10 quirky queries received by Minnesota tourism: ‘Where’s the whale-watching?’

Minnesota tourism agency tracks quirkiest queries

ST. PAUL, Minn. — If you’re planning a vacation in Minnesota and you ask a state travel counselor for help, try not to ask about things that only happen in other parts of the country.

Otherwise you might end up with your question on the state’s “Quirkiest Queries” list, compiled by Chuck Lennon, who handles media relations for Explore Minnesota Tourism.

The list came about because Lennon was looking for something fun to add to his annual year-in-review report at the office. He decided to ask counselors from the state’s call-in lines and 11 travel information centers to send him details about the “corniest calls” they received in the past year.

And how do tourism workers deal with queries that range from amusing to ignorant? Lennon said they are given this training: “Don’t laugh in their faces. Calm yourself and just deal with it.”

Some of these anecdotes are from Explore Minnesota Tourism travel information centers, which tourists visit in person; others are compiled from phone or mail queries.

—”I’m coming in July and I want snowmobile rental information.”

—”Where do we go to do the whale-watching?”

—”Is there such a thing as an easy fishing lake? Something without having to hunt and work real hard?”

—”We want to tour the Edmund Fitzgerald.” (The ship sank in a storm in Lake Superior in 1975. Its last known position was 15 miles northwest of Whitefish Point, Mich.)

—A traveler asking to see a bridge in Minnesota with arches was shown various photos, none of which seemed right to her. She finally identified a picture of the St. Louis Gateway Arch as the right attraction, and was given directions to Missouri.

—”Does one need a travel permit or visa to visit Minnesota?”

—”Is it always foggy in Duluth? What time will the fog lift?” (It is often foggy in Duluth but the fog does not lift on a prearranged schedule.)

—A New Yorker who stopped by the Thompson Hill travel information center in Duluth mentioned that he’d gotten a speeding ticket on the way there. He said that when he told the officer he was headed to Northeastern Minnesota to see owls, the cop didn’t just give him a citation; he also directed him to good places for owl-watching.

—”I want an adult-only resort, no kids! I also want a beach, but there has to be a swimming pool, I’m not swimming in that filthy lake!”

—”Congratulations to the Minnesota Legislature for being willing to include money to support this type of visitor center and keep important the little towns, which could be regarded as dead or dying.”

Explore Minnesota Tourism: 888-868-7476 or www.exploreminnesota.com