#4 Visit Mill City

Mill City is a wonderful place to bring kids.

There is so much historical information at Mill City - and SO MUCH that is hands-on. It's simply tons of fun. Learn about rivers and waterways by getting wet and moving parts around on a big table. Learn about what Minneapolis used to look like when the flour mills were dusting the city by putting together the blocks of a large floor puzzle. Watch a fast-moving 17 minute film about the city and its history. Take the elevator up and down from scene to scene and learn about what the mills were like. Then gaze at Minneapolis from the top of the building.

We'll be back.

It was just so much fun.

http://www.millcitymuseum.org/

Putting this puzzle together was great fun.

Then...

And now...

Water fun!

#5 - Northwest Company Fur Post in Pine City, Minn.

We visited the Northwest Company Fur Post in Pine City on a surprisingly chilly summer day, and it started to rain when we arrived. The place was pretty dead. I'm not sure if we would have had a better time had the situation been different or whether it just wasn't the place for a 4-year-old and a 14-month-old...

I heard the time to visit is on Family Fun Day in September. Then there are over 200 re-enactors spread out over the grounds.

On a normal weekend, there are just a few that rotate giving 40-minute tours. There was very little that was hands-on. If you have a kid that enjoys listening to stories, they'll like the site. Otherwise, wait a few years.

We started the 40-minute tour inside the museum, talking about beavers. The high value places on beaver hats in Europe drove the fur trade here in America and Canada.

One of the first "building" to view is an Ojibwe tepee.

The fort sits on the Snake River.

I thought it was interesting that unlike the Hudson Bay Company, the Northwest Company encouraged its employees to have families. They saw value in marrying with the folks they traded with, recognizing that it created stronger bonds.

The highest point in the post. These posts were built only to last a few years.

After the tour, we finally did something hands-on. They had materials for kids to sew together small birchbark canoes.

Inside the small museum, folks could "try-on" hats from the time period.

#18 - Lindbergh Historic Site in Little Falls

We hit upon the Lindbergh Historic Site in Little Falls on their family day. That meant the 4-year-old got to spend over an hour on painting and craft projects while the baby slept. Daddy put up his feet, and mamma toured the Lindbergh home. That's a perfect outing!

I'm not sure if it is always like this, but the tour of the home contained lots of information about Charles as a boy and included hands-on activities. I didn't bring my 4-year-old on it because she was so bored during the 40-minute tour at the Northwest Fur Post in Pine City a few weeks earlier. But I think she would have really liked the tour at the Lindbergh House.

We enjoyed a picnic lunch on the grounds before heading over to the museum. You can see the state park across the road. I'd like to return and check out their cart-in campsites.

Isn't this a  great building? This is the view of the museum from the Mississippi River.

The museum is cut into the hill, and one moves downward as you go through it.

Although he didn't live in Minnesota again after leaving for flight school, he recalled it fondly.

A hands-on flight simulator

Charles and his wife, Anne. She was the daughter of an ambassador. The two were both well-educated, and from important families.

Charles and Anne in later years

I've always been haunted by this kidnapping. Apparently, kidnappings for ransom during this time period were very common. The kids was rarely killed.

How exciting to see a photo of Charles in his later years with Elmer Anderson. In addition to being a former Minnesota governor, Elmer Anderson was the owner of ECM Publishers, a newspaper group I have written for that includes the Isanti County News.

The state park is located across the road and is on part of the former Lindbergh farm. The Lindbergh family donated the property to the state a few years after he crossed the Atlantic, knowing they would never be able to live there again because of the publicity. Treasure-seekers destroyed much of the house and grounds looking. It has been a historic site since the 1970s.

As man of the house, Charles at age 5 was carrying around huge blocks of ice like this. He arranged a pulley system

The place started off as a summer home. When Charles and his mother left in the fall to rejoin his father in Washington, D.C., Charles needed a place to hide his special stuff, including his two rifles. He pulled out a few of the wainscoting boards and had the perfect hiding space. Another fun thing of note in the kitchen is the bullet hole in the door to the hallway, left there by Charles. He was embarrassed because of where the bullet ended up; he was aiming for lower!

#1 - Fort Snelling

We could have spent all day at Fort Snelling, but we only had so much time before naps. Because we have a Minnesota Historical Society membership and got in free, we didn't feel too much pressure to see everything at Fort Snelling. Instead we took our time and just enjoyed ourselves. Jesse and Josey tried out the stilts, and Josey washed clothes in a wash-tub. I tried on a soldier's hat. We picnicked on the grounds. It was an overcast day, so it didn't get too hot and surprisingly, the place wasn't crowded. We made some great memories.