Latest / Being Minnesotan / Episode 4: Road Trip
Transcript
- Bryan Clapper: Well, that was the weirdest dream. Dream? You were sleeping that whole time? Don't worry, it wasn't a long dream. Welcome to Being Minnesotan, the pod show for people who say they know how to zipper merge and the beautiful people who actually do. In this episode, we're taking a road trip across the state, hunting for the best roadside attractions and catching up with our friend, that Midwestern mom. This is episode four with your hosts Emiline Childs and Brian Clapper. We join them now in beautiful downtown Hopkins. Welcome to Hopkins. Thanks. why are we here? World's largest raspberry. Isn't it cool? It is cool. I mean they used to grow raspberries here, they don't so much anymore, but I just think it's a really, really cool like statue. I mean, it's it's awesome, but I think there's some cooler stuff out there. Really? Yeah. I think just west of here. We should head out. Let's go. All right. Hey, this is Emiline, and this is an exclusive narration track for our audio only listeners. We realize that this episode is really heavy on the visuals, so I'm going to be popping in from time to time to let you know what we're seeing on the screen. So where are we going? We are gonna go west. There's another roadside attraction that I think you're really gonna like. Okay, I I guess we'll just do like an impromptu road trip. Yeah, yeah. I don't I don't have anything else to do today. Let's do it. I guess I don't anymore. Are you a road trip fan? I was gonna ask you that. I I'm n ish. I don't know. I don't take a lot of road trips. What about you? I am like the world's biggest road trip fan, fanatic. Okay. What got you st did you grow up doing road trips? Yeah, I my so my my my you know, I grew up in the cities. My dad is from Montana, so we'd always have to go back to his visit his parents. and it's a long drive. It used to be an even longer drive because At one point in the eighties, you know, you could only go fifty five miles an hour across all of North Dakota. So it was like a two day trip to go to Billy. It was a suit. So it's a co e even at eighty it's a slow trip across North Dakota. Oof. Yeah. That got me into it. But then in college, you know, being able to explore on my own via road trip and by car was the best. My favorite road trip ever was and maybe still to this day, was spring break in my senior year of college. I did a solo road trip to Seattle. Just by myself rather than going to like where all the other people were going to do spring break. And it was fantastic. I spent a week on the road by myself. I didn't have to talk to anybody. Didn't have to interact with Exactly. So I did not grow up doing road trips. Okay. We just kind of stayed put. My dad always had projects he was working on at the house. but we would take we would take them occasionally. I know we drove to Colorado one time. What I remember most about that trip was getting road sick going up Pike's Peak. So you know, not great memory. but my favorite road trip was also in college. we did a group of us did Habitat for Humanity out in Connecticut. And so we drove from Fargo to Bridgeport, Connecticut. Uh-huh. Took a couple days, but we had two minivans. We had like a a walkie-talkie between the two minivans, you know, before we all had cell phones that we used a lot. And and that that was a great way for me to get to see so many places for the first time. And ever since then I travel a lot. I just don't travel by car all that often. How about in Minnesota? What are some of your favorite places to drive to in Minnesota? Well I'll tell you my least favorite drive is from the Twin Cities to Fargo because I did that so much in college. It that is not a very thrilling drive. However, I love driving along the North Shore. Yeah. I mean, I don't I to me, I don't think anything beats that. Those views, all of the little towns along the way as you go up towards Grand Moray. I just think it's so beautiful. Yeah, absolutely. I I think personally, I mean obviously the North Shore is the obvious answer. is it? I don't know. There's great places in the world. But I think southern Minnesota is totally underrated. Yeah. As far as road trip destinations. it's it's not all that pretty on the western half of of southern Minnesota, but southeastern Minnesota in the bluff country and the driftless area. Just amazing. And then along the river, re Red Wing, Winona, all that area. Absolutely gorgeous. Well, I think that maybe that needs to be our next road trip that we're going. Maybe. Or the North Shore can be the next one. Yeah. I think we need to hit every single corner of this state at some point. Yes. Today we're gonna kinda hang out in central Minnesota a little bit. but I can't wait to see where you take me. I know. It's really exciting. I think it's gonna be really great. All right, Brian, we have made