The wind was crisp, the thermometer hovered around 60 degrees, and the deep blue sky was full of puffy, white clouds. It was a fall Saturday in Minnesota, and Duane and I decided to take full advantage of what would inevitably be one of the last pleasant, sunny days Minnesota had to offer.
I had recently read about Sever’s Corn Maze in Shakopee, Minn., located about 30 miles south of the Twin Cities. We put on our winter boots – not because it was cold, but because we figured – as good Minnesotans do this time of year – that we would be walking around on muddy, soggy ground.
After a quick car trip, we pulled up to the edge of the field and were greeted by a wall of corn with a huge wooden entryway built in.
We didn’t know what to expect when we walked through. We thought, perhaps, that we’d just be walking right into the maze, but were a bit stumped about where to pay for our experience. After walking through the entrance, though, we found a large, open field, filled with food carts (even a taco cart and another one that was selling cheese curds and corn dogs!), a large (20+ types of animals) petting zoo, a pig racetrack, a bandstand, and of course, the maze. We opted to go through the maze first. (If you’d like to see the maze, check this out – it shows it from the top.)
The maze was fantastic – the corn had not been trampled, the map was easy to follow but unnecessary, and there was a refreshment tent right in the middle of the maze for thirsty explorers. And, because we’d gone relatively early in the season, there weren’t many visitors in the maze yet, so it was very still, peacefully silent, and a little bit spooky, just as a corn maze should be.
View from inside the corn maze.
After the maze, we needed to quench our appetites. What kind of Minnesotans would we be if we didn’t stop for fried cheese curds and corn dogs? They didn’t disappoint. I’ll share with you, if you want!
Tummies full and adventurous spirits satiated, we decided to see what else Sever’s had to offer us. We met many friends at the petting zoo – there were zebras, camels, and of course my favorite – goat babies! There were also, surprisingly, many exotic animals, including kangaroos and llamas, and a host of many more. I also made a very nosey camel friend who really liked having her picture taken. (She’s on the left – the one not wearing glasses.)
Duane knew that it was time to pull me away from the petting zoo when I asked if it would be inappropriate for me to climb into the corral with the baby goats. I really was considering it, as I’ve got such a soft spot in my heart for the little guys.
We decided to finish our experience by attending a pig race. This was easily one of the funniest things I had seen in a long time. There were four races, and boy did those little piglets kick up their heels to see who could get around the track first. They were racing for a snack, so there was certainly some good motivation. The snack was a fried donut, and honestly, even though my stomach was full of cheese curds, I could have given those pigs some competition and the donut did sound very good.
The racers were rarin’ to go – they were Britney Squeals, Lindsey Loham, and Jessica Simpsow. Duane made his bet on Loham, and I went for BritBrit. Loham ran like crazy, and beat out her competitors. The crowd was going wild and cheering, and the piggies were squealing in delight, and it was a great time.
Sever’s Corn Maze will certainly become a seasonal “must,” and for a mere $12 a person, was a great cheap date day!
