Active Daydreamer

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...

"... 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...