it to Darwin. Our destination is just up here on the side. I think I see what you're trying to Welcome to the world's largest ball of twine made by one person. I was gonna say I thought the world's largest ball of twine was in Kansas. It is. This is the world's largest ball of twine made by one man. This is made by Francis Johnson. He started it in 1950, and guess how long it took to make the ball of twine? It took him 29 years to make this ball of twine. It's cool. I don't know if it's cooler than the world's largest raspberry. What? Lynn Manuel Miranda's son asked to visit here for his graduation present. That says something. And I do know that there is a Weird Owl song about this. Well, Brian, if you're not impressed by this, I've got another idea. Alright, so we talked about Weird Owl's song, The Biggest Ball of Twine in Minnesota. Yes. And we both want to listen to it because we both heard it before. Yes. The problem we have is Our budget for music licensing is zero. Yeah. so we're gonna listen to the actual song. We're gonna overdub something that sounds kind of close, and then we'll react to it at the end and talk about what an amazing piece of music it is. Perfect. Okay. Hey, it's me again. Right now Brian and I are listening to all six minutes and forty-nine seconds of the biggest ball of twine in Minnesota by Weird Al Yankovic. While you get to hear thirty seconds of some royalty free music that kind of sounds similar. No, seriously, the song is still going. It's almost done. Don't worry. Do you think that that song has to be that long? Like is it an appropriate length of I think the Ball of Twine is so epic that it requires a seven-minute song. I had never heard that song. Maybe our attention spans have shifted so much in the TikTok age that a seven-minute song sounds like A a symphony in three parts. I mean, believe it or not, I had never heard this song until recently. Okay. And as I was listening to it, I just kept thinking, am I still listening to the same it was it on auto repeat? No, it's the same song and it tells the most epic story, and it is very accurate. It involving breaking down over the feeling of this is what America is all about in the gift shop. I wanted to fall to my knees. And and I didn't notice, but he talked about a like Twine ball inn. Was there a twine ball in what? I did not see the inn. There was a gift shop. There was a gift shop. It wasn't open. I would have bought it. No, I I feel like it is the perfect song for the ball of twine. Well that's the That's the only song about the ball of twine. That we know of. This is true. But I I think any road trip is like music is an integral part of any good road trip. Yes, music is the most important part of a road trip, I would argue, other than of course where you stop. So the question is Who gets to be the DJ? well, it's my car. So you're the DJ? Yeah. Now we're making our way through central Minnesota to Alexandria, where we will be standing in front of a 28-foot-tall Viking who, for some reason, is wearing what appears to be a cute yellow romper and a red cape. Alright, Brian, we are at what is probably the most controversial roadside attraction in Minnesota. So as a person of Norwegian descent, am I supposed to be offended by this? No, I don't I'll let you determine this. So what does it say on the shield? It says Alexandria, birthplace of America. Okay, so let's a bold claim. It is. Let's come back to that first. Let's learn about Big Oli. So Big Oli is 28 feet tall, about 8,000 pounds, made of fiberglass. Okay. Was made in 1965. For the World's Fair. For the World's Fair. For the World's Fair, for the Minnesota exhibit on the birthplace of America. After the World's Fair, Oli came right back here to Alexandria, Minnesota, where he has been standing all of these years. Okay. So this brings us to the controversial part. Birthplace of America. Do you think do you think of Alexandria? No Minnesota? Do you know why that is the claim? I don't. The claim stems from the Kensington runestone. Sure. A 202-pound stone discovered near Alexandria, where we are standing in 1898. Its inscription claims that Scandinavian explorers made it to Minnesota in 1362, more than a century before Columbus. Okay, and I'm sure that's totally legit, right? Yeah, so there is a lot of debate about whether or not that runestone is real or a forgery. most historians believe that it is a forgery. But a lot of people believe that it's real. There is an entire museum dedicated to this runestone and like protecting that claim that this is the birthplace of America. This is cool, I'll give you that. Yeah. It's still no world's largest raspberry. Brian, okay. Well, you didn't like the twine ball. No. You don't like Big Oly. I've got another idea. Okay, so we're just west of Alexandria on I-94. Yep. Do you want to give me a clue? I I know we're not going to like one of the big walleyes