Places Mama Shotts Wants to Go

Thousands of majestic trumpeter swans fill this park, sounding distinctly like a certain brass instrument.

One of two giant blue cockerel statues erected with an intentional double meaning.

The oldest continually used church in Minneapolis also sells great meat pies.

Eight "Guardians of Health" protect this art deco water tower from pollutants and bacteria.

This French Canadian classic is a specialty of the oldest continually used church in Minneapolis.

This Minnesota town celebrated the state's 100-year anniversary by creating a massive ode to nature's smartest bird.

A stone face watches over the river.

Journey through the largest remaining peat bogs in the contiguous United States to see the wilderness as it once was.

14th century Norse artifacts in Northwestern Minnesota could have proved a Viking landing before Columbus.

These crudely shaped folk giants may be the the second most photographed statues in the U.S.

A spooky defunct railroad tunnel now part of a sprawling trail.

This replica of an 8th century burial ship actually sailed to Norway before returning home to Minnesota.

A riverside park built around the ruins of a massive dam that collapsed in 1909.

This picturesque cliffside beacon no longer calls to sailors but shines once a year in honor of a famous shipwreck.

The only arched bridge made of stone on the entire Mississippi River.

The home where a lovestruck Fitzgerald wrote his first published novel, "This Side of Paradise."

An eatery within the Minneapolis American Indian Center writes colonial ingredients out of the story of Native American cuisine.

This secret gem of a toy store houses a rideable carousel populated with fantasy animals.

At this Minnesota state park you can easily wade across the source of the mighty Mississippi.

When flour explodes, it's not a pretty sight.

Home to the Amorphophallus titanum "Corpse Flower," which is among the largest flowers in the world and also smells powerfully of rotting flesh when in bloom.

This bright yellow building is packed with sweet treats from all around the world, from chocolate-covered crickets to whoopie pies.

This massive roadside mascot was the first version of the giant to illustrate his butt.

Enter the Forest of the Elves.