angelrenee

Got caught in a snowstorm on the way up here last time. Crazy but we made it with few problems other than me freaking out. :) We didn’t see much of the town but the university is nice and the surrounding countryside is well worth seeing.

I came here in 1986 and again in 2004. I still love it and can’t wait to take my kids!

Yeah, it’s a tourist trap, but where else are you going to stop in this part of SD? Besides they still give out free ice water and it’s a huge place so you can waste some time wandering.

We went here a few springs ago on a huge road trip. The Spam museum is about all we saw and fair warning, in March it’s closed on Mondays (which is the day we showed up). But the gift show remains open as does a local restaurant. I got the feeling that in the summers it’s a bit more interesting. A lot of things that far north seem to be mostly seasonal.

You know, Rolla isn’t all that bad but you’ve got to recognize that it is a small, rural town. I spent a good 10 years there while going to school and I thought it was a nice place. Actually, we’ve just sold our house there. And no, I’m not right wing nor could you consider me to be conservative. Actually, calling me conservative would be a good laugh, so go ahead.

There are some stupid people who live there who don’t seem to appreciate the college folk but I’m here in Austin and I here the same thing about locals when relating to the UT students. There’s plenty to do if you go looking. Try the local skating rink if you have kids – it has a great climbing unit on the inside). If you like the outdoors, you can check out the various parks and places like Lane Springs which is about 15 miles out of town. The Lion’s Club park is huge and offers a huge variety of places to play including toddler sized equipment. There are a number of local winerys worth checking out as well. The university offers a fair number of things to take part in for students, most of which is free.

Past that, it’s your typical small highway town. It’s life blood are the university and the highway. Don’t expect things to be like Kansas City or St Louis or even Springfield, you’ll be sorely dissapointed.

I grew up here. Left in 1995 for college. My mother and grandfather still live here. It’s a great little town with a neat zoo that includes hippos, giraffes, rhinos and the standard monkeys and things. It’s really nice considering how small Lufkin is (about 32000-ish).