on Cabotogama or in Garrison. No. Are we going to the Prairie Chicken and Rothsay? We are not. You gonna give me a clue where we're going? let's just say it's Otter this world. okay, so it's th the otter thing. I don't know where it is. Yes, we are going to go see Otto the Otter in Fergus Falls. Okay. Which is located in Ottertail County. Hence the name. Yes, that is the real name of the county. Okay. and for those who might not know, this is in northwest Minnesota along I-94, kind of central west. Are we going to turn back to the cities at any point today? We will be going back across Minnesota. I will say that. Okay, all right. Okay. We're zigzagging a little bit. Okay. all right, so Otto the Otter is one of the smaller statues we will see today, but is still considered the world's largest otter. Of course. Fifteen feet tall, forty feet long. So it's all you know like otters. It comes in the length, right? it was built in nineteen seventy-two by a group of high schoolers. So I'm sure it's beautiful then if it was built by a group of high schoolers, right? Yes, I it it is a cutie. Cutie patootie, let's just say. Okay, well I'm looking forward to seeing it. so I think it's important to note that It is not to be con our our auto, the otter, is a river otter otter. Man, say that ten times fast. Not to be confused with sea otters. They are similar, but they are smaller than sea otters. And the population was once at risk in Minnesota. Okay. But Minnesota took restoration efforts and now they are thriving. and they're Were they inspired by the Otto, the otter statue to say we need to save. If you see a river otter, fun fact, it is a sign of a healthy waterway because it means they have lots of food. So and they aren't afraid of winter. They do not hibernate. You will see them all over. Have you ever seen otter marks in snow? I have not seen them in snow. I've only encountered otters in the wild twice, and both times were the summer. What was your experience like? one time I was kayaking around Bear Island on Leech Lake and Two of them popped up right in front of me and I didn't have time to grab my camera. Would have been an amazing photo. Another time, I went over to Big Island on the whitefish chain early in the morning specifically to take photos of there was a beaver hut on Big Island that I wanted to take photos of beavers. Yeah. Didn't see beavers, but I saw otters like eating fresh, a fresh catch. Yeah, it was very cool. One of my favorite photos I ever took. I also encountered some otters while kayaking. except it was terrifying. They scared me. Like I was worried they were gonna attack. They were like surrounding me. I felt like I was in Jaws or something. that'd be a pretty cool like B movie. Attack of the Otters. I I was really worried it w they were gonna come up and like tip me over and then I'd be in the water with the otters. but coming back to their the trails that they make in the snow, you really don't know that it's an animal. It just looks Like a like a slide almost through the snow. Very cool. Like you don't see footprints or anything. They just slide right through. It's really, really fun. It's me again. We're now pulling into beautiful Adams Park in Fergus Falls. Here he is, Otto the Otter. Isn't he cute? I yeah, like I I guess a little bit. He's adorable. He's not as cute as the world's largest raspberry. Really? With the raspberry. Okay, you know what? I'm bound and determine, I've got. Another option for us. Let's hit the road. Let's go. The world's largest pelican? No. Okay, come on. The world's largest loon? No. Brian. There's someone waving there. I feel like we should stop and help her. she looks a little crazy. Pull over. my gosh. Amber. Hey. How are you doing? What are you doing here? What are you doing on my side of town? I think we're lost. Yeah, must be. We were looking for like fun roadside attractions. I got fun roadside attractions for you. For heaven's sakes, they're already honking at us. Let's go out and see the turkey. For those of you listening to the audio only version, that Midwestern mom, aka Amber Estenson, is joining us in the car now, sporting her signature polka dot dress. Welcome to our road trip. exciting. This is so fun. We have been all across Minnesota and we came to Frazy to see one very important thing. Me. Sorry. Yes, it was. No, actually it was. Yeah. It's a bonus. It's a bonus. Hey, is this it? No, well, this is one of the turkeys. So we've got two. And everybody thinks that's the big one, but the big one is out on the hill. okay. And that one just got a facelift a couple years ago. He got a new paint job. So that was very exciting. We celebrated that journey. And then this is my mom's hair salon right here. This is where all the magic happens for that Midwestern mom. And this is now we were talking about landmarks. That's a landmark. That's a landmark. That is iconic. That's