We had a pretty short trip planned for today – only ~200 miles to Moorhead MN where we planned to see the replica Viking ship on display there. A couple we ate supper with at the Tempe Elks Lodge had highly recommended it and internet research agreed.
Now, in my full time RVing days, I considered 200 miles to be the maximum distance to travel per day. That would take me about 5 hours including a stop for a leisurely lunch along the way. I would get into my new spot early to mid afternoon and (usually) have several nice campsites to chose among. Then I would sit down with a nice cup of tea and a book. Preferably outside unless it was too cold or windy. Maybe a little walk first to stretch the legs. Civilized.
Ken, however, considers 200 miles to be just warming up for the drive. We also tend to get up early and arriving early at the next hotel isn’t productive since we couldn’t check in anyway. So he dove into RoadsideAmerica.com last night to see if there was anything we might be interested in seeing in northern Minnesota. Not surprisingly, there was.
We decided to backtrack ~85 miles northeast to Soudan MN and tour the Soudan Mine. It was interesting.
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| “the oldest and deepest iron ore mine in Minnesota” | A cage car like the one we would ride down ~.5 mi for the tour |
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| Hi ho, hi ho, it’s off to tour we go | Hoist tower |
After the tour, it was time to head west again to another interim stop for the day – Lake Itasca State Park. Lake Itasca was officially declared the beginning of the Mississippi River in 1832 and has remained so even though modern definitions of the source would change it to one of its inflow streams.
We also gleefully participated in the typically tourist ritual of walking across the Mississippi River. Ken tried going over via the rocks but didn’t make it. He wisely turned back when the footing proved rather precarious. I, however, made it across because I wisely chose the path (demonstrated by these two ladies) and waded across and back.
This rocky crossing and pleasant picnic area are not natural. “The channel of the Mississippi as it emerges from the lake was bulldozed in the 1930s by the Civilian Conservation Corps, to create a more ‘pleasant experience’ for visitors.” [Wikipedia]
By now, it was late afternoon, but we only had ~100 miles to go and we finally made it to our hotel in Moorhead MN around 6pm. We had supper then decided we had enough time to head over to the Hjemkomst Center to see the Viking ship.
When we got there, the admissions lady asked us if we wanted a tour of the replica stave church on the grounds. We hadn’t a clue what she was talking about but said “Sure!”. So we trooped out after the guide and came to this really incredible wooden church. The church is a full-scale replica of the Hopperstad Church in Vik, Norway. All carvings were done by one man, Guy Paulson, who started in January 1997. The church was finished and dedicated in 1998. Just amazing to see.
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| Front of church | Side of church |
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| Interior | Painting in small chapel |
Wandering back inside the Center, we took a quick look at the Hjemkomst and settled down to watch the movie about its creation. It was fascinating. This is another of those “one man’s dream” stories that has no rational purpose but is still inspiring. And it’s not just that he built a replica of an ancient ship, it’s that he inspired others to sail this very ship from Duluth, MN to Bergen, Norway in 1982. (Robert Asp, the builder, died in 1980 so he couldn’t make the crossing, but he did live to see in put in Lake Superior.)
After the movie, we had just enough time to take photos of the ship and do a very quick run through the museum before the center closed. We could have used at least another hour. I am really glad we decided to add this to our itinerary.
368 mi, 6:07 hrs moving, 10.32 hrs total
[written 11/16/13 – a long time after the fact!]
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