37 South College Avenue
Saint Joseph, MN 56374
www.csbsju.edu

Many other independent travel adventures are possible for participants before, after, and during the CUR conference.  The Lake Wobegon Trail is a paved bike trail that runs from St. Joseph through prairies and woodlands nearly 60 miles northwest to Sauk Centre, the home of Sinclair Lewis and the original Main Street, USA.

Lake Superior's North Shore, often compared to the rocky Northwest coast for its splendid basaltic headlands and stunning viewscapes, lies an easy 3 hr drive north of St. Joe.  The Brainerd Lakes area, about an hour away, offers world class walleye fishing, great golfing, and lots of family-friendly resorts and cabin rentals.

Minneapolis and St. Paul, once derided as "like Des Moines but cold", are vibrant cities with extraordinary theater, outstanding musical venues, gourmet dining, and exceptional museums along with the University of Minnesota and numerous fine colleges.  The Science Museum of Minnesota and Minnesota History Center in St. Paul, the Children's' Museum, the Minneapolis Institute of Art, and the Walker Art Museum are all destinations worth a visit.  Right down on the Mississippi River you can walk across the Stone Arch Bridge, tour the new Mill City Museum with its excavated mill ruins, have a wonderful meal of locally grown food at SpoonRiver, and then attend an evening performance at the internationally renowned Guthrie Theater.  

The Boundary Waters Canoe Wilderness Area and Voyageurs National Park offer the ecotourist or adventurous family an incredible chance to experience the northern boreal forest and to canoe or hike through wetlands and forests explored by fur trappers and native Americans hundreds of years ago.

Not that we want you to miss the CUR meeting, but plan a vacation around the conference and get to know our wonderful state.  Central Minnesota and the Twin Cities are full of opportunities for travel and recreation.  Try these websites for more information:

http://www.exploreminnesota.com

http://www.canoecountry.com/

http://www.bwcaw.org/

http://www.smm.org/

http://www.guthrietheater.org (Midsummer Night's Dream through 6/22!)

and if you really want to, http://www.mallofamerica.com/