awesome. And the more I talk about it, the more people leave her Google reviews, even though they've never been there, because they're just like, You can just tell how proud her daughter is of her. It's so cute. So are you from Frazy? I born and raised in this town. Born and born and raised. Okay, so tell us a little bit About Frazy. How many people live here? a thousand people maybe, twelve hundred tops. and it's this is the Ottertail River, and so that's kind of why we got our start. Is but the black bridge coming up is one of the most unique in Minnesota because you can take a canoe or a boat under it, you can drive under it, you know, and then the train goes over it. It's a bridge over a bridge, and then a plane flies. And so during our centennial, we had like a boat and a car, and the train stopped to take to take the photo and the plane flew over. So that's like hanging in my mom's hair salon. So you are known for that Midwestern mom. I am, yeah. But I was small town famous before Midwestern moments. Yeah. And now you're big town famous is I don't know what I d yeah, I don't know. yes, yes. 'cause my mom's the hairdresser on Main Street of a town of like no more than twelve hundred people and so like people knew what I was doing before I was doing it. So my favorite story to tell people is when I got my driver's license, which my mother was so excited when I got my driver's license because I was a theater kid and so I was involved in summer productions and winter productions and all of the productions. And so she never really gave me a curfew, but the rule was you have to tell me where you're going, how long you're gonna be there and when you're coming home. And so I took the car the first day of having my license to play practice and I was supposed to be at play practice all day, but they let us out early because I was just like an ensemble role or something. And so I was like, well, I've got an hour before I'm supposed to be home, so I can just stop by my best friend's house. Somebody comes into the hair salon. gee, Amber must have gotten her driver's license, And they're just like, Yep, she did. Well where'd you see her driving? she was turning by Eagle Lake Road and my mom knew right away that's where my best friend lived. And so she's like my only regret is I didn't call Natasha's house. And and like have Natasha's mother meet you at the door, like your mom already knows you're here, you better turn around and go home. So that's her favorite story to tell. but that was pretty much my entire life. I could not get away with anything because everybody always had eyes on me. do you view that as a positive or a negative? I think I do now, especially like trying to raise kids in in this world. But it gives me interesting stories, let's just say that. But do you do you feel like you know everybody? my mom does, if I don't. For sure. it's hard sometimes because like people are starting to know like my name is Amber online and so sometimes they'll say, my gosh, Amber And I'm like, Okay, so do I know you because my mother knows you? Do I know you because my brother went to high school with you? Do I know you because my sister knows you? Or do I know you because you know that Midwestern mom? So I always try to tell my little marshmallows, please just say that Midwestern mom, 'cause otherwise I like get thrown for a supposed to know who you are? I'm sorry, I don't know. Okay, so and for those who might not know, what are your little marshmallows? my followers dubbed themselves my little marshmallows because they wanted a nickname. and i I couldn't call them my jello jigglers obviously because that sounds that's probably copyrighted. So we figured marshmallow was the most endearing term. Is it because of the marshmallows that go into the salads that aren't really salads? They're just a little marshmallow in that Midwestern mom salad. So yeah. How did that Midwestern mom come about? I d it's all by accident. And it was a salad started on Saint Patrick's Day of twenty twenty one. Okay. And I remembered thinking, yeah, when I made this stuff out on the East Coast when I was at school, people thought I was weird. Well to be fair. Those salads are weird. They are weird. I should post this on the internet, but at St. Patrick's Day I always make Watergate salad 'cause it's it's green. Yeah. and I put it on the internet with n just my normal everything and they loved it. You know, I had like my videos, if I posted anything, 'cause I was really just a lurker, if I posted anything, it got like maybe a hundred views. Was a good day. Okay. and that one got thirty thousand views. So, you know, to go from a hundred to thirty thousand, you're like, wait a minute, that this is something. Okay. At that time were you already posting as that midwestern mom? No, I wasn't. I think my name was ADHD soprano mama or something like all right. Well that's