Part 1. Next on the #mnbucketlist is a place so vast that it needs two posts. It’s the Franconia Sculpture Garden in Shafer, near Taylors Falls. It’s incredibly well known but very much off the beaten path. I happened to go in the winter but I do suggest going all-year-round just because you get a different feel for the artist’s work given the season. Besides, it is free and open to the public. With its sprawling 43 acres, and constant artist additions, it’s a sound place to find inspiration. The artist live, create and exhibit three dimensional art. It’s big wide-open and very dynamic.

Part 2. Some of the installations have become incredibly iconic for Minnesota pop culture as well as the Instagram community. Some of the more iconic images that you’ll see are Melanie Van Houten’s “Reclamation” a house suspended in the air; the “Got the Power: Boom boxes” display by Bayete Ross Smith; Peyton’s graffiti entrance sign and the “Black Book” installation of bold street art and the most prevalent for Instagrammers lately, Heather Harts’ rooftop so aptly titled “The Northern Oracle: We Will Tear the Roof Off the Mother.” Because of this, it’s become a part of explore minnesota’s #checkpointmn, a statewide scavenger hunt with 12 stops.