We Found The Ball of Twine - Darwin, MN

living.boondockingmexico@yahoo.com

We woke up this morning to the sprinklers as I mentioned in the previous post.  We got on our way and off we went looking for the "largest ball of twine in the world" according to the Guinness Book of World Records. Taking the back roads that were twisting and windy, we ended up going through many little towns, some with only 300 inhabitants.  We drove into town and saw the sign that said "visit the ball of twine museum" and then before we knew it we were out of the town.   We turned around and headed back and asked at the local gas station.   They pointed us into town which was across the highway.  

 

As we drove through downtown, all 10 businesses, museums and the post office, we found it in front of the city park.   Lo and behold, sitting in a glass covered kiosk was the infamous ball of twine.  It was beautiful, close yet so far away.   It is in a hermetically sealed room where no one has access.  They say people used to get close to the ball of twine but would attempt to snag a piece of it.  Fear that it would dwindle over time, it was permanently enclosed.

The museum revolves around the ball of twine and the town's founding fathers.  Did you know that "Weird Al" Yankovic made a visit to the museum?  And he also wrote a song about it, "The Biggest Ball Of Twine In Minnesota".  However, locals say he made up stuff that he put in the song like staying at the Ball of Twine Inn.  The place does exist right across the street from the museum but it isn't an inn, it is a restaurant.   Locals are very sticky about this.

We exhausted our visit to the museum and said goodbye to that big ball of twine.   It will be with me forever.   We purchased some post cards which we sent from the post office so they will be post marked.  I sent one to our house in Mexico to see how long it takes to arrive if it does.  Our local Santiago post office has a collection of post cards.  They like the pictures of far away places!

 

Rummaging through some things that weren't on display, I found this photo from the ball team of 1900.  You wonder what happened to them all.  I hope they had good lives.  They sure look happy in the picture.  Old photos fascinate me.  Kind of spooks me to look at them.  Kind of like movies.  There are movies we watch where everyone has been gone for a long long time.

 

As we passed through the town of Delano, we saw this peeking through the trees.  We made a quick turn to investigate and found it was St. Peter's Catholic Church and grade school.  Just like where I grew up.   The convent, rectory, church and the school.   This school was built in 1929.  You never know what you'll find.

 

Or next stop is St. Olaf where Rose Nylund (Betty White) from Golden Girls is from.  We watch an episode every night before bedtime.  We have all the DVDs and other episodes we have recorded since 1985.   We're not sure what to expect but we hope it is good.

 

We landed in Rochester, MN.  at the local Home Depot.  The manager said there was no issue and to enjoy our stay.   We left to get water and found a car wash where the owner came out and offered his services.  We told him we were on a trip and needed water.  I offered to pay him and he refused saying anyone who comes to Minnesota from Mexico deserves free water.   How about that!   We used to think that gas stations in the U.S. had water but I guess not many anymore.  One station said we could buy water in gallon jugs.  I guess they don't understand the concept of rving.  Another place said we could go to the local campground.  :)

 

More tomorrow.