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Land of 10000 lakes VI

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HEADING NORTH I remembered watching those car ads on TV and wondering how true those routes within them really are. The ones that cut through lush forests and stretch along crystal creeks while mirroring the dazzling sunrays. Leaning on the window as we drove to northern Minnesota, I watched the gorgeous landscape passing by. That was the moment when all my doubts vanished. The journey took place on a soothing summer day: we decided to drive north to the harbor city of Duluth, 255 kilometers from Minneapolis. Wondering how this journey could be any different from previous ones, I sped on highway 35 and experienced the transformation of the landscape -- When gas stations and buildings were no longer beside the road, those borderless fields were replaced by forests of pines and firs stretching intervening miles. Once we entered the Indian reservation, the scenery got even wilder and became extremely original, as far as our eyes could reach was green plan...
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Land of 10000 lakes V

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Railway Trip vs MLB Talking about sports in the U.S., baseball has no way to be overlooked. Considered to be the baseball league with an unparalleled level, MLB opens its arms to top players around the world regardless of their nationality and ethnicity to write their own history in front of tens of millions of spectators. One might never be a fanatic fan for this legendary pitch-and-hit game but visiting a baseball game is definitely one of the unique experience that offers everyone a fresh taste of American culture. Crave for a live game, but hate to deal with the troublesome issues that might take place while driving cars towards the city center? Taking trains might be a convenient but scarce choice for most US residents. Have to realize that the quality and efficiency of the American railway system are notoriously inferior. Except for the Acela Express that travels through the populated cities across US northeast corridor, the rest of passenger rai...
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Land of 10000 lakes IV

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No matter where they are, Americans are talented at finding reasons to have some great fun and trying out something different. That explains why the state fair, an activity lasts more than a century, is still on top of the summer to-do list for many people. Of course, I have been to fairs, the one that was held at the school playground composed of food stands and flea markets with a pure purpose of school fund-raising; or like the one which resembles a huge outdoor bazaar where you will find farm-direct produce and countless gardening materials. But a fair that attracted 2 million visitors in 12 days with the highest peak of 270k attendees in one day? Totally not! "The Great Minnesota Get-Together" is a telltale slogan for Minnesota state fair. Legendary 4-H livestock exhibition, residential agricultural and horticultural competitions, countless concerts and live music shows, more than 300 food concessions, and finally, no-dare-to-try terrifying amuse...
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Land of 10000 lakes III

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"... for favorable conditions for grinding wheat, no place in the world can compare with Minneapolis. It is on the highways of rail transportation which lead from the grain-fields of Northwest to the great cities and seaports of the East"-- Eugene Smalley Like other grand cities in the world, Minnesota is accompanied by a grand river dividing the city into east and west bank. Without this river, Mississippi, this city would probably be left unknown as an agricultural village in the wild Midwest. It was one of the prosperous cities in the U.S. while the primary horn of industrial revolution was blown within the continent. Powered by the 50-foot drop of St. Anthony Falls across the river, the flour milling and lumber sawing industry grew in an unprecedented speed. Afterward, the flour mills outlasted the latter and Minneapolis was dubbed as "The Flour Milling Capital of the World" in 1880 and for 50 years thereafter. At its peak production, it produced enough flou...
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Land of 10000 Lakes II

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How to get your mind run wild at a summer night when you are thousands of miles from the sea? Having arrived in Minnesota for several days, I didn't feel any jet lag or unpleasant syndromes, probably because I was still overwhelmed with excitement. One day grandpa proposed to bring us to a firework show. I didn't realize in the first place why there would be a show that night... for god's sake, it was the fourth of July!    Astonished by the unexpected fair and the huge crowd before the firework show, I found myself surrounded by a huge number of locals and could barely stop observing those young crowds. Dressing in their summer outfits, they came with their homies/besties or someone they have just started hanging with before the end of the semester. There were also couples, family, and we, the only 2 Taiwanese passing through them with inquisitive hearts.  The fair was totally not huge, but the atmosphere was incom...
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