We're Off to See the Wizard!!--Sightseeing in Minnesota and North Dakota

Oh, yeah!!  There is lots of sightseeing to do in Minnesota and North Dakota!!  After wrapping up our canoe trip in the Boundary Waters, we set out for home with a lot of stops at various points of interest.

We kicked things off with a visit to the Judy Garland Museum in Grand Rapids, Minnesota.  Here's a shot of Buckskin Lily standing on the porch of Judy Garland's childhood home:

Those of  you who know me well will understand the significance of this trip for me.  Here I am on the landing of Judy's house (where she and her sisters practiced their act):

And here I am playing the piano in the living room:

Here I am with the carriage pulled by the horse of a different color in the Wizard of Oz movie:

Why is Abraham Lincoln standing off to the right you ask?  Well...before this carriage was used in movies, it was originally made for Abraham Lincoln during his presidency.  It appeared in lots of other movies besides the Wizard of Oz...

OK, OK...enough with the Oz & Judy Garland memorabilia!  I know everyone isn't as interested in it as I am, but maybe just ONE more...

Alright!!  Moving on...after visiting Judy's house, we went to visit Paul Bunyan & Babe the blue ox in Bemidji:

Then a little later as we were driving down the road, we saw him again!  This Paul was pretty hairy, but he did let me sit in his hand.  I thought that was pretty nice of him.

In North Dakota, we went to see Ft. Mandan where Lewis & Clark spent their first winter on their expedition for President Jefferson.  Here is a full-view of the Fort (reconstructed near the original site):

And here's a closer up view of the fort's inner courtyard:

And what would my blog be without a picture of ME???  Here I am standing next to the cannon:

Near the fort, we visited the Lewis & Clark Discovery Center.  Noah found some awesome buffalo targets out in front:

And I found myself a new dog.  This is Lewis & Clark's dog, Seaman.  I wanted to take him home, but Noah wouldn't let me.

And inside, I got suited up to join the Corps of Discovery (not!)...

As we wended our way back to Wyoming, we made a stop at Devil's Tower.  We've been in Wyoming for 5 years now & this is was our first visit.  Devil's Tower is located in northeast Wyoming and was the U.S.'s first national monument.  We arrived in the late afternoon, which was a great time for photos:

And again, what would this blog be without more pictures of ME???  Here I am in front of Devil's Tower...paying homage to my Korean friends with my pose:

There's a prairie dog village near Devil's Tower, and while many people think prairie dogs are pests, I think they're cute.  I spent quite some time trying to get some good photos, but they make very poor photographic subjects.  Here are a couple of the most decent shots I was able to capture:

And this little guy (or girl) was very busy digging a new hole:

After Devil's Tower, we reluctantly headed for home.  We were having a great time on our vacation, but we had to get back home to compete in the Wyoming State Championships (which I reported on in the previous post).

Oh, yeah...one thing I forgot to include:  in Bemidji, we spotted a pair of Canada geese and a whole gaggle of goslings.  I tried to get a good photo, but mama wouldn't let me get too close.  Here they are:

Well...that's it for now, but like I said...keep checking back often.  It's going to be an exciting summer.  Still to come are the Yellowstone Valley Buffalo Stampede in Billings, MT;  the Montana State Championships; Oregon; L.A.; a cruise to Hawaii; and of course, Shirley Shot's RV adventure from CA to WY.  Hope everyone's summer is fun & adventure-packed.  I'll be talking to you soon. 

I'm going to end with this picture again, it's just too cool.  Until we meet again!!

Buckskin Lily, Buckskin Lily, Buckskin Lily & Buckskin Lily