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Top attractions near Luverne, MN including Pipestone National Monument, Touch the Sky Prairie Unit, and Blue Mounds State Park

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  Whenever I thought about the state of Minnesota, the first thing that used to pop up in my head was downtown Minneapolis.  The reason for that is simple: we spent 2 nights in downtown Minneapolis and we did a very informative trolley tour that included multiple stops along the way, including stops at the mighty Mississippi River as well as several other points of interest. One of those memorable stops was the old stomping grounds of the Artist formerly known as “ Prince ”, when he was coming up in the Minneapolis music scene.  It was so cool to see the club he performed in his early years and to walk the same streets he had walked on. Prince was one of a kind.  To me, he was the other incredibly famous solo black musician, with the other obviously being Michael Jackson .  I grew up listening to both of their music, see them become global sensation, but with two very different styles.   I like both, but as a guitar player, I can’t help but be impressed b...
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The first leg of our cross country road trip - Getting to Luverne, Minnesota, to our month long stay via Airbnb

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  On a Sunday morning of June 8th, 2025, we embarked on another cross country road trip, heading west.  We had packed for a 2+ months long trip that’ll take us from New York City , all the way out to the state of Idaho .   We took with us our usual assortment of household goods to be used at two different Airbnb long term rentals including a robot vacuum cleaner, toiletries, clothing, basic cooking supplies (oil, salt/pepper, Italian seasoning, etc.), and some foodstuffs.  We got into the habit of loading most of these items one night prior to our departure, so when Sunday morning came around, we were ready! We left around 9 am from my parent’s place, got on the usually traffic heavy (but not on Sunday mornings)  George Washington Bridge , to get on the popular I-80 westbound.  This is an interstate we know well, especially after having been on it several times since our early retirement in 2020. We love driving on Sunday mornings in the tristate area ( Ne...
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Planning another cross country road trip, this time to Yellowstone and Grand Teton National Parks and others! A journey of FIRE (financial independence retire early)…

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  Ralph Waldo Emerson:  “It’s not the destination, it’s the journey.” I love living in the Continental United States of America, period.  The landmass is so beautiful, so varied, and so unfathomably large.  It is a place where you simply do not run out of roads (new roads) and new places to explore.  It is a place, in short, to fulfill your wildest, unquenchable thirst for travel and adventure.   So, why do I even mention the word “ Continental ”, you say?  Well, when I lived on the small island of Oahu, Hawaii , I eventually ran out of new roads and new places to explore, and that depressed me. I was missing the big landmass that is the Continental USA, or as the Hawaiians say, “the mainland”.  After living there for over 2 years, I longed for those trips, where the roads never seem to end.  That feeling that I’m by myself (well, my wife too), driving on a desolate road in the middle of a Mojave Desert surrounded by nothing but long-since-de...
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