Chilling in Winona... Literally
- elambranam06
- Oct 29, 2025
- 9 min read
I have a confession to make: after doing nothing but driving and working out for about 10 days, I had begun to forget why I started this trip in the first place. During the lead-up to the Hunter Exam, I didn't really explore any new towns/cities and I didn't really do anything that was truly fun. Now, to be clear, I definitely think it was worth it for the fun times I had at the Exam, and I would probably do it again, but I was beginning to experience real burnout on my trip. That was, until I spent a couple days in Winona, MN.
For some context, one of my mentors/buddies in the Experimental Aircraft Association (EAA), named Chuck, was born in Winona. I figured since I was passing through Minnesota anyways, and he said it was a cool place, I would check it out.
The first few days of my stay were spent enjoying the warmth of the YMCA by working on the Blog and exercising. During this period, I actually tried my first sauna and would continue to do so throughout my eight days in the area.
During these first days I had quite a basic routine. I would wake up, work on the Blog until noon, eat lunch, workout, and then make dinner. On Monday, Wednesday, and Friday, I would include a run on the path by the Winona Lake as part of my workout.
The picnic shelter pictured above was an absolute life saver. In fact, it was where I made almost every meal while I was in Winona-even if it was raining. Even though the shelter didn't block out all the rain, it definitely beat making food in the open or under the back hatch of my car.
The trail that I'm standing on in the picture below was the one that I would use for my runs, and as a matter of fact, that was actually where I started my run every day.
Now you may be wondering. If he spent the first few days just working on the blog and working out, then why does he heap such praise for Winona. Well, despite all the posting I was doing, I still ended up having two full days to explore the area-and it was those days that resparked my travel bug.
Before I jump into the events of those days, I have to talk about my brief Saturday adventure. After arriving at the YMCA and working on my blog for a little bit, I remembered that I only had one Saturday in WInona and that they had a Saturday Market. I was determined to not let this chance slip my grasp, so I packed up my stuff and drove to Levee Park-where the market was being held. When I first got there, I wasn't quite certain on where specifically the market was being held, so I decided to take the chance to explore the park while I looked. The three pictures below are all a result of my exploring the park. At the train yard right next to the park, I got a guy to take a picture of me hanging off one of the trains, and I was astonished at how picturesque the pic looked. It looks like it was taken by a professional photographer.
After checking out the waterfront, I finally found the market. It didn't take me long to see every vendor and what they offered, as Winona is a small town and the market wasn't very big, but I had a good time nonetheless.
Later that evening, after working out and finalizing the latest blog post, I found my way to Rocco's Pub and Pizza. I had asked Chuck where the best restaurants in Winona were a couple before, and among others, Rocco's Pizza was brought up as the best pizza in the area. Now, for the sake of clarity, it's pretty hard to mess up a pizza. Every pizza I've ever eaten has been good at the very least. So when people tell me a restaurant has the best pizza in town, I generally just assume the place has average pizza. That was not the case at Rocco's Pizzeria. This was genuinely of the best pizza places I've ever been to, and I don't say that lightely. Not only were the toppings-pepperoni, sausage, peppers, and mushrooms-really flavorful, but the tomato sauce actually had a distinct flavor. The biggest misstep at any pizzeria is using a generic tomato sauce. It's a mistake that so many places make, but Rocco's knows better.
Sunday (10/19) was the big day I set aside for adventures. Since Sunday is my workout rest day, I had the entire day to have new experiences-the first of which being hiking Sugarloaf Bluff.
I woke up around 7 am, put on some warm clothes, and drove to the trailhead. It certainly wasn't a warm morning, but once I got hiking, the temperature escaped my mind. The hike itself was not very long, but the sights at the top were quite rewarding. After being burned by a couple of "overlooks" in the past, I was really glad to see that you could actually get a clear view of all of Winona
After finishing Sugarloaf bluff and getting back to my car, it was off to one other overlook-Garvin Heights Overlook, to be specific. I was quite curious to see which one featured the better views. It was pretty close, but Garvin Heights was slightly more open, so you could see a lot more. It also didn't really have a hike, which surprised me. You just parked and walked about .1 miles and you were there. However, even though Garvin Heights was a quicker walk and a better view, I preferred the Sugarloaf Bluff experience.
