took the bus. When Holly learned that Jennings wasn't going to fly, he said in jest, ''Well, I hope your ol' bus freezes up'' and Jennings responded, also in jest, ''Well, I hope your ol' plane crashes''. This would haunt Jennings for the rest of his life. Dad stayed in the car while I completed my lone pilgrimage. The visit was short, the day was cool, and this fan monument was insightful and worth the trip to this lonely stretch where unfortunate history was made. I hope that any person reading this review has a chance to visit here and the Surf Ballroom in Clear Lake, which is the site of Buddy Holly's last performance.

Took a detour of the road during my travels today and visited the Buddy Holly Crash Site. Popular…read morespot to stop and view the crazy tragedy that occurred on 2/3/59. The trail head to the crash site (which is located in a corn field) is marked by a large pair of Buddy-Holly type glasses. You can park on the side of the road, and then walk through the corn field on a well-travelled path to the crash site, which has some fan-made memorials there. I placed my sunglasses in the middle of the bridge of Buddy Holly's glasses in the photo attached. True artists and RIP to all that past that day. RIP Highly recommend checking out this spot. Pretty cool to see.

I was doing some genealogical research on my family, but I live in Mississippi, so doing things…read morecross-country can at times be frustrating and time consuming. Debra was incredibly helpful in locating several documents for me, scanning them in, and invoicing me electronically to expedite the process. Although I wish some more of their resources were digitized, they clearly have a wealth of resources for anyone whose family hails from this area. Their website also has several great links to help track down other resources, like vital records.

My mother and I loved everything music man in this town. We geo cached around here and had a blast…read more Mason City is a under rated gorgeous town with the history of Music man Musical

Scenic footbridge over Willow Creek named in honor of Meredith Willson. The bridge was originally…read morebuilt so people living in the neighborhoods on the south side of the creek could more easily walk to downtown (the bridge is over a block long and quite high over Willow Creek). The view is scenic with the many trees along the bank of the creek and the water flowing along. I can remember being "impressed" as a child riding across this bridge in a stroller (a cautionary note to parents). The bridge is worth a visit and was named in honor of Meredith Willson, but please note this is not the foot bridge that is an important part of the story in Willson's "Music Man." You will find a small "Till there was you" limestone bridge located in East Park (a few steps north of the site of the original band shell). Also, a little to the west of the band shell, and on the banks of Willow Creek, you will find the foundation of an old wooden footbridge that was once a popular crossing point. Willow Creek makes an attractive turn there with a view of limestone outcroppings. Willson would have been familiar with this location, and it would have been an appropriate location for such a song.

In most places when you will cross the Mississippi River and journey from one state to another…read more Here in La Crosse, this section of the river is entirely in Wisconsin and you won't be at the border to Minnesota for another mile or so. There are two spans here, with the upriver (westbound) being the Cass Street Bridge and the downriver (eastbound) is the Cameron Avenue Bridge. They connect downtown La Crosse with Barron Island. It is only when you are on the La Crosse West Channel Bridge and you go from Barron Island to cross into La Crescent Minnesota. The Cass Street Bridge (the one that I drove heading west) opened in 1939 and replaced a swing bridge that was damaged in 1935. It is a cantilever bridge 17 panel rivet-connected warren through truss with a a total length of 2532 feet and a width of 30 feet. There is 67 feet of clearance below to the Mississippi. It is paired with the Cameron Avenue bridge that is more modern and opened in 2004. If you're here, do check out the deck truss approach spans which are curved. Another interesting feature is the stairways that are midway along the approach spans at each end of the bridge and allow pedestrians to climb up to the bridge sidewalk. The western stairway includes a crossover stairway that passes under the deck truss allowing pedestrians to switch which sidewalk they are walking on without walking across the roadway. [Review 20711 overall - 280 in Wisconsin - 1692 of 2023.]

What a great museum. The staff was great and I liked the movie that was shown. They have an ice…read morecream shop inside. The gifts hope was also great. Don't forget to do the house tour next door.

My mom wanted to stop here on a roadtrip she loves the music man and it was fun to see. I just…read moregreat to see set and things from the Movie.

This bridge over the Mississippi River is the traditional delineator that splits the United States…read morein half. Yes, the Mississippi starts somewhere up not too far north from here in Minnesota at Lake Itasca and flows south to New Orleans. This is where the east meets the west in the north. This bridge carries Interstate 90 and joins La Crosse Wisconsin to Dresbach Minnesota. It was fully opened to traffic in October 2016, replacing a previous 1967 plate girder bridge. The bridge consists of a pair of parallel, concrete box girder structures over the main river channel and precast concrete girder structures over the back channels. The bridge has two lanes in each direction and includes 18 feet of shoulders inside and outside. The bridge is rather boring with few features or accoutrements but it gets the job done. There is no toll in either direction. I've also crossed the Mississippi in Cairo https://www.yelp.com/biz/i-57-bridge-cairo?hrid=JF0q8MwMYungXJVSOhfg3g, Memphis https://www.yelp.com/biz/memphis-and-arkansas-bridge-marion?hrid=09JRv_jh6CzQLjxU6X4ACg, Greenville https://www.yelp.com/biz/greenville-bridge-lake-village?hrid=WGXvzX4AagbXz9LLRId8Pg and Vicksburg https://www.yelp.com/biz/mississippi-river-bridge-vicksburg?hrid=0YJFnhUafyNWCYBI-q1jSQ. [Review 17169 overall - 181 in Wisconsin - 686 of 2022.]

Adding to my collection of water towers that includes the World's Largest Catsup Bottle…read more(Collinsville, IL), the Peachoid (Gaffney, SC) and the World's Largest Dixie Cup (Lexington, KY), I'm checking out this one that yes, looks exactly like an ear of corn. The water tower was built in 1929 to provide water to the adjacent cannery which has since closed but the tower lives on. It is 151 feet tall and that includes the 60 foot tall tank. It holds 50,000 gallons though it has not been used for such since the Seneca Foods plant closed in 2018. The water tower is now owned by Olmsted County and it is quick to visit, free and completely quirky. I love it. [Review 20716 overall - 128 in Minnesota - 1698 of 2023.]

Whenever I return to Rochester, I pass by the Ear of Corn Water Tower and have taken it for…read moregranted. It has always been here. I decided that it needed far more attention than I have been giving it since I lived in this city. After stuffing myself with a foot-long corn dog and garlic cheese curds, I drove over to check out the tower. I found that my fair food was fitting for this occasion. This water tower is across from the Olmsted County Fairgrounds. It was fairly quiet in the area. I parked on the road and admired the water tower for a bit, taking a few photos in the process. This husked ear of corn water tower used to stand above the old Libby Foods plant. I always think of Libby's baked beans and other canned veggies. The tower is considered to be a landmark. This steel tank was established in 1931. It's nearly 150 feet high and stands on four steel legs. It supplied water for canning operations. I don't know what it supplies these days or if it's strictly a landmark. The old Libby building has been demolished, but the ear of corn water tower endures. Olmsted county has deemed the tower to be historically significant. Last year, it got a fresh coat of paint. I will admit that the ear of corn looks good and is popping... haha! When my mom first visited Rochester, she immediately saw this water tower and liked it. She's a corn freak, which extended to me. My officemate at the time had a dirty mind and thought of something else, especially in the evening. Her mind tends to be at gutter-level. I like the quirky ear of corn. It's cool. It's Rochester. If you're ever in Rochester, check it out. It may seem boring to some, but it's fun to look at. Take a photo with it as a backdrop. It's free, after all. (148)