This morning I planned to hit all the errands I didn’t get to do last week before heading to the office. Went 0-for-3: the Cottage Grove DMV wouldn’t sell me a state parks license plate, a ski shop the Descente website sent me to in Long Long didn’t actually have any jackets (neither did Hoigaard’s or Joe’s) and Rack Attack had no realistic options for Oliver.
Onward to other plans…
…in the city it’s a pity ’cause we just can’t hide. Tinted windows don’t mean nothin’, they know who’s inside…
I read someone on Mastodon talking about a goal of visiting all 88 Texas state parks in the next few years and thought that would be fun to do in Minnesota with Oliver (and the Minnesota State Parks custom license plate).
Minnesota has 66 state parks, plus nine state recreation areas, nine state waysides and 23 state trails. I’ve been to a bunch of these already, but I could revisit the eight on the North Shore alone every week and be happy.
Quest set:
Afton • Banning • Bear Head • Beaver Creek Valley • Big Stone Lake • Blue Mounds • Buffalo River • Camden • Carley • Cascade River • Charles A. Lindbergh • Crow Wing • Father Hennepin • Flandrau • Forestville/Mystery Cave • Fort Ridgely • Fort Snelling • Franz Jevne • Frontenac • George H. Crosby Manitou • Glacial Lakes • Glendalough • Gooseberry Falls • Grand Portage • Great River Bluffs • Hayes Lake • Hill-Annex Mine • Interstate • Itasca • Jay Cooke • John A. Latsch • Judge C.R. Magney • Kilen Woods • Lac qui Parle • Lake Bemidji • Lake Bronson • Lake Carlos • Lake Louise • Lake Maria • Lake Shetek • Lake Vermilion • Maplewood • McCarthy Beach • Mille Lacs Kathio • Minneopa • Monson Lake • Moose Lake • Myre-Big Island • Nerstrand-Big Woods • Old Mill • Rice Lake • St. Croix • Sakatah Lake • Savanna Portage • Scenic • Schoolcraft • Sibley • Soudan Underground Mine • Split Rock Creek • Split Rock Lighthouse • Temperance River • Tettegouche • Whitewater • Wild River • William O’Brien • Zippel Bay
As I wait for Oliver to make it across the Atlantic, I realized as I was driving home this week that next month with mark forty years since I got my learner’s permit to drive. A few observations:
- Mr. Toad isn’t the only one with a mania for motor cars
- Only two moving violations – one in Florida and one in Wisconsin
- My first used car was a Dodge Colt
- Other makes we’ve owned: Oldsmobile, Toyota, Honda (many times) & BMW/Mini
- My parents loved Volkswagens, but I’ve never purchased one
- The new Mini will likely be my last gas engine, manual transmission car
- It’s really a miracle that so many drivers get so many places daily without more accidents
Be safe and motor on…
With Oliver* now scheduled for production in England, I’ve been thinking about what I want for a license plate. Minnesota offers a ton of special plate options, along with the original personalized option. You can’t combine the two, though, which is probably what I would do if I could (i.e. – a loon design with a custom name). The costs vary a lot too – a standard personalized plate is $100, while the various “contribution” plate styles range from $10 to $60 annually (plus fees).
Growing up, I always thought personalized plates were pretty cool (and expensive). The state says there are almost 82,000 of these currently in use and I’ve seen quite a few clever ones over the years. I wish there was an online site where you could check to see if your desired name is available, but right now it’s just a paper form with spots for your top three choices. Don’t really want to gamble $100 unless I know I will get the one I want, so that option is out.
My mom always had the loon plates, which I also had on my first Mini in 2005. I was thinking about another loon, but then heard about the Minnesota State Parks & Trails option (pictured above). It’s $60 annually, but also grants you access to all of the state parks without an additional permit. I see that one a lot on the road (almost 25,000 issued) and it seems like a win-win. Here are a few other plate stats I find interesting:
- U of M Twin Cities ($25) – 2,839
- U of M Duluth ($25) – 412
- Critical Habitat: Loon ($30) – 60,462
- Critical Habitat: Pollinator ($30) – 9,088
- Minnesota Golf ($30) – 5,440
- Veteran: World War II ($15.50) – 170 ❤️
- Veteran: Pearl Harbor Survivor ($15.50) – 1 ❤️❤️
Oliver is scheduled to roll off the assembly line in Oxford on December 12, followed by a boat ride across the pond. Should be in Minnesota just in time for a big red bow on Christmas morning…
* proposed name for our 2024 Mini Cooper S Hardtop