North Mankato, Minnesota

On our way to Rapid City we stopped in North Mankato, Minnesota to visit with Marlon's friend, Dave, and his dog, Sandy.

Dave gave us a tour of the town and showed us where he works.

Here is Dave, Sandy and Marlon in front of Dave's house.
In front of our campsite for the night at the Flying J Truck Stop in Souix City, Iowa, we saw a wind turbine blade being transported on this truck.

After filling the RV with diesel, we thought we might trade for this economical model.

Our campsite for the night.

For more pictures, click here .

To be continued...

More Minneapolis

Some other items we saw while in Minneapolis included this house with incredible landscaping in the Kenwood neighborhood.

Grain Belt Beer's big bottle cap sign...since 1893!

Did you know Minneapolis has more bridges across the Mississippi River than any other river community?

I'm not certain if this one was on the Mississippi, but it was neat looking.

The Minneapolis skyline.

Minneapolis Light Rail...don't drink and drive...drink and ride!

The Pavek Museum of Broadcasting is a treasure trove of wonders for those interested in antique stereos, radios and television.

Here's a dual-needle phonograph.

Many later models of this Wurlitzer jukebox have been bid on during the 30+ year history of "The Price is Right".

This first televison set consists of several holes in a round disk. The tube behind the turning disk makes the picture as you look through the glass. Steamboat Willie reminds us that Disney is everywhere.

TV remote controls have certainly gotten more compact over the years.

Marlon is practicing for his new career as television cameraperson.

The first Minneapolis weather radar was placed in service in 1958.

Across from the IDS Center, this bus crashed through the building storefront of the Metro Transit.

Little Chief Crow stands watch over Minnehaha Falls.

Measuring 53 feet in height, Minnehaha Falls literally means

"waterfall falls."

Originally slated to become Minnesota's first state park in the 1880's, Minnehaha Park was instead turned over to the city of Minneapolis as a city park.

For more pictures of Minneapolis, click here .

To be continued...

Mary Richard's Minneapolis

Today we decided to scout out some of the locations used in the most Emmy-Winning television show prior to 2002, "The Mary Tyler Moore Show."

We drove into Minneapolis much like Mary Richards did in the show's original opening theme.

In the show, Mary first lived at 119 N. Weatherly, a house also occupied by Rhoda Morgenstern and Phyllis Lyndstrom.

The house is actually located on Kenwood Parkway in a rather exclusive neighborhood.

Just a short distance from the house we came across Lake of the Isles, where Mary is shown walking in the opening theme.

On Nicollet Mall we located the statue TV Land erected in 2002, as a tribute to Mary throwing her hat in the air.

WJM-TV, Mary's employer, was located in this building in downtown Minneapolis and also shown in the original opening.

Click here to see the original opening for the show which debuted on September 19, 1970.

In later seasons, the opening featured Mary dining on the terrace at IDS Center's Basil's Restaurant.

Rhoda and Mary are also seen walking past Burch Pharmacy. As of today, Burch Pharmacy was holding a "going out of business" sale.

In 1975, Mary moved to this high-rise apartment. Its address was 932 N. Weatherly in the show. In actuality, Cedar Riverside Plaza is several miles away.

Take a look at the opening theme in later years by clicking here.

Note the transformation of "How will you make it on your own?" to "Who can turn the world on with her smile?"

For more pictures of Mary Richard's Minneapolis, click here .

To be continued...

The Mall of America, Bloomington, MN

Today, we visited the The Mall of America, "the" mega-mall which opened in 1992 in nearby Bloomington.

Would you like to go up or down? With 500 stores and two food courts, your head will soon start to spin.

If you really want your head to spin, you can visit the Mall's climate-controlled amusement park.

Previously Camp Snoopy, in 2008 the park opened as Nickelodeon Universe, featuring many popular Nickelodeon characters.

Marlon's favorite? Dora.

Of course, Nickelodeon Universe would not be complete without Mr. SquarePants.

After walking the entire mall, one can then return to Dakotah Meadows RV Park and take advantage of the RV Wash on site.

For more pictures, click here .

To be continued...

Dakotah Meadows RV Park, Prior Lake, MN

It was time to leave St. Joseph and head back to West Yellowstone, Montana where we would again spend the summer working at The Yellowstone IMAX Theatre.

First, we wanted to take a detour up north to visit the home state of Mary Richards and Rose Nylund.

Minnesota welcomed us through bug-splattered windshield.

Dakotah Meadows RV Park is adjacent to the Mystic Lake Casino Hotel in the Minneapolis suburb of Prior Lake.

Our view of the lake's fountain reminded us vaguely of the dancing fountains of The Bellagio.

The RV sites are paved, roomy and cheap...that is, until you lose $200 playing blackjack!

The 24/7 casino, as seen from the rv.

Chatfield (and Marlon) could think of better things to do with $200...like gourmet cat food and a CB radio.

For more pictures, click here .

To be continued...