Head of Tide

In Texas, they are called La Turistas, well…maybe that is what I and perhaps some others call them. Speaking for all of Texas is rather presumptuous of me. La Turistas are the people who come to your town for the shopping, the river, or a theme park. During their weekend or vacation, they spend money, create waiting lines at restaurants, and clog traffic and parking lots. I understand tourists but I don’t like being around them. A stereotypical tourist is one who, like the characters from the movie Michael, want to see the tourist traps. In the movie, it was the world’s biggest frying pan but it could have been the world’s largest ball of twine or the biggest rocking chair. None of which I have visited. Until recently I eschewed such nonsense for what I believed it was, a way to get you to stop and spend money. My belief hasn’t changed but I guess curiosity (and sometimes boredom) have gotten the best of me and we’ve made pilgrimages to some of these ‘landmark’ US locations.

After our visit to the Black Hills and on our way eastward (whilst avoiding Wall Drug) we stopped in Mitchell, South Dakota. God bless Mitchell but there just isn’t much there in the way of entertainment. Due to excessively high fuel prices we needed to spend more time sitting rather than driving and Mitchell is where we stopped for a very long 30 days. The most famous thing in Mitchell is the Corn Palace. I didn’t really know what to expect but we had to go find out. Turns out it has a long history and was a clever way to lure people from outside the city to come and visit. The Corn Palace is not much more than a basketball/entertainment arena where games and concerts are held. Some rather famous people have performed there. The decorations inside and outside of the building are where the corn comes in. Inside there are numerous murals and the outside walls are heavily decorated. The media for the murals inside and out is corn. Many varieties of corn cobs, husks, and stalks are used and are selected for their color and texture. A theme with an elaborate design is created each year for the outside and a team of workers removes last year’s design and installs the new one. It takes weeks and perhaps months to complete the transformation. Inside the murals are elaborate and permanent. Have to admit it was kinda cool.

Our next tourist trap stop occurred in Red Wing, Minnesota. If the name Red Wing rings a bell it is because there is a brand of work shoes and boots with that name. The shoes are still manufactured in Red Wing, hence the name. It is in the town that you can find the world’s largest boot in the Red Wing store. It too was kinda cool.

Next up was Blue Earth, Minnesota, which is the home of the Jolly Green Giant statue. Until recently I didn’t realize that the green giant is a type of pea grown in that area of Minnesota and the figure was developed to market the variety. I remember TV commercials using the giant from my youth but didn’t know the origins. Well, I can’t say this was all that cool. It is what it is.

For all my disdain for tourists and still not liking crowds I have to admit that it is official. We have become La Turistas. I did not see this coming.