Traveling Fool

I had a wonderful Sunday out last weekend with my pal and we attended the "Keith Haring: Art is for Everybody" exhibit at the Walker Art Center in Minneapolis. The exhibit runs through September 8, 2024, and I really recommend it to anyone interested in pop art. I was familiar with Haring's work, as in I knew the name and recognized some of his art, but I was not an expert or very well-versed in his career, but there was something about what I did know, that made me want to know more.  The exhibit covers Haring's career, which was a lot more than painting, or even just painting on canvas. He created and performed in performance art with dancers; he collaborated with rappers; he made sculptures and videos; worked with kids at a residency at the Walker; and he made protest paintings and other artwork to raise attention to growing AIS/HIV crisis in the 1980s.   In addition to paintings, there are various three dimensional art works, music videos featuring Madonna and Gra...

  A visit to the Judy Garland Museum  in Grand Rapids, MN, has been on my wish list for a long time, and we finally made it up there. My friend and I took one of our road trips, and she planned a few diversions on the way there and back, including the Dala horse in Mora, the Hull Rust Mine View in Hibbing on the way home, as well as the mass grave in Moose Lake for victms of the 1918 fires that swept  through Moose Lake, Cloquet and many other towns in the north. It was one of those beautiful summer days that makes you forget about winter in Minnesota. We arrived at the museum around 11, and immediately we were smiling and laughing at all the cutouts that greet you, where you can stick your head through and be the Tin Man, the Lion, a witch or Dorothy. The museum is adjacent to the Children's Discovery Museum, so if you come with kids, you could spend a couple of hours. Even though the big attraction for most of us was probably the Wizard of Oz connection, Judy Garland h...

                                     Last Sunday was one of those perfect summer days, bright sun, low humidity, warm, but not hot. Glorious. I went with my friend to the Minnesota Landscape Arboretum  in Chaska, Minnesota. It's hard to believe but in all of my years in Minnesota, I have never been there. It might have to do with me having an aversion to driving to the western suburbs, but no excuses now because my friend did all the driving. In these COVID times, you do need reservations, but Karen said this was the most people she's seen out there in quite some time.  There is a three mile driving loop you can take, and stop along the way in various smaller parking lots, and also several different paths to walk. There are trees, shrubs, grasses and flowers as well as a sculpture garden, a hedge maze and water features. We wandered for around 90 minutes; we could have...

 I was skeptical about Bear Country USA , and was tempted to nix it, but I am glad we went. We saw more wildlife, some animals we had not seen on our drives through the Badlands and Custer State Park. We had another beautiful day and I think I got some great pictures. You tell me. Dinner time We started the drive home by heading back to Deadwood. I was hoping I would like it better in the daylight. I really wanted to go to the Mt. Moriah Cemetery where Wild Bill Hickock and Calamity Jane are buried, as are many other past citizens of Deadwood. The cemetery is on a hill, so there is potentially a lot of walking, depending on where you park and how much you want to see. It's $2 a person; please don't be a douchebag and ask if there is a discount.  The next day, we were back in Minnesota, and somehow left all the gorgeous sunshine behind us, and we had cold, windy and wet. Pipestone National Monument has been on my list to visit for sometime now, and my friend/navigator pointed u...