Exploring Wisconsin and Minnesota

The Dairyland and the Land of 10,000 Lakes

In this blog, I will report about my first road trip to a traditional native American pow-wow and several trips to the surrounding state parks and reserves.
Buying a car gives you freedom! When Lukas and I decided to buy a car, we wanted to maximize our experiences in and impressions of the states that we could reach. Going on road trips on a regular basis is definitely part of that experience.

Exploring Wisconsin and Minnesota
The natural border between Wisconsin and Minnesota is the St. Croix River. It is a beautiful spot with a lot of state parks and reserves around which guarantees a lot of experiences in the nature. As the weather in Wisconsin and Minnesota is still extraordinary hot these days we tried to enjoy these fall days the best we could. Seeing and exploring the nature that surrounds River Falls was one of our first goals and so we made our way to several spots that are not even 20 miles away from River Falls. First, we went to Hudson, the city where all the MBA classes take place. You will find perfect shopping locations there as they do have Wal-Mart, Dick`s Sporting Goods, Verizon, Aldi …. you name it! It won´t take any longer than 15 minutes to get to Hudson. On our way back, we crossed the St. Croix River again and after some shopping we wanted to go for some experiences in the nature. We found a beautiful spot nearby and it didn´t even take five minutes and four guys were swimming in the St. Croix River! Great experience! We still hadn´t have enough and so we went to the Kinnickinnic State Park afterwards. It is a truly beautiful spot for hiking, swimming, camping, and having a good time. We had some great views over some lakes and rivers and even saw a bald eagle, the heraldic animal of the U.S. Absolutely amazing to see and hear such a majestic animal!
The next day we went to the St. Croix Bluffs Regional Park, another great spot for hiking, camping, jet skiing, and boating. It was a hot day and a lot of people enjoyed their afternoon at this spot but it still wasn´t too crowded. A perfect spot for having a campfire at the beach on a long summer night. One of my favorite spots so far! 
Wisconsin and Minnesota are both pretty rural and remote areas which doesn´t make them less interesting and adorable! You do have endless possibilities for outdoor adventures, the nature is very spacious and the twin cities and their airport can be reached within 45 minutes!

Traditional Native American Pow-Wow
As one of our American friends asked us to join him for a traditional native American pow-wow a couple of weeks ago we didn´t really know what it is and what it is going to be like but we definitely wanted to join him for this experience. It took us a while to get there as it took place in Mankato in southern Minnesota close to Iowa but it was worth it. It was an event hosted by several native American tribes that come together once a year to celebrate their roots and culture. All tribes present their dances, music and culture and you do have several opportunities for shopping native American arts and foods as well as traditional American food like Hot Dogs, Donuts and Corn Dogs, of course. The dancers wear their traditional regalias which aren´t considered to be costumes but their dresses for special occasions. They dance, sing and drum for hours and it really seems like Hollywood movies were inspired by events like this.
You can feel the spirit of their cultures!

There are still so many places that want to be explored and I am really looking forward to spending more time in this beautiful area ;)     
To be continued!