KNIGHT RIDDER NEWSPAPERS
KNIGHT RIDDER NEWSPAPERS
AS IF WE DIDN'T HAVE enough pressures in our lives, now we have "1,000 Places to See Before You Die."
Published last fall, it's a fat little book listing the best things to do and see around the world -- rafting the Mangoky River in Madagascar, attending the Pushkar Camel Fair in India, basking on the beaches of Bora Bora.
It's a glittering list, packed with exotic places and amazing things anyone would like to see and do -- but probably won't. The finest hotels and restaurants are listed, too, but you probably won't be staying at the Hotel de Crillon in Paris, where rooms start at $541, or eating at Taillevent, where dinners are $170.
You can read about these places, though, and have a fine time doing it.
The United States, although not particularly glamorous, contains some wonderful places, and you actually have a good chance of seeing them all in your lifetime. You'll save a lot of money, too -- maybe enough to go horseback riding around Ulan Bator or on a river excursion through Papua New Guinea.
If you need one, here's a list of some of the best places in the United States. When you're finished with it, you'll have so many favorites to revisit that you might not have time for that trip to Bora Bora.
Natural features
The Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness is the only Minnesota entry in "1,000 Places," and of course this 1.1 million-acre wilderness along Minnesota's border with Canada deserves the honor. It's easy to visit on a day trip, but its solitude and wide-open spaces are best appreciated by campers.
The book also lists the Apostle Islands National Lakeshore on the south shore of Lake Superior, off Wisconsin's Bayfield Peninsula. Kayakers have the best access to the 21-island archipelago, but in summer, visitors can take launches to hiking trails and lighthouses on many of the islands. In winter, the ice caves on the mainland near Cornucopia, accessible via the frozen lake for a short time in late winter, are one of the region's most splendid and unusual sights.
In far northern Minnesota, the labyrinthine waterways of Voyageurs National Park are full of wildlife and history. The inland water route carried voyageurs and Ojibwas to and from Grand Portage National Monument on Lake Superior, where interpreters re-create a colorful era; the best time to go is during the annual Rendezvous in August. From Grand Portage, ferries take hikers, campers and kayakers to Isle Royale National Park, a narrow, 45-mile-long island that has 165 miles of hiking trails and the densest population of moose in the lower 48 states.
Sacred site
On the opposite corner of Minnesota, the state's other national monument is a sacred site to Plains Indians, who still quarry the soft red rock that lies under quartzite that erupts out of the earth at Pipestone National Monument. This marblelike rock, part of the uplifted floor of an ancient sea, rises to a 90-foot-high line of cliffs farther south, in dramatic Blue Mounds State Park, and pops out of the sod to the east at Jeffers Petroglyphs, where an ancient people etched their story in nearly 2,000 characters.
Man-made structures also have their spot on the list. In Duluth, the clanging of the steel Aerial Lift Bridge brings crowds running to see freighters arriving and departing. On the other side of the narrow canal, guests in the corner suites of the South Pier Inn run onto their balconies, from which they can see both the lake and the harbor.
On the other side of Lake Superior, raised platforms allow tourists and boat nerds to watch the rise and fall of boats through the Soo Locks in Sault Ste. Marie. If you're that far into the Upper Peninsula, be sure to spend an extra day at impossibly picturesque Mackinac Island, on Lake Michigan, and then you might as well keep going till you reach Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore.
Big city and beyond
The architecture of Chicago brings out crowds who rove downtown sidewalks, necks craned, on tours sponsored by the Chicago Architecture Foundation, which also offers tours of Frank Lloyd Wright buildings in nearby Oak Park. In Spring Green, on the Wisconsin River, the Wright masterpiece Taliesin can be visited on tours given by the Frank Lloyd Wright Visitors Center. A different kind of spectacle sits on a limestone spire overlooking Taliesin and its valley; the over-the-top House on the Rock is said to owe its existence to its builder's desire to spite the haughty architect.
Farther upstream, the fantastical sandstone formations of the Wisconsin Dells were created by a 100-foot wall of water at the end of the last Ice Age, the same kind of deluge that created the Dalles of the St. Croix at Taylors Falls. Signs of the last glacier can be seen best by hiking the Ice Age National Scenic Trail across Wisconsin and by exploring the glens and hollows of the Baraboo Hills, a 25-mile-long swath recognized as a "Last Great Place" by the Nature Conservancy.
