Calling Cottonwood County

My wife, Jen, and I are explorers at heart. We pull over the car to read historical markers, poke our heads into old buildings and chase roadside attractions for sport. We’ve been at this for a while now, and one would think we would have run out of new stones to turn over long ago. Although we typically limit our travels to Minnesota, we have learned there is no shortage of new discoveries, if you care to look. Cottonwood County was one of those places we admittedly knew very little about, and we set out to change that.

Our first order of business was a trip to the Jeffers Petroglyphs in Comfrey, MN. This place has held special significance for the humans who traveled across the continent in ancient times, and they have left their marks in the reddish quartzite that rises from the prairie. Over the millennia, the ancestors of today’s Native Americans used stone tools to carve petroglyphs into the hard rock to tell their story through depictions of people, animals, constellations, and maps. There are more than 5,000 of these carvings, and some of the oldest date back 7,000 years.

We stepped out of the visitor center on a hot day and followed an interpretive path to the area where most of the petroglyphs are. It’s a sacred place, so ropes on the ground formed a path for visitors to follow and avoid stepping on the carvings. As a rule, photographing them is not allowed. At a previous visit, we came for a special evening viewing time, when we were able to walk around barefoot and see the petroglyphs in a more favorable evening light. It was a remarkable experience to be where, thousands of years ago, someone recorded their thoughts in stone for us to see. Feeling the warm rock under our feet and hearing the rustling of the prairie grasses, it seemed like the walls between now and then became thin enough to see through. 

We moved on to have dinner at the Phat Pheasant, a local hangout in Windom. When you travel this far into southwestern Minnesota, you begin to see the influence of the neighboring states pop up in restaurant menus. In this case, it was chislic. Possibly derived from the eastern European word shashlik, or meat skewer, this dish has morphed into a South Dakotan favorite food and spilled into southwestern Minnesota. Call them steak bites or stickless kabobs, these beef cubes were delicious and Jen’s Philly cheesesteak got a big thumbs up, too. 
When the door opened and an elderly man walked in, the locals at the bar called out “Happy Birthday, Joe!” almost in unison. Unfortunately, we had to move on and miss the 94th birthday celebration.

It was early evening when we arrived at Talcot County Park Campground and set up camp in a site right by the lake, next to the swimming beach, which was nicely illuminated by the setting sun. The lake views were unbeatable and we even had a fishing dock right behind our trailer. The heat of the day was breaking, and we settled into our chairs to relax after a busy day. Toward dusk, the cicadas calmed down, the fish were jumping, and the swallows came out for their aerial ballet. The pelicans circling above us did not mind, splashing down on the lake wherever they pleased, their wings whooshing audibly as they passed over us. When the light had faded, the Milky Way was clearly visible in the sky. It was our cue to call it a night.

The next day was set aside for sightseeing, and we needed a good breakfast to get us started. The Shady Drive In has been a staple in rural Storden, MN for decades. The car hops are gone now, but they still serve up a classic American breakfast. We put in our orders and a few minutes later there was the sizzle of the griddle and the clanking of spatulas in the kitchen. Soon after, there was the ding of a bell and our English muffin sausage breakfast sandwiches with hash browns arrived, fresh and screaming hot.

Later, in Windom, we visited downtown and saw the historic court house. We also stopped at the Cottonwood County Historical Society, where we  wandered their well-curated exhibit hall. Displays ranged from exhibits about Native Americans in Cottonwood County to the early settlers and the more modern times. The Remick Art Gallery in the same building houses rotating exhibits and when we were there, a very talented local woodworker had his scale model replicas of farm equipment on display. One display cabinet held a replica of a former Guinness Book of World Records winner for world’s largest apple, which came from Cottonwood County.

A trip to Windom wouldn’t be complete without a visit to Mimi and Papa’s Place. If you’re wondering if it’s a scrapyard, outdoor gallery, quirky photo op, experimental welding shop or the fever dream of a metal artist, the answer is yes, every time. We strolled around the grounds and marveled at the plethora of cast aluminum aliens and other, more terrestrial creatures. The Flintstones were on display in a cave, with their famous foot-powered car and a metal tyrannosaurus. Jen climbed into a larger-than-life replica of the pants from the old Ants in the Pants game, and I slid into a bathtub race car. The classic, green Sinclair gas station dinosaur was ever present in all sizes, as were giant, red metal ants and a myriad of other critters. And, yes, most of those things were for sale.

