In the lobby of the museum, the company displays the Worlds Largest Boot!! The stats are unbelievable, and un-rememberable, but suffice it to say that the boot is made from the actual hides used in Style 877 Redwing Boots (80 complete hides) and the boot is precisely stitched, laced, and proportioned to the actual boot, and of course, is in the World Record Book. If a human being was to wear this boot, they would need to be 120' tall (12 stories) to be in proportion to it.
Of course there was a factory outlet section as well as a section offering for sale every single Redwing style.
This is the door of the first shoe factory.
And this is the first documented pair of Redwing Shoes. They were presented to the son of the eventual founder of the company who donated them to the museum many years later.
As we left the Redwing Shoe Museum, we waved at the St. James Hotel....
Reputed to be haunted.
And stopped at the goodie shop for a cup of coffee and some salt water taffy...
Our next stop was Red Wing Pottery.
This store is one of the largest outlets for Fiesta Ware. As you can see, they have a huge selection of pieces and colors, as well as all the new colors and styles. They also have an onsite pottery (barn? factory? shop?) where they make their own designs. The selection and variety was seemingly endless and we spent several hours and dollars there.
Another 30 odd miles south brought us to the Minnesota town of Wabasha, made famous by Walter Mathau and Tony Curtis in the movie "Grumpy Old Men", parts one and two. The reason that we stopped here was that the National Eagle Center is located there, but first we had to have lunch at Slippery's Grill, where much of the movie action took place. Lunch was good...Donna and I shared a Pizza Burger (don't ask), and Bill and Linda had fish while we sat outside and checked out the Mississippi River a few feet away. The weather today was overcast, threatening rain, and the temp was in the 80's with humidity also in the 80's, but dropping.
The Eagle Center cares for rescued eagles that cannot return to the wild. All have been injured and treated, and are in excellent health, but cannot survive on their own. They currently have 5 birds of varying ages and hope to one day have more as funding permits. The center depends on donations for its funding. This area of the Mississippi Valley is know for its Eagle population, and we spotted several sitting in trees across the river from the Eagle Center, where the terrain is more natural. There are some 200 nesting pairs of eagles in the area, up from almost extinction a short time ago.
The high energy young lady who made an excellent presentation also shared feeding time for Harriet with us. After a warning about graphic and possibly disturbing sights, she brought out a container of fresh rabbit for Harriet to enjoy.
Harriet knew exactly what to do with this tasty dish...
Just outside the Eagle Center, along the banks of the Mississippi River is a memorial to the local Native American inhabitants, the Dakotas, and their three of their chiefs, Wapahasha I, Wapahasha II, and Wapahasha III. These were three distinct individuals who chose the side of the British during the Revolutionary War and were eventually moved with great loss of life and property to what is now North and South Dakota.
After a full day of exploring, we made our way back to our RV park, where we BBQ'd some steaks and enjoyed a great dinner.
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