Not far from the Dells, the International Crane Foundation harbors endangered cranes from around the world. In Mirror Lake State Park, the Seth Peterson Cottage is the only Wright-designed building in the world that the public can rent for private use.
In the past century, Wisconsin has been a crucible for many untrained artists, who work their magic in concrete and shards of glass. The state's collection of folk-art sculpture gardens is perhaps the most spectacular in the nation: Fred Smith's Wisconsin Concrete Park in Phillips, the Paul and Matilda Wegner Grotto near Sparta, the James Tellen Woodland Sculpture Garden near Sheboygan, Prairie Moon Sculpture Garden and Museum near Fountain City, and Nick Engelbert's Grandview between Mineral Point and New Glarus; all were restored by the Kohler Foundation. The Dickeyville Grotto, in the southwest tip of the state, is worth a trip as well.
Festivals and farms
The coulee country of southwest Wisconsin is full of surprises. Norwegians settled around Westby; at their annual Snowflake International Ski Jumping Tournament, Feb. 14-15 this year, Olympic-caliber athletes soar off a 114-meter hill that's one of only four its size in North America. Amish settled around Cashton and Ontario, and stopping at the Amish farms that sell goods along Wisconsin Route 33 allows a fascinating glimpse of their lifestyle.
Nearby, the Elroy-Sparta State Trail, with its three tunnels, is the oldest bicycling rail trail in the nation and still one of the best. South of the Wisconsin River, the Swiss settled around New Glarus and Monroe and built an empire of cheese; today, a Limburger-and-onion sandwich at Baumgartner's in Monroe confers instant cheesehead status. The lead-mining town of Mineral Point drew miners from Cornwall, and its stone fa & ccedil;ades bear their mark; their heritage is preserved at Pendarvis. Galena, another lead-mining town across the border in Illinois, also has become a magnet for artists and shoppers.
Fantasy hot spots
Madison, with its blindingly white Capitol, museums and lively State Street squeezed onto the isthmus between two lakes, is a destination in every season. Some call it an oasis from reality; you can get the real thing at the luxurious Canterbury Inn, where guests retreat into a Chaucerian world atop a bookstore.
In the middle of Iowa, the four-diamond Hotel Pattee in Perry is another fantasy oasis, furnished with Persian rugs, terra-cotta tile, original paintings and so much Honduran mahogany its owner temporarily cornered the market for it. Each of its 40 rooms and suites has a different theme, honoring everyone from the creator of the "Alley Oop" comic strip to the RAGBRAI bike ride and local Dutch immigrants.
Glaciers never reached the triangle of ridges and valleys that mark the corners of Iowa, Minnesota and Wisconsin. Limestone chimney spires and towering bluffs amaze those who canoe the Upper Iowa River near Decorah.
In nearby Spillville, where composer Antonin Dvor & aacute;k spent the summer of 1893, the Bily Clock Exhibit shows what two Bohemian bachelor farmers could whittle over the long, lonely winters. Across the border in Minnesota, Niagara Cave near Harmony and Mystery Cave near Preston show what drops of water can do over a few eons.
Along the Mississippi
The Mississippi looms large in this region, populated by the spirits of Dakota warriors, French explorers and steamboat captains. The best views of the Mississippi River give a sense of its scope and power: Barn Bluff in Red Wing; Buena Vista Park in Alma; Brady's Bluff in Perrot State Park, near Trempealeau; Mount Hosmer in Lansing, in northeast Iowa; Pikes Peak State Park near McGregor, and Wyalusing State Park near Prairie du Chien.
Wildlife watchers look for different kinds of views. At Horicon Marsh in southeast Wisconsin, thousands of warblers and many other waterfowl stop in spring, and geese descend in fall. In November, hundreds of tundra swans create a spectacular sight in Rieck's Park in Alma; across the river, in Wabasha and Read's Landing, eagle-watching reaches its zenith between December and March. On the Mississippi north of the Twin Cities, hundreds of trumpeter swans spend the winter at a city park in Monticello.
The headwaters of the Mississippi, in Itasca State Park, are a magnet for schoolchildren around the nation; stay at the Douglas Lodge, which has been housing park visitors since 1905. From there the Mississippi heads north to Bemidji, crossing Lake Bemidji near Paul Bunyan and Babe the Blue Ox, the first of the many giant mascots that line roadsides in Minnesota and Wisconsin.
To the east, black bears frequent Vince Shute Wildlife Sanctuary near Orr, thrilling visitors in summer. At the International Wolf Center in Ely, five resident wolves showcase the alpha and omega of lupine behavior.
