The Great White North - Part II

After my odyssey through the Mall of America, I was desperate for some sunlight and open sky. So after riding the train a few stops towards downtown, I stopped at Fort Snelling, which a coworker from Minnesota had recommended I visit. "The fort's been there since the 1820s," he told me, "you'd love to see it". And he's right; I still would love to see it. Unfortunately, he neglected to mention that it is still a functioning Army base. After a few minutes of wandering around the station, I couldn't see anything but Federal office buildings and and lines that I couldn't cross without getting shot. So I decided to save the fort for another time and quickly got on the next train.

My next stop was much more successful, however: Minnehaha Park. "Minnehaha" supposedly means "laughing water", and I for one find it hilarious that "haha" apparently means "laughter" some Indian language. Anyway, Minnehaha Park is built at the place where the Minnehaha Creek flows into the Mississippi River. The park is named for their main attraction, the famous Minnehaha Falls. I think they were given the name after a girl named Minnehaha was thrown over the falls, or something like that. I dunno, I once tried to read the Song of Hiawatha, but after Longfellow introduced the story for the seventeenth time in a row I was ready to pitch myself off a waterfall.


I may not know the exact story of Minnehaha falls or of Minnehaha itself, but that's okay. The important thing is that Minnehaha is a really funny word, and I've enjoyed using it at every possible opportunity.

Minnehaha.

Come back tomorrow for the thrilling conclusion of
Skippy's deranged and incoherent ramblings about his trip...