Chimney Rock, The Cannon, and Zumbro River

Chimney Rock, a sandstone rock column located just south of Hastings MN, is the last remaining rock column in Dakota County now since Lone Rock and Castle Rock have eroded away.  In the 1800’s, it was considered a landmark for new settlers in the area.  In 1905, it was described as “the most picturesque and perfect example of columnar rock weathering in Minnesota”.  It wasn’t until 2002 that Dakota county issued a bond to preserve natural areas such as Chimney Rock.  In 2011, the MN DNR purchased 76 acres surrounding Chimney Rock, and now there are signs prohibiting people from bringing their dogs to Chimney Rock for fear of the damage they can cause.  

Chimney Rock is about 30 feet tall, and it’s pretty cool.  It’s also very heavily covered in carvings and spray paint.  I can only assume that this is the reason people are prohibited from bringing dogs here, because there are no signs prohibiting the creativity of “expressionists” (using the word “vandals” is now considered offensive) expressing themselves.  Those darned dogs.

A bit farther down the road, at Cannon Falls cemetery, where a fair number of paternal relatives are buried.  This is a field of artificial poppies on a hill leading to a Civil War memorial. Each of the poppies has a name tag attached to it, however I don’t know the significance of those names.  Perhaps they are veterans who lost their lives during wartime.  I assume this is the case.

This is the memorial to Colonel William Colvill.  He led the First Minnesota Volunteer Infantry in the Civil War, including two very well know battles, Gettysburg and Antietum.  Colvill was there, as were many men from this area.  Colvill and his wife, Jane, are buried here in Cannon Falls.

An actual Civil War cannon, believed to have seen action in the war.  It has been here since 1910.

I don’t know who this guy is/was, but he’s got an 8 foot mural of his image alongside an obviously old building in Mazeppa, so he made an impression on someone.  

Exploring along the Zumbro River

There is beauty, even in the less interesting stretches of SE Minnesota, if you stop to notice.

On a lesser-used trail along the Zumbro River.

The river crossing was closed today.

View of the rolling hills surrounding Dumfries.

Thanks for looking!

 

B-52 Bomber Crash Site and Saint Peter’s Pearly Gates

Today started out sunny and warm.  I thought it was perfect weather to get out on a motorcycle ride to a couple of interesting locations I had on my “Ride-To” list.  One of the locations is the crash site of a B-52 Stratofortress bomber which occurred on September 16, 1958.  The plane was on a Cold War training mission, and it had taken off earlier in the day from Loring AFB in Maine.  The crew was made up of 6 flight crew members and 2 trainers.  They were flying at about 36,400 feet above the Twin Cities to simulate a nuclear bombing attack.  At about 8:40 PM, the plane had just finished it’s last mock bombing exercise of the night when the plane experienced a mechanical failure, and ultimately the tail of the plane broke off from the fuselage.  In just under 2 minutes, the plane fell to the ground from over 36,000 feet.  Four of the 8 crew had ejection seats and were able to eject, but only one of those four survived.  The other four were apparently unable to make it to an open hatch and parachute to safety, and they died in the crash.  The B-52 crashed on the farm of August Kahl, who just happened to be loading tomatoes into his farm truck with his 15 year old son, Loren, in preparation to be delivered to a market in South St. Paul the next morning.  August and Loren were engulfed in the fire from the explosion, as was their barn and their house where 6 other family members were at the time.  They all survived, though some were badly burned.  The tail of the plane was located 3 miles west of the Kahl farm. 

After visiting the memorial in Inver Grove Heights, I made my way towards St. Peter, where I had hoped to visit Saint Peter’s Pearly Gates, an attraction in St. Peter which included some pretty cool looking gates.  Unfortunately, the gates have been removed, and all that remains are the brick pillars that the gates had been attached to.    

Click on the images to see a larger view.             

Along the way to St. Peter.  A farm house and blue sky.

A quick stop in Heidelberg, just because I’ve never been here.

This is the location where Saint Peter’s Pearly Gates used to be.  Alas, they are gone.  I’ll just have to be content to see them when it’s time…

A photo of my trusty steel horse, Bob, in the Historic village of Ottawa.  I don’t know what this building was, and the fence was enough of a warning to let me know I shouldn’t try to hard to see it up close.

Here’s my Kwik Trip lunch - a chicken sandwich.  I do like Kwik Trip’s on my motorcycle rides!

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Fagen Fighters WWII Museum

 I rode my motorcycle over 300 miles in order to visit 3 places: an interesting cemetery, the world’s largest ball of twine, and the Fagen Fighters WWII Museum in Granite Falls Minnesota.  Now, all three of these places are cool, but the Fagen Fighters WWII Museum definitely takes the cake here.  This museum contains vehicles and aircraft that were significant players in WWII: P-51 Mustang, P-38 Lightning, a B-25 Mitchell, a Waco glider, and many more.  They even have a Japanese Zero they are in the process of refurbishing. There’s an M16/M3 Half Track, a military Harley motorcycle, a Sherman tank, and several other items.  And get this: they all run and/or fly.  This isn’t one of those museums that display planes that are mere shells of their former selves that couldn’t possibly run, much less fly.  Don’t get me wrong, those displays are important too.  But, Fagen’s museum is keeping these pieces of history alive, and attention to detail is a big deal here. This is the most impressive WWII museum I have visited. They even have a powerful Holocaust exhibit, complete with a train boxcar with realistic models/mannequins dressed in period attire.  They also have a D-Day exhibit showing soldiers coming off a Higgins Boat at Utah Beach.  The sand in the exhibit is actual sand from Utah Beach. Who goes to that kind of trouble?   From the moment I walked through the doors, to the moment I left the parking lot,  I was impressed.  This is a must see.  

Click on the images to see them in a larger format.

Here are some photos from my visit.

M16/M3 Half Track

Interior of a WWII glider

Japanese Zero being refurbished

An actual boxcar used by Nazi Germany to transport people to camps and/or their death.

As a people, we are capable of many things.  Not all of those things are good.  Never forget.

POW’s being unloaded from trains to a POW camp.

There will be an air show on June 18th this year.  It looks like it will be a fantastic event!

Thanks for looking at my photo blog!