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a museum? made of SPAM?!

statico on 2006-05-24T03:04:52

Wisconsin is a nice state. Driving West, a few ancient, sedimentary pillars stand along the highway to remind folks that the whole area was underwater a few millennia ago. We also picked up authentic Wisconsin cheese at an authentic Wisconsin cheese factory located off an authentic Wisconsin highway exit.

Next, a few quick facts about the state of Minnesota:

  • Number of lakes the state claims to contain: 1,000
  • Number of lakes seen along Interstate 90: 2

Minnesota was also home to -- yep, you guessed it -- the Spam Museum. Hormel's tradition of high-quality marketing is shown in the form of a giant canned meat emporium. One learns how Spam is made, Spam history -- fricking /everything/. Of course, one can't leave the Spam Museum empty-Spam-handed, so I picked up a small Spam "snack pack" and Emily grabbed a small "Spammy the Pig" plush doll.

Memorandum -- I was quite surprised at the level of quality that the company aims for; I had always thought they simply tossed as much ground-up meat into a can as possible. A can of spam contains only four simple ingredients, despite popular belief: salt, sugar, sodium nitrate (preservative), and choice pork shoulders.

615 miles were driven today. Emily and I are spending the night in Oacoma, South Dakota. I enjoyed my buffalo burger and creamed cucumbers, Emily enjoyed her pork chop. It's nice to eat somewhat-homecooked food grown in the area.

spam

domm on 2006-05-24T07:08:53

A can of spam contains only four simple ingredients, despite popular belief: salt, sugar, sodium nitrate (preservative), and choice pork shoulders.

Hopefully not in quantities in that order.

Like making sausage?

VSarkiss on 2006-05-24T13:54:33

One learns how Spam is made ...
There are some things one's better off not knowing, n'est-ce pas?

Crappy Food

jk2addict on 2006-05-24T14:47:17

Sometimes, you just need the crappy food. Generic mac n cheese... can of spam... can of corned beef...

Since you're headed for South Dakota...

dws on 2006-05-24T15:16:09

The Corn Palace in Mitchell is worth a brief stop and a few pictures. It's a true piece of Americana. (Unlike Wall Drug, which is a true piece of Marketing hype.)

Re:Since you're headed for South Dakota...

statico on 2006-05-25T14:16:18

Darn. We took a gamble and skipped it thinking it was yet another gimmicky venue. Sounds like we missed out.

Re:Since you're headed for South Dakota...

n1vux on 2006-05-26T01:19:28

You can't see *everything* on one pass and keep any sort of timetable.

I actually liked Wall Drug when I was 13 ... more years ago that I want to admit ...

Cheese!

djberg96 on 2006-05-24T15:20:05

But did you get cheese *curds*? Were they warm and squeaky?

BTW, my favorite cheese factory is in a little town called "Rudolph". Middle of the state. Don't blink, or you might miss it.

Re:Cheese!

statico on 2006-05-25T14:17:26

Yep, fresh curds, warm and squeaky. Got to see the process, too.