very descriptive. I I think it was the second or third video where people said I reminded them because I asked do you like the Minnesota accent or do you like just my regular Midwestern accent? And of course everybody was like, my god, the Minnesota accent is so funny. Yeah. Which of course it's a lot lighter now, I accentuate it. But you know my mom and my grandma sounded like this back in the day. That is for gosh dang sure. And so they said I reminded them of Kitty Foreman or Rosen Island. and so my mom's a hairdresser, an old school hairdresser, like wash and sets and perms and the whole nine yards. And so I called her up and asked her to put curlers in my hair and she What the heck you wanna do that for? for heaven's sakes and you know, get your rearing gear and get I don't have time for this, Malarkey. And so I did a video from the grocery store in my hair curlers and a face mask 'cause it was still mask mandates back then. Yeah. And that video went almost immediately to a million views. And that was pretty huge, you know. So it went quick. I was like, okay, I need a name. Mm-hmm. And I don't know if I had thought of that Midwestern Mom yet, but I remember I was working for Head Start on the time. At the time and I was out on a home visit and it and it like dawned on me because my brother always used to say, don't be that family or don't be that you know, like the one that's everybody's talking about at the restaurant 'cause they're all super loud. Yep. My brother's always had a problem with how loud I am, which is hilarious because my sister's ten times louder than I am. I wonder where we get it from. He probably has a problem with her too. Probably, yes. And so I was like, I wanna be 'cause I'm not just I didn't want to be the Minnesota mom because my dad's from North Dakota. sorry, my mom's from North Dakota. Yep. My dad's family is from a mix of North Dakota and Minnesota and then we settled in Minnesota and so I like, Well I'm not it's not just Minnesota culture, it's definitely yeah, it's Midwestern so I'm that mom. Yeah, yeah. I'm that Midwestern mom and so that's when it dawned on me. But it's grown. I mean it's it's grown beyond just the online videos. It's grown beyond like anything I ever could have imagined and I think it's still growing and it's been so fun because, you know, it gives my mom recognition that she deserves and it gives the town recognition that they deserve and it gives like that small town Minnesota life kind of that recognition I think we deserve. So you know, people, you know, I feel like everything is so individualistic these days and we're all kind of suffering from that and it and it just kind of like highlights like how much community can still be involved in everybody's lives. Yes. you know, I don't quite trust that my kids can go out into the community and and not be fools, but you know, the town cop stopped us on our walk the other day and said that our kids are not stopping at stop signs on their bikes. Mm-hmm. And so I said, I'm glad you talked to them because that probably scared them straight. And so we asked them and they're like, Yeah, I don't sharpen the no, we didn't talk to the cop, I don't know what you talk about. And so it's not quite to the degree it was when I was a kid because I don't know if we feel comfortable correcting other people's kids these days, but I think we should because I think the whole community should be raising these kids. So you originally did mostly recipes, right? You were mostly doing Minnesota salads that aren't really salad. I just realized we both have jingles. Yeah. I don't have a jingle for good reason. I know you gotta g I was gonna say you need a jingle. Nobody wants to hear me sing. So it started as recipes. You've really I I think one of my favorite things that you do is travel a lot. I do. do you consider that now a regular part of your content? No, I don't because I'm just chaotic and get bored easily. I would like to make it more of my content and it's been a lot easier now that my fiance has moved in and he's helping with editing and just kind of like helping me focus and plan a little bit more. Yeah. but just just having a partner and having help, honestly, is huge because I was doing everything. I was editing all my own stuff and and I've got footage from years ago that I'm like, we should throw that into a video. I hiked to an active volcano. I should probably put that on the internet. Yeah, that's a big deal. That's a big deal. That was a really big deal for me and I never put it on the internet 'cause I just got so overwhelmed and forgot about the footage. So that tracks, that's my life. but I you know, it just I do like to highlight that, you know, a Midwestern mom can be found anywhere and you can take her out of the Midwest and she's still a Midwestern mom. Yeah. And you can be Midwestern mommed anywhere. Momming. Momming is a