Now it's a long standing tradition that I check out college campus' whenever I'm near and you better believe I kept the tradition with the Winona State University (WSU). I approached the school from the south, and as a result, I ran into the Winona Street Tunnel, which goes right under the train tracks and then into the campus. I can't really put my finger on it, but I just felt like that was a pretty cool way to be introduced to the campus.
Once I had crossed the tracks and entered the campus, I took about 30 minutes to explore and take some photos. When I first got there, there was almost no one around-most likely due to classes being in session-however, about 10 minutes into my exploration, I saw a higher volume of people.
Although it freezing, it was a little chilly, and I thought what better way to warm up than to explore the library. It was a cozy place and that's where I saw the highest density of students hanging out-they probably weren't huge on the cold either. Since I was inside anyways, I decided to read one of my books for a little while.
However, as warm and cozy as it was, I hadn't come there to spend the day reading. I set off once again to explore. The next four photos were not only taken in good fun, but they were also taken to give you a feel for the buildings and what the general campus design was. Most of the buildings were still brick and I would guess are still the same as they were long ago. There's lots of mini design choices in them that made them feel regal to myself. They aren't necessary for the building, but they make looking at them a lot more fun. That said, they aren't all brick and mortar. A few of the newer buildings have kept up with modern design aesthetics and feature quite a bit more glass.
Overall, I enjoyed my time at WSU. I didn't spend nearly as much time there as the other campuses due to the temperature and the smaller size of the campus, but it was a nice way to get familiar with Winona.
My final adventure on Sunday was at the St. Stanislaus Basilica-a polish church that has been in the Winona area since way way back. I've been told the Basilica is almost like a staple of the Polish community in Winona. And I'd be lying if I didn't say it was really impressive. Once again, the architecture of older buildings like the Basilica is just fascinating. They just put so much more effort and thought into buildings that they intended to stand for something. Unforuntaley, the inside of the church closed at 10 a.m. on Sunday, so I didn't get to see it that day, but you better believe I'd be back. The next three photos attempt to capture the beauty on camera by capturing different parts of the building, but it's really something you have to see in person.
If you ever decide to see the Basilica while you're in Winona, you also have to take a little time to look at the neighborhoods right next to it. Most of the houses were bought and built by Polish families in the mid-1800s and are the exact same as they were when they were built. Many of the families bought a lot and then split it into two half lots so they could build a second house for the older family members. As a result, many of the houses are super close together-for such a rural area- and have little to no yard. It's kind of a cool footprint of history.
Although my Sunday exploration had come to an end, I had one more chance to explore Winona-Tuesday morning. I got up around 8 am, packed up the car, and drove to the Winona Savings Bank-which is now the home of WNB Financial.
As I approached the main doors, I was definitely impressed, but little did I know, I hadn't seen much yet.
The inside of the bank is just really something. Not only is there a comically large bank vault, but practically the entire inside is this beautiful marble. I was kind of speechless when I first entered and just had to take a second to absorb it all. Luckily for individuals that don't bank at the location, there is something to do. The creator of the museum dedicated an upstairs portion of the bank to a small museum. The museum wasn't anything astonishing, but it was a great way to get a feel for the bank whilst still being somewhat occupied.
Once again, it's safe to say I had a really good time. It was really neat to see how banks were made back in the day and how they put so much focus on being hard to rob, but still visually interesting. They just don't make 'em like they used to.
I was very impressed by what I'd seen in Winona, but there was still one thing I had to do before I had left Winona behind. I had seen the bank, I had seen the college, I had even seen the town from above. The only thing I had yet to see was the inside of the Basilica. I think the closest my words can get to explaining the brilliance of the inside is that it was probably even more beautiful than the outside. I'll just leave it at that.
Overall, I had a really solid time in Winona. The first few days were very productive-as I finally caught up with my blog and diary-though a little boring. However, after doing all my "chores", I spent a couple days exploring Winona and had fun. This town has quite a bit of charm-which I suspect originates from a general respect towards it's history. I wouldn't say they're stuck in the past, but they aren't eager to tear down all their brick buildings just to replace them with microplastic strawhouses. I definitely think my eight day stint in Winona helped remind me how fun this trip can be and I'm excited for more adventures to come.
When I first read you were visiting Winona, I thought that's cool, Elam is friends with Winona Ryder, my favorite actress. Turns out she was born in Winona and named after the town.
Thanks Elam! Being into geography, I enjoyed getting to know Winona, a place I knew nothing about. Also, I enjoy the humor you incorporate into your writings. Journey on!!