Southern Minnesota

I have explored Minnesota once before, three years ago. That trip took me through the North Woods with its giant Paul Bunyan statues and Lake Superior shoreline. This one was less ambitious and closer to home, a drive across southwest Minnesota following the Minnesota River for much of the way.

Outside of the area around the Minnesota River (and its tributaries like the Redwood), this part of Minnesota is not at all unlike its neighboring state to the south. There are miles and miles of virtually flat farmland dotted with small towns that all have a large grain elevator of some sort towering over the surrounding landscape. Of course, as stated in Minnesota's tagline, there are small lakes seemingly everywhere a person looks.

Tyson Lake near Wood Lake, Minnesota

Fairmont, Minnesota

Blue Earth, Minnesota

Also visited: Winnebago, Truman, Lewisville, Madelia, New Ulm, Fairfax, Franklin, Redwood Falls, Echo, Vesta, Russell, Ruthton, Holland and Pipestone, Minnesota.