as summer wanes and i get a little nostalgic about the end of long, lazy summer afternoons on the lake, it occurs to me that i have never done a STILL blog tribute to my home state.  as most of you may know, minnesota is liberally stippled with freshwater lakes. the state motto is “land of 10,000 lakes,” but in reality, we have a little over 15,000. just to bring my son to school, in nearby Saint Paul, i used to drive past six lakes (turtle, vadnais, white bear, keller, gervais, and phalen).  visitors who spend more than a few days here usually find themselves staring out car windows as one lake after another slides by. and we locals remember long summer days at the cabin up north, where the dock was cedar, the water was tea-colored, the boat was a lund, and the fish we caught were walleyes. in fact, it sounds impossible, but it is true, that minnesota has more shoreline than california, hawaii, or florida. having heard this widely quoted (in minnesota) fact since i was a girl, i decided to do a little research, just to make sure. ladies and gentlemen of the jury, i would like to enter the following exhibit into evidence. please note that if rivers and streams are included, minnesota not only has more shoreline than california, hawaii, and florida, but, in fact, has more shoreline than all of them combined. your honor, i rest my case:

California, Hawaii, and Florida Shoreline vs. Minnesota Shoreline, including Rivers Ocean Lakes Rivers Total California 3,427 32,050 59,328 94,805 Hawaii 1,052 229 20,160 21,441 Florida 8,436 22,236 22,000 52,672 CA + HI + FL 12,915 54,515 101,488 168,918 Minnesota 0 44,926 138,400 183,326

beach sand

turtle lake, saint paul, minnesota