Remember me talking about becoming a tourist in your home state? Well, I have a number of ways to do it, and this is one. Stop in to rest stops, and other travel centers, like this one. I know there are all sorts of reasons to use rest stops, clearly, although I go to them to get information. Located on the most frequented highways, Minnesota has 12 Travel Information Center (TIC), with a number affiliates scattered throughout the state. They provide directions, road and weather conditions, a place to stretch your legs, even have a picnic and are places to get information for the entire state, not just the Twin Cities – which tend to get all the publicity and focus. I am headed to Duluth next weekend and these are the very things I use to help me plan. So if you are coming too, you will see the benefits of using these.

This one is the Central Minnesota Travel Information Center off Hwy 10 in St Cloud, a pretty significant vantage point to get to everywhere in the state. While the internet is an invaluable place to research, you won’t find everything. Many of the place I go, that are on the #mnbucketlist, aren’t online, don’t have websites and you’d be hard pressed to find them on Google Maps. You can find all kinds of places to stay, what to do, where to go, the best inborn perspective. So do me a favor, next time you pass one, stop in, don’t overlook it.