Horseshoe Bluff, Mines of Spain Rec Area Fall color is peaking right now along the Upper Mississippi River. Last week I suggested hiking at Turkey River Mounds south of Guttenberg, Iowa. Another place where you can usually enjoy good color with good views is the 1,400-acre Mines of Spain Recreation Area at Dubuque, Iowa,
Looking downriver from Turkey River Mounds Preserve There are many places to get a good view along the Upper Mississippi River, but the easiest ones are the most crowded. This fall, as you are looking for a moderately difficult hike that come with good views and few visitors, consider Turkey River Mounds State
Population (2010) 65,842 Introduction St. Cloud, a city split between three counties, emerged from the union of three distinct cities: one founded by a slave-owning southerner, one founded by an abolitionist Protestant, and one created just to build a sawmill. It’s a wonder the place ever came up with
Population (2010) 8,343 Introduction Little Falls is a picturesque small city along the boundary where the forest and the prairie meet. Go west twenty miles west and you’ll be in farm country, but if you go twenty miles north, you’ll be in the pine forest. The folks are friendly and
Population (2010) 13,590 Introduction Brainerd is at the center of a vast resort area that spreads out around the city. I confess I have mixed feelings about Brainerd, and not just because this was the place where I dropped my smartphone into the toilet. While the city has an interesting
Population (2010) N/A Introduction The Cuyuna Range was the smallest of the three Minnesota Iron Ranges (see the Mesabi Iron Range for info on another of the ranges). There are no active mines today, but the area, bordered by the Mississippi River on its northern edge, has plenty to explore.
