I know Glenn and I are smartasses and make a mockery of everything we touch, but here’s one of the moments where I’m gunna get serious. My mom found this suggestion of a man who made a bunch of metal sculptures on his farm, and said we should check it out. Little did I know just how impressive this site is.
The artist’s name is Arnie Lillo and he’s got a very expansive sculpture garden containing such diverse topics as the Bible, Jesse James, and his wife’s memorial. My mom recalled some Hill family ancestors from this area of Minnesota back in the times of Jesse James, and when we read Arnie’s plackards, we found a few people with the Hill last name. Maybe we have ancestry mentioned in these exhibits.
We got there just before dark, which is good because I suspect it would’ve been hard to appreciate the grounds if it wasn’t light out. Not only that, this is a private residence, and I suspect Arnie doesn’t like families running around his sculptures at night. We meandered around, appreciating his artwork.
As with all roadtrips and kids, we needed a bathroom break. The artist himself came out to visit with us, and he even let my daughter use his facilities. Really nice guy.
He even had a fancy rotational wind turbine manufactured in front of his shop. I could probably spend a few hours here just checking out his craftsmanship, talking to the guy, and seeing his shop, but unfortunately, the sun was setting and we had to make it all the way to Souix Falls.
Thanks for the hospitality Arnie!