Shoe museums to monuments, great travel attractions abound in the Midwest

Sure, the big coastal cities and beaches get a lot of attention as summer travel destinations. But with 30 percent of Americans saying they plan to fly and travel less this year, more people are likely to look closer to home for summer fun.

Midwesterners definitely don't have to travel to New York, California or Florida to find great, affordable, family-friendly things to see and do for their summer vacations. The middle states offer a wealth of travel opportunities - most within driving distance of home and many doable in a weekend or even a single day.

Here are some destinations and attractions - some familiar and celebrated and others new and intriguing - for Midwestern families looking for affordable and educational fun this summer travel season.

New and intriguing

A shoe-in for summer fun is Minnesota's latest family-friendly museum, the Red Wing Shoe Museum in Red Wing, Minn. Opened just last fall by the Red Wing Shoe Company, which has been making work boots and shoes for more than 100 years on the banks of the Mississippi River, the 17,800-square-foot store and museum features the world's largest boot - a shoe so large the Statue of Liberty's titanic-sized foot would still be too small to fit it.

Interactive displays engage visitors in the history and heritage of Red Wing Shoes, which have employed thousands of Midwesterners and been sold around the world since 1905. A collection of original Normal Rockwell paintings is a high point to any visit. A 13,200-square-foot retail space features sections dedicated to each of the company's four footwear brands, along with a factory outlet center that carries factory seconds and close-out merchandise.

You can also tour the company's 114,000-square-foot boot factory, which hosts free guided tours on week days. You'll view the process of making work boots -- from cutting the leather to hand-stitching the finished product. The town of Red Wing is historic and offers a variety of dining and shopping opportunities. Visit www.redwing.org to learn more.

Strange, but familiar

Before the name got appropriated to describe the junk e-mail that everyone despises, the word "SPAM" only referred to a type of food many Americans grew up with. From its humble beginnings in 1937, to its important role feeding American troops during World War II, SPAM has a long and storied tradition in American folklore and culinary lore.

Today, you can learn more about this American classic at the SPAM Museum, located in Austin, Minn. The 16,500-square-foot museum is packed with interactive and educational exhibits, SPAM artifacts and history. Visit www.spam.com to learn more.

The celebrated

Mount Rushmore, Gutzon Borglum's colossal sculpture nestled in the Black Hills of South Dakota, features the faces of some of the nation's best-loved presidents, and draws about 3 million visitors a year. The breathtaking natural beauty of the Black Hills makes a perfect backdrop for the majesty of the sculpture. After 14 years of labor by Borglum and a crew of 400 workers, the mount was finished in October of 1941, and the faces of presidents George Washington, Thomas Jefferson, Abraham Lincoln and Theodore Roosevelt have inspired millions of Americans since. To learn more, log on to www.npca.org.

Not far from Mount Rushmore, a second colossal statue has been taking shape for more than half a century. Work began on the Crazy Horse Memorial in 1948, and has progressed slowly because no government money is accepted to fund the work. Building is funded solely through private donations. Once completed, the monument to the legendary Lakota Native American chief will be the largest outdoor sculpture in the world. Log on to www.CrazyHorseMemorial.org to learn more.

Whether you're interested in seeing the world's largest work boot, or how America's history is memorialized, you'll find plenty of fun, affordable vacation opportunities in the Midwest this summer.

Courtesy of ARAcontent