I was reading through the latest issue of Popular Science. The magazine offers a three-part series on "The Future of Travel." Part I talks about "getting there" and how in the next few decades we'll see airplanes that look like stealth bombers and hypersonic commercial jets that will take us from NYC to Sydney in 90 minutes - THROUGH SPACE. Part III discusses comfort, and why airplane seats are so miserable.
But Part II is what got me excited. Pop Sci features eight experiences, or what they call "Geek Getaways." Out of those eight getaways, TWO fall in Minnesota and one is located in Iowa. How cool is that? Now instead of taking offense to the fact that we might be a little extra geeky up here, just read about these freakin' cool excursions. I had no idea.
+ ELY, Minn., Wildlife Research Institute: Go hang out and study black bears with biologist Lynn Rogers. Sure it costs $1,500, but as the article says, "you'll become part of the longest and most in-depth bear study ever conducted." For webcams and more information, go here.
+ NORTHEASTERN Minn., Mine State Park: Take a daily tour ($10) of the Soudan Underground Laboratory where they take subatomic particles and smash them against atoms. You even get to ride in a miner's cage to 2,400 feet below ground.
+ DES MOINES, Iowa, Great Ape Trust: Did you know that the largest great ape research facility in North America is in Iowa? Become a member ($50) to tour the venue and meet the apes. This is where Kanzi lives, who is known as the world's smartest ape. (Image from the Grape Ape Trust Web site.)
I think it's amazing that I can live here all my life and not know nearly enough about what's in my own backyard - or as little as a few hundred miles away. And if I have such little a clue and I write about the state of Minnesota for a living, imagine all the people who don't live here - they don't know what they're missing!
Where have you been in Minnesota, Iowa or the general Midwest, that blew your mind? Share it with us.
--Amanda Fretheim Gates
Managing Editor
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