World United States Minnesota Minneapolis

The Pierre Girls see the US It's in the Doing!

Minneapolis MN Sep 16, 2007

On Friday night, September 7th, we rolled into Minneapolis. We set up camp just west of Minneapolis at a state park called Baker Park Reserve in Maple Plain MN. It is very affordable ($22 per night with electricity) is a level and partially wooded campground with a 6-mile bikepath, a lake, a play area, and very clean bathrooms. We are getting pretty picky about bathrooms and showers since the last one was inundated with spider webs and bugs. I had to de-web the showers before Aisha would step foot inside.

We had only intended to stay a few days but actually spent more time here than we have at any place so far. We had to because the list of things to do here was just too long!

Sunday: First Unitarian Society of Minneapolis. Attended our 3rd water communion in three weeks! Met some great people, enjoyed a fully humanist service (check out their website at www.firstunitariansociety.org) and found out about an upcoming Peace Rally to be held on Saturday which we decided to stay for. (See below.)

Monday: Library for homeschooling. We made a historical time line of the places and historical museums we have visited so far and the dates that were highlighted at each place. We plan to add to our historical time line as we continue to travel to get a sense of how each area was founded or how events shaped the areas we were in.

Tuesday: Minnesota Historical Museum. This was a great museum. We ran into a docent named Katie who gave the girls special instruction in harvesting wilde Minnesota rice. We wandered around the museum some more and ran into Katie again where she was at a different exhibit and this time we had a discussion about surveying land with an old surveyor's chain. She showed the girls a buffalo rug and other artifacts from the 1800's. We liked this museum a lot because it was colorful and not dreary and each exhibit was interactive with something to listen to or look for.

Wednesday: The Mill Museum. In Minnesota, there were many, many flour mills. In the early 1900's there was a mill that produced the most flour in the country. We learned all about how flour is made, which part of the wheat is used for which kind of flour, and even sampled some baked goods! This museum offered a scavenger hunt for the girls to go around and find things in the museum. At the end of the museum we got to watch a funny video about Minnesota that showed the history of Minnesota in 19 mins flat! It was fun, but a good way to tie in all the we had seen the day before as well as at this museum.

Wednesday Night: We attended a Youth Kickoff at the Minnetonka UU church. It was held at a park nearby and Aisha got to hang out with other kids and chat. Soleil and I chatted a bit, hung out, and played on the seesaw. It was just a great time to get out and see other folks. We plan to head to their church on Sunday.

Thursday: Minneapolis Institute of Arts. Wow. Just wow. It's free. The collection is beautiful. The food at the cafe is pretty good too. We spent four hours at this museum. We also had a scavenger hunt, but it was hard to do because the museum is so big and a little maze-like in the exhibits. We saw furniture by Frank Lloyd Wright (architect of the Madison WI UU church that we went to), photos by Ansel Adams, a sculpture by Salvador Dali, and an exhibit of photos released by the government that documents the return of US soldiers in flag-draped caskets from Iraq. As we moved through the whole museum, I asked the girls to think about how different photos, paintings, furniture, or statues made them feel. We all agreed that the exhibit of stains by Edward Ruscha was the weirdest. He basically took 73 sheets of identical white bond paper and dropped 73 different substances on it. They are all framed and labeled; petroleum jelly, mustard, urine, molasses... and the list goes on. After re-reading his "intention" for the viewer, I would agree that each by themselves is no work of art, but together in the colletion you do have a visceral reaction to each substance; molasses (I like molasses in baked beans), urine (yuck!) etc. It was seemingly so simple and we thought stupid, but we read nearly every one of the substances and made a comment about them.

Friday: Find an RV store day. We drove about 45 mins north and east of where we were staying to find an RV center where we could get a new silicone disk to replace the broken one on the hitch. I called before we left to make sure they had some in stock and was not greeted by the friendliest of receptionists, but finally got through and was told that yes indeed they had them in stock. As we drove out there and got closer, and as usual for me, the last turn of my directions seemed to be a little off. I called the place again and was greeted by the same not-so-friendly receptionist. I was just trying to get directions. Everyone around here thinks that you know where you are and how far things are from where you are. NOT! Anyway, as we drove up a little ways up Route 10, we came across a different RV place. I decided they would get my business instead. They were friendly and helpful and took their time listening to my litany of questions about things which I think we needed. In the end, we picked up two silicone disks (I'm sure I'll need one again soon), a new heavy-duty 20' sewer hose, and the must-have toilet chemical to keep things running smoothly. We were not able to schedule a time to repair the broken TV antenna that we took down in Ohio or the switch for the sliders that only runs off battery power rather than shore power and battery power.

Saturday: March in the St. Paul Peace Rally. We headed to the Park N Ride to catch a chartered bus that would take us to the cathedral in St. Paul to march to the State Capitol. We met another mother and her two daughters who came up with their own T-shirt design: an upside peace sign with letters that said Turn Up The Peace. Very clever. I purchased shirts from them and we marched together. Soleil and I and Aisha had made some Pinwheels for Peace to hand out to kids in the march. There turned out to be only a handful of kids (disappointing) and it was overall sort of disappointing because the streets were blocked off by police so the peace rally could take place, but no one heard the voices of those marching. It was like preaching to the choir. It was a powerful experience nonetheless, but makes me ponder... could we have Peace Parades instead of Protest Rallies? That way we could march and have folks come out to listen and share ideas and the police would not have to surround marchers and keep other folks away. Just my pondering for the day.

Sunday: Oh my gosh we missed church! Woke up late. It was warm and toasty in the camper and we all slept in! (last two mornings it has been 35 degrees!) That hasn't happened in quite some time! Well, that gave me time to type this entry and post some pictures. Tomorrow we leave Minneapolis and head west. As of this writing we're still not sure if we're heading to North Dakota or South Dakota. Will let you know...