in Minnesota - June 4, 2012 |
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| Below:
A Plaque and the view from the Minnesota River Valley Overlook |
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AWWWW! - dinner time - how cute |
Three semi's in a row, each hauling one wing of a windmill. |
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| Below:
A giant soda bottle at a gas station - to be used to recycle bottles |
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 The
Valley of the Jolly Green Giant refers to the Minnesota River Valley
around Le Sueur. Just before the two RV Gypsies dropped down into the valley heading
south on U.S. Route 169, an enormous wooden sign of the Jolly Green Giant,
along with Sprout, was visible with the caption "Welcome to the Valley".
The two RV Gypsies later learned that since the sign poked up through trees, it had become a source of minor controversy
as it frightens motorists frequently.
Sixty miles further south on Route 169, in the City of Blue Earth, Minnesota, a statue of the Jolly Green Giant was also open to public view. In 1978, the town of Blue Earth, Minnesota paid $43,000 to erect a 55-foot fiberglass statue of the Jolly Green Giant to commemorate the linking of the east and west sections of Interstate 90. It was permanently erected on July 6, 1979. The 55-foot tall statue of the Green Giant in Blue Earth, Minnesota was the idea of Paul Hedberg who owned local radio station KBEW. During the summer Hedberg interviewed travelers going through Blue Earth on U.S. Highway 16 for his radio program "Welcome Travelers". At the end of each interview, Hedberg presented guests with a sample of Green Giant corn and peas which had been canned in the local Green Giant plant. A common theme arising in interviews was a desire to see the Green Giant. In 1977 Hedberg contacted Thomas H. Wyman, President of Green Giant, to see if the company would allow a statue of their corporate symbol to be erected along the new Interstate 90 in Blue Earth. Wyman granted permission under the condition that funds for the project were raised locally. Hedberg approached ten local businessmen with the idea and asked for $5,000 each; within a week the $50,000 had been donated. It is mounted on a pedestal and has steps so visitors may take a picture standing directly under the Green Giant. Blue Earth is at the end of the Minnesota River Valley and still has a canning plant formerly owned by Green Giant that continues to can corn and peas each summer. |
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| Putting even giant animals in their place, the Jolly Green Giant dwarfs all other North Dakota / Minnesota highway leviathans. At 55-feet tall, he stands head-and-husk above a rival 2D 2-dimensional green giant in nearby Le Sueur (The Official Birthplace of the Jolly Green Giant). | |
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you see the two RV Gypsies in each of the two photos below ??? They are
standing in different places in each photo. |
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June 5, 2012 |
The City
of Redwood Falls is nestled along the fertile and picturesque Minnesota
River Valley in northern Redwood County and is part of the nationally
recognized Minnesota River Valley Scenic Byway. Redwood Falls is approximately
110 miles west/southwest of the Twin Cities metropolitan area. |
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| Although surrounded by miles of rolling scenic prairie land, Redwood Falls also possesses rugged scenic beauty with the Redwood River and Ramsey Creek running through the wooded cliffs and unique geologic formations of Alexander Ramsey Park. Once part of the state park system, Alexander Ramsey Park is now Minnesota's largest municipal park, boasting 217 acres of this splendid beauty. The park is much of the reason the City is known as The Scenic City. |
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At 219 acres in size, Alexander Ramsey Park is the largest municipal park in the State of Minnesota. Termed as the "Little Yellowstone of Minnesota", the park is enhanced by 1930's Civilian Conservation Corps shelters and bridges and picturesque Ramsey Falls. Below: The two RV Gypsies on a suspension bridge leading to Ramsey Falls. (It is not the highest nor the bridge with the most movement that the two RV Gypsies have been on - to see those places, click here - then scroll down, or choose TOC-S at the bottom of almost any page, then scroll down for the very long list of suspension bridges the two RV Gypsies have been on. |
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Below:
The Redwood River forms the spectacular Ramsey Falls which is clearly
the highlight of the park. |
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Below:
Lee Duquette on a short bridge over the Redwood River. |
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| Below; Driving across the border line from Minnesota into South Dakota, there was only a Continental Divide sign and not any sign saying Welcome to North Dakota. A list of other Continental Divide signs that the two RV Gypsies can be found by clicking on the red letter C below and scrolling down to "Continental Divide" |
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Notice
that in the photo below on the left, the two RV Gypsies are so small that they can barely be seen as they stood by
the sign under the Jolly Green Giant, so there is a close up of the two RV Gypsies and the sign below on the right.
