Owatonna

I am from Owatonna Minnesota. It used to be that if you told someone you came from Owatonna they might say, Oh, isn't that where they have Louis Sullivan's National Farmer's Bank, the premier piece of Architecture's Prairie School, built in 1908? Yes, it is. I took this picture today from in front of The Little Professor book store:


But these days when you say you are from Owatonna people will most likely say, Oh, isn't that where they have Cabela's, the World's Foremost Outfitter and Minnesota's second largest tourist attraction, after the Mall of America? Yep, that's it. Our hotel is just behind Cabela's and the bountiful parking lots are full of utility vehicles. So, the first morning we got up around 4 because of the time difference and went for a walk in Kaplan's Woods. Beautiful nature-- big trees, woodpeckers, deer, and there isn't a single footprint on any of the trails. We're the first people in there since the big storm on Thursday that may have been involved in the plane going down at the Owatonna airport. You see, if you like nature, go to nature, not the store. You don't need a thing really, maybe just a cap to swat bugs with.