Iron Range
One of Minnesota's newest attractions cuts through the best of the Iron Range; riding the Mesabi Trail between Grand Rapids and Eveleth will be a revelation to anyone who hasn't seen an emerald-green mine-pit lake or such spectacles as Virginia's Mineview in the Sky or Hill Annex Mine State Park in Calumet. The trail doesn't yet reach Tower, site of Soudan Underground Mine State Park, where visitors get into an elevator and descend the equivalent of seven football fields into the Earth.
At the foot of Lake Superior, voyageurs went up the St. Louis River, portaging around a series of deadly rapids in what is now Jay Cooke State Park, one of many parks that offer candlelight skiing, Feb. 13 this year. Farther upriver, Superior Whitewater in Carlton takes people white-water rafting down a thrilling but less deadly series of rapids on the same river.
Duluth's lakefront, once bypassed by tourists heading up the North Shore, now is hopping in warmer months. Heading up the Shore, the cascades of Gooseberry Falls State Park require a stop, as do the view from Palisade Head, Shovel Point in Tettegouche State Park and Split Rock Lighthouse.
Hiking trail
Many of the most popular segments of the Superior Hiking Trail are near Lutsen: Carlton Peak, Oberg Mountain and the Cascade River. In Grand Marais, visitors flock to the rocky outcropping of Artist's Point.
Inland, a hike to Eagle Mountain takes hikers to Minnesota's highest point. On the Gunflint Trail, skiers find 200 kilometers of groomed trails; stop to eat at the midpoint Trail Center's Black Bear Bar & amp; Restaurant, which transcends the usual skier-snowmobiler antipathies. It's also a good place to see mushers during the John Beargrease Sled Dog Marathon, which starts March 7 this year, and outfitters in the area offer dog-sledding trips you can take yourself.
Back on the North Shore, in Judge C.R. Magney State Park, the Devil's Kettle swallows half of the Brule River; across the highway, Naniboujou and its vivid Great Hall offer a fleeting glimpse of Jazz Age days.
In Grand Portage State Park, the 120-foot High Falls on the Pigeon River are Minnesota's highest waterfall, though they're shared with Ontario. In Thunder Bay, Old Fort William re-creates the fur-trade era with astonishing thoroughness. In the Port Arthur neighborhood, stop for a meal at the Hoito, an old Finnish logging-camp restaurant, and a view of the Sibley Peninsula, also known as the Sleeping Giant.
Then keep going around Lake Superior for the other highlights of the Circle Tour: hiking in Pukaskwa National Park, climbing the Grand Sable Dunes in Grand Marais, cruising past Pictured Rocks National Lakeshore out of Munising, exploring the harbor and copper-mining towns of the Keweenaw Peninsula and hiking in Porcupine Mountains Wilderness State Park.
If it's summer, stop near Bayfield for a show at Big Top Chautauqua, and take a detour inland to see the waterfalls at Copper Falls, Amnicon and Pattison state parks.
Twin Cities highlights
In the Twin Cities, no Minnesotan is worth his salt if he hasn't done the basics: walking, bicycling or skating around the Minneapolis Chain of Lakes; watching fireworks from the Stone Arch Bridge; visiting Minnehaha Falls; or driving along St. Paul's Summit Avenue to ogle the beautifully preserved Victorian mansions. I wouldn't include the Mall of America, but they say it's the state's No. 1 attraction. And to see the cities at their best, go to the milk-carton boat races during Minneapolis' Aquatennial in July and to see the ice palace during St. Paul's Winter Carnival, now through Feb. 8. This year, don't miss Grand Flotilla Weekend, July 3-4 in St. Paul; it's part of the big Grand Excursion 2004 celebration.
Every Minnesotan, of course, must go to the Minnesota State Fair. Cheeseheads must attend at least one game at Lambeau Field, anglers must hook and imbibe at the February Eelpout Festival in Walker, Norwegians must go to July's Nordic Fest in Decorah, Iowa, and Nordic skiers must sign up for at least one Birkebeiner ski marathon from Cable to Hayward, Wis., in February.
Everyone should attend a few powwows, and it would be a shame to miss the Lumberjack World Championships in Hayward in July; the September Civil War Weekend at the Wade House in Greenbush, Wis.; May's Tulip Time in Pella, Iowa, or the Winnipeg Folk Festival in July.
It shouldn't take a lifetime to polish off this list -- but if it does, it will be a lifetime well-spent.