Travels with Children

I first visited Hermann Monument, or “Herman the German” when on a trip with my grandma and cousin, following the Laura Ingalls Wilder trail through Wisconsin, Minnesota, and Iowa.  (I also remember having my very-first Chicken McNuggets at the McDonalds in New Ulm, for what that’s worth!)

Climbing up Hermann’s spiral staircase to the interior lookout area affords a colorful view of New Ulm below, as the windows on that level are made of various-colored glass panes.  Going higher to the small top overlook gives even a better view.

Hermann stands guard atop “the hill,” or Minnesota River bluff, in New Ulm.  From an early age, my kids loved to see him and announced that “if a guy with a sword is chasing you, you should always, always run away.”

Now they ask to go up every year.  I reserve the Hermann trips for days when my husband can go up with them, for I’ve become fearful of heights lately.

This is the back of Hermann. Notice the three viewing levels:  the low one by the lions, the windows above, and the crow’s nest just below the actual statue.

This photo of New Ulm was taken from the lion level, as far as I dared go up this last trip.

The spiral staircase goes up to the window level, and then a little ladder-staircase goes up to the top from there.

And as for the history of Hermann and why he’s guarding New Ulm . . .

New Ulm has a strong German heritage. Many of the businesses in town reflect that: Gutentag Haus, Treasure Haus, Marktplatz Mall, and so on. When the clinic was remodeled recently, directional signs were installed in English, Spanish, and German. Downtown, a permanent display of old German flags is mounted to one of the building walls, and the Glockenspiel rings out several times a day.

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Sometimes on our travels we come across things that are truly off the beaten path.  Such is the case of Cliff Haugen’s sculptures near Larimore, North Dakota.  They’re on a gravel road a few miles northeast of the rest area, and not marked in any way.  My mom just happened to know about them and so I ventured off the highway to take a look.

I’m guessing most of these pieces are made of scrap pieces of metal from around the farm, so this is recycling taking on an interesting form.

Some of the pieces are in motion and move gently with the wind.

I apologize for the quality of the photos; it was a cloudy day. And these are only a few of the pieces along the farmsite; my camera battery died after I snapped these pictures.

While these aren’t the masterpieces that others have seen at the Louvre or other famed museums, they’re pieces of art nonetheless.  I love these types of finds on my travels!  If you ever want to see this collection for yourself, make your way to Larimore, ND, and ask someone for directions to Cliff Haugen’s farm.

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The latest overnight trip I made with the kids was to my parents’ farm in eastern North Dakota.  It’s a 6-hour trip, and one that we’ve made many times.  Some trips home are short, or packed with activities, but this time we had a free day so I offered to help Mom and Dad pick the apples from their tree.

My uncle came over to run the “farmhand”, an ancient tractor with a loader bucket that looks innocent enough but really goes quite high.  (I spent many an hour in the farmhand, painting the big white barn, when I was in high school.)

Once we were up at the top of the tree, I remembered that I don’t like heights any more, so my apple-picking was done one-handed while I hung on for dear life with the other.

This 30-year-old Haralson tree was loaded with apples.  Its twin didn’t have as many so we left it alone this year.  We kept only the best apples, leaving many hanging on the tree for the birds and throwing some to the ground for the deer that congregate in the yard.  Even being choosy about the ones we kept, we did very well.  We ended up with nine 5-gallon pails and several peach boxes of crisp, sweet-tart apples.  The standing joke for the rest of the trip was to ask everyone we saw if they needed any apples.  (The answer was always “no” because all the neighbors had good apple crops of their own this year.)

Who needs an orchard when you have Mom and Dad?

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My kids notice sooooo much more than I do, and they were quick to point out this little guy while we were walking the trails at Minnesota’s Gooseberry Falls State Park.

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This is the view from “Mt. Tom” in Sibley State Park, west central Minnesota.  It’s a short hike up a path from the parking lot, and then up a few steps to the “tower,” to be able to see for miles and miles.  Even though the area was in near-drought conditions, the area was beautifully green from above.

The kids loved climbing the tower and trying to spot the resort where we’d be staying for the week.

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