We had a little bit more exploring to do in the afternoon, and we went to Mountain Lake to ride the paved trail around the namesake 220-acre lake. We started at Lawcon Park and made our way around in a counterclockwise way. The northwestern corner of the five-mile trail passes through the grassy knolls of the Mountain Lake State Wildlife Management Area, with unimpeded views of the town and the lake.
Our next stop was really three in one. Sweet Fields is a coffee shop and bakery with a funky vibe, Share and Care is a thrift shop and 10,000 Villages has fair trade gifts and other items. We got a smoothie from Sweet Fields and browsed the other two shops. 

Down the road we stopped at King Egg Roll which is a tiny grocery with an even tinier take out only kitchen. A young woman took our order at the register and disappeared into the kitchen to fire up a wok. Just a short while later we took our treasures to the city park where we sat at a picnic table, watched some kids play basketball in the afternoon heat and dug into some very tasty shrimp pad thai, chicken curry and egg rolls.

The next day I was on my own as Jen stayed behind at camp. The itinerary called for a drive through the country to visit several Cottonwood County parks, but breakfast was first. Meat Nate Cafe on Whited Street in Jeffers is tiny, with room for maybe 30 guests, but the cheery interior with its wood floors and walls and bright yellow Formica booths is inviting. I had missed the breakfast rush, which, I learned, was at 6 am in these parts. It didn’t take long for me to decide. The Stacker was a pile of incredibly crispy hash browns, sausage and eggs, topped with cheese-and it hit the spot. 
After breakfast, I strolled across the street to Highwater Creek Meat Market, picked up some provisions and hit the road, destination Westbrook, MN.

According to Mnopedia, German immigrant Carl Zierke was the first settler in Cottonwood County in the late 1850s, and the Dakota people who lived in the area gave him the nickname Dutch Charley. The area near Westbrook, MN, where his log cabin once stood, has become South Dutch Charley Park and features a small campground and a picnic area. I strolled around the small 24-acre park and walked across the namesake creek on a wooden bridge. 

Another early settler, Pat Conlin, built a stone house from the remains of a partially finished flour mill near Windom, MN. Today’s Pat’s Grove Park covers about 80 acres on the Des Moines River, and the restored stone house with its 20-foot tall and one-foot-thick walls is open for visitors to explore. Besides that, the park was left undeveloped to retain the rustic charm of the setting. 

Just down the road near Sanborn, MN was Red Rock Falls County Park. The star of the show here is little Mound Creek, which turns into a roaring waterfall as it tumbles from a 30-foot rock cliff and gathers into a pool. From an interpretive sign I learned that much like the Jeffers Petroglyphs, which are only four miles away, the falls have been a major draw to the indigenous people who lived here thousands of years ago. A footpath took me around the gorge to another tiered waterfall farther upstream, where I ran into a father and his young son. The man told me that in his youth he used to come here to jump off the cliff into the water below on hot summer days. Today, it was his son’s turn, he said. On the count of three, the teenage boy took a couple of steps, jumped off and splashed into the pool below. Teenage me might have joined him in the fun, but middle-aged me was content to watch from across the gorge.

Driving around Cottonwood County on rural roads was a pleasure. There was hardly any traffic and farm fields, small nature preserves made up the scenery and, of course, if there was an old church to see or a plaque to read, I had to stop.

Later in the evening, I picked up Jen, and we drove to Westbrook to have dinner at Bonnie and Clyde’s. Plain on the outside, the inside had an inviting, classic road house look. The jukebox was playing country music and the walls and windows were lit up with neon signs. Old gas station collectibles lined the walls, and there were even a couple of arcade-style skills games. Our food came out very fast and since it happened to be happy hour, we received poker chips to turn in for another drink, on top of their very generous happy hour specials.
Right next door was Westbrook’s historic train depot. On my visit to the Historical Society, I learned that it was the only Cottonwood County depot still in its original location. That was worth a visit.

On our last day in Cottonwood County, we were up early for some reason and decided to get on the lake first thing in the morning. All we had to do is carry our kayaks down to the beach and hop in. Talcot Lake was smooth as glass this early in the day. The sun hadn’t come up all the way and washed the woods on the western shore with a bronze light. Even the ubiquitous pelicans hadn’t roused from their roosts, yet, and it was a very peaceful paddle. Eventually, the sun grew strong enough to chase us off the lake. 

Our farewell meal was a hearty breakfast with the delicious bacon from Highwater Creek Meat Market. Cooking outside and eating breakfast with a fabulous lake view just doesn’t get old. We began to pack up camp slowly, reluctant to get on the road and back to reality.