verb. Yes. so we just try to take care of each other. So like even when I was filming, so we're starting to get that show with that Midwestern mom up and off the ground. But even while filming, and we did a segment called, you know, Midwestern Momming is a verb. Yeah. And then one of the little old ladies in the audience noticed that my nose was shiny. And so she had Steven bring up like little blotting papers so that I could like blot off my nose. so I was like, I literally just got Midwestern moms while I was being Midwestern mom on the show, that Midwestern mom. Is this what I think it is up here on the right? This is Big Tom Turkey. he's our newer version 'cause about twenty, twenty five years ago it burned down. Do you guys know that? No. No. Yeah, and guess who they called first when it was burning? My mom's hair salon. Not actually. my gosh. So they were supposed to do repairs on it or something to get it through turkey days. They had plans of getting a new one. Okay. and I don't know how the Blowcharch got involved with the fiberglass statue on the hill, but it just went woo! Look at this giant turkey. Isn't this amazing? Yes. Meh. Meh. He said meh. What do you mean it's my turkey in my town? Why wouldn't it be amazing? I mean, i it it is what it is. It's just a big bird. Brian. Okay, fine. Okay, well I know where okay, you need to go to Okay. Alright. All right. Yeah, let's do that. Okay, let's go. Alright bye guys. Okay, we're back on the road again, driving northeast through the changing landscape and the biggest fall time in Sowah. Sorry, that song was stuck in my head all day. It's just so catchy. Anyway, we're arriving in Akele now. I'm sitting in the hand of a giant Paul Bunyan while Brian looks less than amused. I mean, I think it's pretty great. So, of the three major Paul Bunyan statues in Minnesota, this is the biggest one. Okay. It's pretty it's pretty epic, I think. A little bit creepy, but a lot epic. Yeah. What do think? I don't know. I think it's been a really long day. Yeah. We've been all over the state. I'm kind of ready to go home. Okay. I've got one more idea. I think you're gonna love this. I'll let you have one more. Okay, let's go. Last time I'm gonna hop in here just to say that the video version is showing a lovely animation of a map, and we're arriving in downtown Hackensack to Paul Bunyan's 17 foot tall sweetheart, Lucette. Brian, I think we've made it to the one. Let me introduce you to Lu Set. Paul Bunyan's sweetheart. Okay, I mean I'll give it to you. She's kinda hot. She's my type, she's sturdy and quiet. She's a handsome woman. Okay. She really is. I think we've had a successful day of seeing roadside attractions. Can I tell you the truth? Yes. I don't really love the raspberry as much as like I'm I'm it's not the number one to me. They're all awesome, right? They are. We've had a this has been such a fun day. They they all speak to the towns where they are. I think that's the important part. Yeah. They are celebrating something that means something to that city. Yes. Raspberry, because they have they used to grow raspberry. They used to grow raspberry and Hopkins. Yep. The ball of twine, I mean, that man put His heart and soul into that ball. That was a lot of dedication. I will give him that. I was really excited to actually check that off of my list. I'd never actually seen it before. I had never seen it either. Yeah, so that was really fun. Big Oly, the controversy. That that one to me, okay, I don't know if that's a a a see it or skip it, but we saw it now. We saw it. I think like if you're in Alexandria, it's definitely worth heading down and seeing. Well, and and to learn more about the Kensington runestone hoax whatever across the street. Yeah. Yeah. I think it's really interesting. So we zigzagged across Minnesota today. We went everywhere. We did. And we we kind of went straight across central Minnesota and back over. But we got to we started in the metro. We made our way kind of north and then across, and we got to see the landscape change. Yes. We literally watched the leaves change. Like the leaves, like there's more color falling. Yeah, there's so much more up here that has changed than down in the cities. Yeah, it's absolutely beautiful. When you talked about the landscape around Fergus Falls that you liked and the vistas you can see. Yeah. And I had forgotten a A lot about that. I haven't been up here in a long We were talking about this, I forget, and but you know, again, both of us having gotten to college out in Fargo. I had it in my head that it's so flat out there, but it really isn't. It's hilly, it's beautiful. Yep. Yeah. So it was fun to get to drive back out there. I think you don't really need an exc excuse for a road trip, but this was a great excuse for it was. I think we should do more. Absolutely. So they just left? Like no Minnesota goodbye? They're just gone? Shh