Having spent enough time touring in and around Minnesota i hadn’t really visited Minneapolis. Minneapolis can be accessed easily by various transpotation methods. Theres a good bus network, both local and further afield and the light rail system connecting all the main landmarks. Best still its all run by the same company so you can buy a day pass and use all of them without worry.

I headed downtown to the river area which is steeped in flour making history !! Little did i know before i arrived but Minneapolis was once the flour making capital of the world !! There was literally more flour produced here than anywhere. The wheat was brought in from the Dakotas and other areas and all processed here. Why ? Because of the only natural water fall on the Upper Mississippi River – St Anthony Falls.

Settlers came from far and wide and built a town around the falls. There was once more than 20 flour mills in operation all at the same time surrounding the river.

The famous stone arch bridge, now used as a footpath and cycle path.

Where old meets new. One of the oldest and largest flour mills which was mostly destroyed in a massive explosion. There is now a flour mill museum integrated into it showing its history.

Later on i went back to the US Bank Stadium for one of their public tours. Twenty bucks buys you a one hour tour of the premises along with all of the amazing facts that go with building something of its size.

Apparantly the TV screens are the third biggest in the world –

To lift the roof into place they had to get the third largest crane in the US. It had to be dismantled and taken inside the stadium before being reassembled to use.

Clearly the most interesting fact was that to ensure all the beer pumos worked correctly, there had to be 33 miles of pipework !!

The Foshay Tower was funded by Wilbur Foshay a self made millionaire. He completed his dream of building the tallest building in Minneapolis in 1929. Sadly this was not great timing though as soon after it was finished came the Great Depression. In 2006 work started to turn the iconic building into a hotel which opened in 2008. It is now surrounded by many newer office blocks and skyscrapers.

A few days later revealled this reflection in one of the newer mirrored glass office blocks.

Most of minneapolis seems to be full of office blocks with vey few shops, unless you go into the malls. I was also surprised by the lack of any convenience stores, nowhere to buy a can of drink or Mars Bar !

As it was only a couple of degrees above freezing it was time to give up on the waling tour. I soon found a couple of breweries to visit ! There are quite a few breweries in Minneapolis just like there seems to be in every American city !!

I visited the Clockwerks Brewery on north 4th street, a brewhouse with a funky taproom. I tried the interesting Clockwerk Orange – a beer brewed with orange, cloves, pepper and coriander. Certainly warmed me up !

The Rockbottom brewery was only around the corner too in Hennipin Avenue, another place that brews beer on site.

Some of the best known breweries in Minneapolis include the Surly and the Summut brewery. But there are many others to choose from – the craft ale scene has really taken off in Amercia !!

I’m sure there was many more things to visit in Minneapolis but the freezing temperatures got the better of me !!

Being given the use of a friends car I got out and about on some day trips from Minneapolis. The first place i drove to was Red Wing, a town at the side of the Mississippi river. Now known best for the brand of shoes with the same name it was actually named after a 19th century Dakota Sioux chief. It was previously home to a prolific clay industry.

Red Wing

I was amazed at the amount of churches here, i stood on one street corner and could easily see 4 or 5.  It isn’t uncommon to see more than one church in a small town.

I left Red Wing and drove east over the Eisenhower Bridge which takes you into Wisconsin,  heading south on the I35.

Stopping at one of the many historical markers it stated that i was on one of the most scenic drives in the US – some claim !! I was next to Lake Pepin, the largest natural forming lake on the Mississippi river covering a total of 38 sq miles, most of which was frozen.

Most of Lake Pepin was frozen –

Driving as far as Nelson i turned around and drove back toward Hastings, another picturesque town next to the river.

A few days later i travelled to Duluth which sits at one end of Lake Superior. The edge of the lake was currently frozen encouraging some people to walk across it. 

This guy even got on his bike to cycle across it –

The frozen edge of Lake Superior –

I got brave the next day and walked out onto the ice, but stayed very near the edge !!

The most photographed site in Duluth, the aerial lift bridge which is still very much in use today –

Built over 100 years ago it spans the Duluth Ship Canal –

Entrance to the Duluth ship canal –

It’s a little known fact that Bob Dylan was originally from Duluth, they remember him so well they named a scenic drive after him –

Duluth seems to be a very popular place on the craft ale brewing scene. It is home to the Hoops brewery, the Canal Park brewery, Bent Paddle brewery and more. There was even a distillery somewhere.

I visited the Hoops brewery which has an impressive bar on site where you can try the beers.

Many, many beers on offer !!

Grabbed one of these in the Canal Park brewery bar –

Travelling north from Duluth i drove up scenic highway 61 which takes you all the way up to Grand Portage. There are many nice towns along the way and you simply can’t stop at them all !

I saw a sign for Split Rock Lighthouse State Park so pulled in for a look around. I wasn’t expecting to see a lighthouse on a lake but  soon found out that sometimes there are huge storms during the winter. Once such storm in 1905 claimed a total of 30 ships, it was then agreed that a lighthouse should be built.

Split Rock coastine –

Split Rock Lighthouse –

I drove as far as Grand Marais, couldn’t make it as far as Grand Portage as i was heading inland to Ely for a couple of nights.

The frozen shore of Grand Marais –

I stopped for 2 nights in Ely which was a couple of hours drive of twisty roads inland. It was the coldest i had felt so far, with temperatures dropping to over -10 degrees at night. A few restaurants and shops were closed until the spring but it had been a very scenic drive there. Although some dog sledding was continuing until the end of March they were fully booked so didn’t manage to get on a trip.

Nice pick-up in Ely – ripe for restoration !!

It was time to return to south Minneapolis, i had fortunately managed to avoid more snow fall and been for a good drive !