There are many things I love about Minnesota. Pine groves and birch trees are abundant in the wetlands and northern lake shores. Central and southern Minnesota have vast expanses of grasslands and oak savannas and oak groves. Minnesota has crops ranging from corn, wheat, oats and sunflowers. We are about two weeks early to see the sunflowers in bloom... sigh.
When I drive through the western grasslands I get a feeling of being just at the edge of massive sea shore. I keep expecting to crest the hill and see the shoreline in the distance. As a boy my great grandfather Shoemaker traveled with his family across Minnesota to settle in South Dakota in the late 1800's. He told his daughter that the grasses were so high he had to stand on top of the buckboard to guide the horse team. I can only imagine what it was like.
Traveling through the northern part of the state there are lakes everywhere. Some are crowded with summer cottages but many are not. It is the best of both worlds.
