Alexandria

Today I took a visit to Alexandria, which is an hour northwest of me on I-94.  Alexandria is a pretty town with lots of lakes, biking, some museums, theaters, and other activities.  I just went up for a few hours.  I was planning to rent a bike and go along the Central Lakes Trail, which looks perfect for me.  It is an old railroad track that has been paved and goes for 55 miles.  It's flat, it goes past lakes and farmland, it's smooth and wide. Sounded great. But when I got there the weather wasn't very nice.  It was a nice temperature, around 73 degrees, but it was very windy, and cloudy. So I will do the bike ride another time. Maybe in the fall, because apparently the fall colors are awesome.

But I still did some things.  First I went to the farmer's market. Then I stopped by the statue of Big Ole. Big Ole was built in 1965 for the World's Fair in New York. He is 28 feet tall. For his 50th birthday, the town of Alexandria is repairing and repainting him. Here are some fun historic pictures of Big Ole.

Across the street from Big Ole is the Runestone Museum.  This is sort of a crazy story, and the reason for viking mania in Alexandria (and I guess, all of Minnesota). In 1898, a farmer named Olof Ohman, in Kensington, Minnesota (near Alexandria) found this runestone in the roots of a tree he was removing from his land. Believers say Vikings left it here in 1362; unbelievers say it is a hoax.  The museum shows the scientific work that has gone into proving it is real, and it tells the sad story of what happened to the Ohmans after their discovery. Personally, I'm inclined to believe it is real, because I like to believe in interesting, magical things.  But the museum puts so much into proving it is real, that it makes it feel like they are trying too hard, and I kind of want to roll my eyes about it.  Here's what wikipedia has to say about it.

The controversial runestone

But the runestone is only part of the museum. Being a small town museum, they also have a diorama of (frequently poorly) taxidermied animals native to Minnesota, an exhibit of housewares, some Native American beadwork, some guns and uniforms from WWII, several pump organs, photos from main street in the 1800's, and other old knick-knacks.  In museums like this, I can't help buy think about the amateur presentation. For example, in the stuffed owls display there was description of a snowy owl, but there wasn't one on display. Lots of stuff is on display simply because someone donated it. Mannequins in bad wigs are inside displays, or more creepily, just sitting at an old desk when you walk into the room (I just kept walking past that one).  And then there are the flags.  As you can see from the picture below, there are five Scandinavian flags on display. In the label, only four of them are identified. (Can you identify the left-out flag??)

There was large painting in the runestone area that really captured my imagination. It is called The Last Goodbye? and is by a local artist, Myron Sahlberg, painted last year specifically for this museum. Here is a copy of it from the internet.  There was a whole book published about the creation of this painting, and I want to go back and get the book next time I'm there. I just thought it was a really captivating painting, and it was huge. 

The artist also made the frame, which isn't shown here but was beautiful and symbolic.

Outside the museum they have old prairie buildings from the area - a log cabin that instantly reminded me of the Ingalls' cabin in the Little House on the Prairie TV show; a post office and general store, a school, a church, and a stagecoach stop. Also a huge barn filled with farm equipment, carriages, and a big boat.  There was a cell phone audio tour, at each stop you could call in for the narration. It was pretty well done, but the first time I called in, I accidentally called the Norwegian language one. The only options are English and Norwegian.  Go Vikings!

Can you see the bed that Mary and Laura shared?? I can.

After the museum I walked along Lake Agnes, found a peaceful spot, and ate the lunch I brought. Then I drove up to City Park, and waded in my first Minnesota Lake!  It was cold! And wet! I only took like one step in, stood there for a bit, and stepped back out. I didn't see any fish. But it was exciting for me. I became a Viking for a Day.