Day 6: Still More Minnesota

I didn't get as far as I'd hoped today but I got lots of great photos so it's all good. I should be able to get back on schedule in the next day or two. Most of South Dakota, Wyoming, and Montana in the next few days is going to be straight highway miles. Maybe some driving at night to get through the distance as well. So don't panic if I skip a day of blogging to get through it.

No doggie parks, no beaches. The poor things had to make do with plain old grassy fields and retrieving games. They are pretty fried but will catch up on their sleep on the interstates coming up. Nik and Grem are still going ballistic (screaming and bouncing) at every motorcycle or dog that they see. The two senior dogs are really over it.

I stopped at the Franconia Sculpture Park (in Franconia):
http://www.franconia.org/

I went there to see the giant silver men -- which are pretty faded now but still impressive. Here are a couple other pieces that were on display:

*****************************************


*********************************************************

"The Drive-in" in Taylors Falls has a Frostop Mug sign and is located right next to a modern but nice-looking miniature golf place. I can't vouch for the food since it wasn't open but it really looks like a place worth supporting:



*********************************************************

You know you're in the North Country when you see billboards like this:



*********************************************************

I'd never been to Duluth before so that was fun. One thing that puzzled me in the Canal Park section was this water fountain. It's built in a busy location and really part of the sidewalk. I don't think it was purely decorative but meant to be used. Although I didn't see anyone walking through it. Maybe it's for kids to play in? Very strange.



*********************************************************

Here's a fun sculpture also from the Canal Park section:



*******************************************************************

I had in my notes that there was a Red Goose Shoe sign at Grandma's Restaurant in Duluth so I was eager to see and shoot it. They have three locations around town:
http://www.grandmasrestaurants.com/

So, obsessive-compulsive that I am, I went to all three of them. No Red Goose Shoe signs at any of them. But there were lots of other neat signs (vintage and repros) at all three restaurants. Here are some examples:









*********************************************************

The third location that I went to did have this Red Goose statue which would have been displayed in the window. This is the closest that I could come up with on this bona fide wild goose chase:



*********************************************************

Canal Park is big on signs -- lots of old painted wall signs like this one:



*********************************************************

and there are lots of modern neon signs as well. I have never seen a neon Subway sign before: