I GAVE THIS SEMI driver a thumbs up as Randy and I passed him along Interstate 94/90 near the Wisconsin Dells Saturday morning.
To see such visible public patriotism and pride on Memorial Day weekend pleased me.
The driver nodded and smiled and, I expect, appreciated the appreciation.
© Copyright 2018 Audrey Kletscher Helbling
Following Interstate 90 along the Mississippi River bluffs in southeastern Minnesota.
IN THE MANY YEARS I’VE TRAVELED Interstate 90 along the Minnesota/Wisconsin border in southeastern Minnesota, I’ve never exited to explore Dresbach or Dakota.
That changed this past spring when Randy and I were returning from a day trip to La Crosse, Wisconsin. Time allowed for the pull off onto Riverview Drive which passes through unincorporated Dresbach and Dakota, population 323 or thereabouts.
We pulled off Riverview Drive and curved the van to a small riverside park in Dresbach where I took this photo of the Mississippi.
Traffic signs in Dresbach.
Leaving Dresbach, I noticed this lengthy, leaning retaining wall.
We did a drive through with thoughts of returning again to poke around more. Both villages sit along the western bank of the Mississippi River between La Crosse and Winona, in Minnesota. The river setting is scenic, beautiful, worthy of a second look when the weather warms and river traffic increases.
A welcoming sign outside a business in Dakota. That’s quite a name, Trynowski.
Holy Cross Church in Dakota.
A well-preserved former corner gas station in Dakota that I found absolutely charming.
I snapped a few quick photos from the van and called it good. While both villages deserve more of my photographic study, this is a start.
TELL ME: Have you ever driven through/visited Dresbach or Dakota? If yes, what should I see the next time I’m in either community.
If anyone can provide information about any of the places photographed here, please share.
© Copyright 2017 Audrey Kletscher Helbling
Our van is reflected in the side of a tanker truck while traveling Interstate 80 somewhere east of Chicago.
HOW DO YOU DEFINE a road trip?
Headed for Somerville, near Boston.
I define road trip as a recent 3,029-mile drive through nine states that took my husband and me from Minnesota to our destination—Somerville, Massachusetts—and back. We followed I-80 through Iowa (to stay mostly south of Chicago) and then I-90 through New York on the way out and took I-80 through Pennsylvania on the return home.
Somewhere in upstate New York.
There was minimal time to play tourist, although we tried to do so in Buffalo, New York, location of Niagra Falls. We were lost for 1 ½ hours in a rough and seedy part of town and never found the American side access to the falls. Road construction and inadequate road signage left us totally confused.
Tailgaters reflected in the passenger side mirror. Our travels went well until we pulled off the Interstate in Iowa and headed south for the Amana Colonies. Rounding a curve on a state highway, a driver crossed the center line and nearly hit us head on. Randy cranked a hard right to avoid a collision.
Without smart phones, we relied on directions printed from Google maps, a borrowed GPS system (which challenged me more than once), a good old spiral-bound Rand McNally road atlas and road signs.
In the hills of Pennsylvania, we came across this truck fire along Interstate 80.
We encountered lots of road construction, especially around Cleveland.
We navigated around major cities, swooped up and down the wooded hills of Pennsylvania, delighted in the beauty of upstate New York, survived morning rush hour in rainy Hartford, Ct., saw more dead deer than we ever hope to see again (Pennsylvania wins that count), rated restrooms, groaned at yet one more road construction zone, and complained about the toll roads.
I didn’t pack nearly enough CDs for the journey and hope never again to hear Cher sing Gypsies, Tramps & Thieves. At times I felt like a bit of a gypsy.
So many toll booths…thankfully we purchased an E-Z Pass transmitter in advance of our trip that allowed us quick access through toll booths.
Five days of driving takes its toll.
Massachusetts
Pennsylvania
Ohio
But everyone should take a road trip like this at least once to gain an appreciation for the immensity of this country, for the diversity in landscape and peoples and communities, and even barns. I did a similar trip nearly 40 years ago as a college student.
Westbound into Iowa as we near home.
Everyone we met, upon learning we were from Minnesota, responded the same: “Oh, it’s cold there.” I found that interesting, that a single word defines our state to those who’ve never been here. Yes, it’s cold. Sometimes. But it’s so much more. It’s lush green and wide open spaces and minimal traffic congestion (except in the metro). It’s home.
After traveling 3,000 mostly Interstate miles, I am even more appreciative of Minnesota. We met some genuinely friendly people in every state, from a young couple at a state park in Indiana to Pat from Michigan who also got hopelessly lost in Buffalo to a native Bostonian cop with a thick Boston accent.
No matter where we live, we are still just people. We each have our own niche, our place where we feel most comfortable, that we call home. For me, that shall always be Minnesota.
Randy driving.
FYI: Check back to read more about this cross country journey, beginning tomorrow with the reason for the trip.
© Copyright 2016 Audrey Kletscher Helbling
AT FIRST GLANCE, you likely are questioning my sanity in photographing a semi seemingly headed directly at the vehicle in which I am a front seat passenger.
If I did not understand the context of this image taken in October, I, too, would be screaming at myself to get the blank out of the way.
But things are not always as they seem.
This is actually a photo of a semi cab hooked to a cab traveling along Interstate 90 near the Rochester exit in southeastern Minnesota. Now imagine if my husband hadn’t been paying close attention. He may have thought the semi was aiming toward us and took evasive action. Thank goodness someone (not me) in our vehicle was fully alert and not fooled by an optical illusion.
© Copyright 2015 Audrey Kletscher Helbling
Driving through downtown St. Charles, Minnesota, population around 3,700.
ST. CHARLES LIES in southeastern Minnesota farming country just off Interstate 90.
One of two Amish men I spotted doing business in downtown St. Charles on an early September afternoon.
It’s home to a pocket of Amish.
During my September visit, I just missed the Gladiolus Days celebration, promoted in this storefront window. Love the gladiolus “hair.”
And site of an annual Gladiolus Days celebration. That event honors the late Carl Fischer, once the world’s leading hybridizer of new and distinctive gladiolus.
Coffee time at the Whitewater Cafe. Minnesota Prairie Roots file photo 2011.
I’d been to St. Charles several years ago, even dined at the Whitewater Cafe.
A view of the gladiolus field just south of Utica (near St. Charles) along Winona County Road 33. Minnesota Prairie Roots file photo 2011.
I saw the glad fields, the Amish and the historic buildings downtown. But on a return trip in early September, my husband and I took even more time to explore.
Here’s an overall look as we drove into St. Charles from the east, swung through a residential neighborhood and then parked downtown:
On the east edge of St. Charles we spotted this brand new combine along U.S. Highway 14. There’s a John Deere dealer in town.
We backtracked after noticing this sign along the highway.
Unfortunately, the antique shop was closed.
Still, I photographed this weathered art out front.
Next, I was distracted by all these John Deere tractors parked in a front yard. This is a rural community with a John Deere dealer in town, remember.
Next stop, the downtown business district, where I delighted in this lovely mural.
The mural deserves close-up attention. I appreciate unexpected art like this.
Likewise, flowers add visual interest, greenery and punch to a downtown. They also show community pride and care.
I always enjoy signs, especially creative ones.
St. Charles has some aged buildings. Be sure to look up. Many storefronts were “modernized” and thus hide the historic character of the buildings.
More interesting signs. Every small town needs a hardware store.
Now, if I’ve piqued your interest, return tomorrow when I’ll take you inside an impressive St. Charles antique shop.
© Copyright 2015 Audrey Kletscher Helbling
I INFORMED MY HUSBAND that I would focus on photographing houses, rather than barns, on a recent 600-mile round trip from Faribault, Minnesota, to Appleton, Wisconsin.
He didn’t believe me. And he was right not to believe.
Yes, I snapped images of houses. But I could not, no matter how I tried, keep from lifting my Canon DSLR to capture photos of farm sites as we traveled.
They are like a magnet for someone such as myself with rural roots. Having left the farm 40 years ago upon my graduation from high school, I rely today on memories and visual connectedness to fulfill my longing for the land. That and my writing, especially my poetry.
Few people I know farm anymore. No one in my immediate extended family farms, although two brothers remain rooted to agriculture, one via co-ownership in a farm implement dealership and the other as CEO of an ethanol plant, both in my native southwestern Minnesota.
The farm where I grew up near Vesta is rented out. Thus I have lost that touch of feet on the farm, familiar creak of the barn door—that direct connection to the place of my youth.
My natural instinct now is to seek out, with my eyes and camera, that which is no longer mine.
(All photos were taken while traveling three weeks ago along Interstate 90 between Rochester and the Wisconsin border. Yes, the snow has since melted. Yeah!)
© Copyright 2014 Audrey Kletscher Helbling
PERHAPS I AM too easily impressed.
But I have not visited the ice caves at Apostle Islands National Lakeshore in northern Bayfield County, Wisconsin.
Thus the ice formations gracing the Mississippi River bluffs along Interstate 90 on the Minnesota side near La Crosse, Wisconsin, impress me.
There is no stopping along I-90 to view or photograph this natural ice art up close. Rather, I rely on the rapid fire of my camera to capture the scene for later study.
Every time I see this water frozen in the icebox of winter, I marvel at its beauty.
I remember, too, how once upon a time I snapped icicles from the milkhouse roofline to engage in sword fight battles with my siblings.
The flip side of my mind views the ice formations as powdered sugar icing dripping down the sides of a homemade chocolate birthday cake baked by my mother.
That’s the thing about art—man-made or natural. It’s always open to interpretation.
FYI: These photos were taken 10 days ago. Since then, the weather has warmed to around 60 degrees in southern Minnesota, meaning these formations are likely disappearing.
© Copyright 2014 Audrey Kletscher Helbling
A FEW WEEKS AGO, while traveling specifically to Luverne in the southwestern corner of Minnesota to tour the Brandenburg Gallery and Blue Mounds State Park, I discovered a vanishing icon of American culture.
That would be a drive-in movie theatre on the south edge of town just off Interstate 90.
The Verne Drive-In Theater, built in the 1950s, is one of only a few drive-ins remaining in Minnesota. Others include the Long Drive-In in Long Prairie, the Starlite 5 Drive-In Theatre in Litchfield, the Vali-Hi Drive-In in Lake Elmo and Sky-Vu Drive In in Warren. I think I’ve covered them all.
Nearly a year ago, the Cottage View Drive-In in Cottage Grove, in a controversial move, was closed and the land sold for construction of a Walmart store. (Click here to see Minnesota Public Radio photos of a September 2012 event celebrating the Cottage View’s 46-year history.)
Although I didn’t see a show at the Verne Drive-In, my husband and I drove through the vacant theatre parking lot on a Saturday morning just to check out the place and reminisce. We went to a few outdoor movies together when our community of Faribault still had a drive-in theatre. We also each attended drive-in movies separately while growing up. Me in Redwood Falls and he once in the Little Falls area and then near Brainerd.
I expect most of you hold on to some drive-in movie memories whether its cramming into the trunk of a car, making out with a long forgotten boyfriend or girlfriend, waiting in line for a concession stand snack or burger, tuning in to a movie via those little boxes stationed throughout the gravel parking lot, piling the kids into the car in their jammies for a night out under the stars…
At the Verne Drive-In a young couple, who went on their first date at the drive-in four years ago, recently became engaged there.
Drive-in theatres, most assuredly, are a part of our history, our culture, our growing up years and our personal memories.
Once commonplace in communities across the country, drive-ins are vanishing with only 368 remaining in the U.S., according to Project Drive-In established by Honda Motor Company. Honda, via an online and texting voting process, is giving away digital movie projectors to five drive-in theatres. The goal is simple: to save as many drive-ins as possible.
The financial challenge for drive-ins today lies in the need to switch to digital projection by the end of 2013, an upgrade which costs an estimated $80,000.
For theatres like the one in Luverne, winning a free digital projector through the Project Drive-In giveaway would be huge. You can vote online and/or via texting for these two Minnesota drive-ins daily for the next 25 days: the Verne Drive-In or the Long Drive-In. Click here for more information.
Project Drive-In also includes opportunities to donate monies toward saving our nation’s drive-ins and to pledge to go to a drive-in movie theatre. Win. Win.
WHAT MEMORIES DO YOU have of drive-in movie theatres? Let’s hear.
© Copyright 2013 Audrey Kletscher Helbling
A WEEK AGO I published a post, “New Year’s thankfulness,” about my niece (in-law) who was involved in an accident that quite easily could have killed her. She lost control of her 2002 Saturn Ion on an icy Minnesota interstate sending her car spinning into the path of a semi truck. Her car was then subsequently struck by a pick-up truck. (Click here to read that original post.)
Heidi was knocked unconscious, had to be cut from her vehicle and was transported to St. Mary’s Hospital in Rochester. She, miraculously, suffered only a concussion, a gash on her head, and bumps, cuts and bruises.
At the time I wrote that post, I did not have photos of Heidi’s car meaning I could not fully grasp, but only imagine, the severity of this accident.
Recently I received two images from Heidi’s husband, Jeremy, and permission to post those car photos here. It is one thing to read, in an e-mail, details of an accident like this involving a semi. It is quite another to view images.
In this case, I would most definitely agree that “a picture is worth a thousand words.”
The demolished rear of Heidi's Saturn after her car was struck by a semi and pick-up on I-90.
Heidi was cut from her car following the December 30 morning crash on an icy interstate.
Jeremy reports that Heidi, also the mother of two young children, is doing much better since the December 30, 2011, crash. “…we’re able to go for walks now and she is able to go down stairs backwards. In a way, her healing process reminds me of watching our kids learning to walk in fast-forward.”
Godspeed in your recovery, Heidi.
© Copyright 2012 Audrey Kletscher Helbling
Photos courtesy of my nephew, Jeremy
The sun begins to set as we drive west on Interstate 90 near St. Charles on New Year's Day.
FOR EVERY MILE WEST my husband and I drove Sunday afternoon, I felt as if the bully wind shoved us two miles back east into Wisconsin. The wind, raging in from the northwest on January 1, seemed that forceful. It was a long 300-mile drive back to Minnesota from our daughter’s Appleton, Wisconsin home, bucking winds of 30 – 45 mph, at our estimate.
Whipped by strong winds, snow sweeps across farm fields along I-90 in southern Minnesota Sunday afternoon.
Despite the powerful winds, I was thankful for the minimal snow cover. Any more snow than the two inches or less covering the ground between eastern Wisconsin and our southern Minnesota home, and we would have been stranded in Appleton. As it was, the occasional snow squall reminded us just how quickly visibility can become an issue.
Not until we reached the two-lane section of U.S. Highway 14 between Dodge Center and Owatonna, on the final stretch of our journey, did drifting snow sometimes become a concern. The highway wasn’t blown shut, but conditions left me wishing we’d taken our usual U.S. Highway 52 from Rochester to Zumbrota then State Highway 60 to Faribault route.
Despite the gas-sucking travel on Sunday, we drove on mostly snow-free roadways, a bonus on a weekend when two separate snowfalls created occasionally hazardous driving conditions through-out Minnesota and Wisconsin.
High winds pushed eastbound traffic, like this car, along I-90 late Sunday afternoon.
Late Friday morning while traveling along Interstate 90 east of Rochester, we encountered a partially-closed traffic lane due to an earlier accident. A flat-bed semi trailer was parked along the east-bound shoulder with the driver loading debris scattered in the median.
We would learn upon our return Sunday evening that a family member was injured in a crash with an enclosed semi along I-90 on Friday morning. We’re not sure whether the scene we passed by was the site of the accident involving our nephew’s wife. But we do know that Heidi was traveling from Winona to work in Rochester when her car hit an icy patch as she was changing lanes, spun out of control into a semi and was then struck by a pick-up truck.
She had to be cut out of her car.
Thankfully, Heidi was not seriously injured and is apparently going to be OK. She was transported to St. Mary’s Hospital in Rochester, where she was diagnosed with a concussion and held overnight for observation. She’s bruised, sore and now back home recovering.
Heidi’s car, according to her mother-in-law (my sister-in-law) did not fare so well. The passenger side was pushed in and the back end was shoved into the back seat leaving only the driver’s seat, where Heidi was sitting, intact.
That’s how bad this accident was in terms of potential for serious injury, or death.
You can bet my extended family is offering prayers of thanksgiving that Heidi, the mother of two young children, survived, and survived without serious injury.
“The Lord,” says my sister-in-law, “was with her (Heidi) all the way.”
The County Road 32 overpass over I-90 near St. Charles slices across the wide sky as the sun sets on Sunday.
© Copyright 2012 Audrey Kletscher Helbling
Minnesota Prairie Roots 
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