Roadside Art
Roadside Art
If you’re honest, and if you’ve been lucky enough to drive this route many times in your life, the stretch of Highway 61 from Duluth to Grand Marais can be a tedious two hours—especially if you get between gas stations and have to pee, have restless leg syndrome, are anxious about catching a ferry out of Grand Portage the next day, or it’s raining and overcast.
Don’t get me wrong—that first view of Mother Superior (my name for Lake Superior) as we come over the big bridge into Duluth is breathtaking! Our eyes roll heavenward with gratitude and reverence as we see the majestic lake. But we still have a ways to go, and at some point we start to wonder if we’ll ever get to our destination. Finally, we pass Grand Marais, stay on Highway 61, and head straight for Colvill, Minnesota, where our favorite mom-and-pop motel, The Outpost, sits peacefully across from the big lake.
Once past Grand Marais, I start to get fidgety, sit up straighter, and crane my head to the left. I’m looking for the famous roadside art installation of Chuck Wiger that folks either love or hate.
About thirteen years ago, when I first spotted his place along the highway, I hit my brakes and was thankful no one was behind me (the speed limit is 60 there). I pulled over and took a good look at the rock art wall.
Later I learned that Chuck had started the project to prevent severe storm erosion from harming his house and property. Built of rock and logs, the wall was a practical solution to the threat of serious water damage and massive trees coming down: a winding berm of rock on rock on rock, intermingled with wood. My first thought was how well the wall was constructed. My next thought was, how did he do that?!
It didn’t take long for Chuck’s wall to snowball into the longest art installation I’ve ever seen, stretching at least 600 feet along his Highway 61 frontage and in the rock cliffs above his home. His practical retaining wall became his healthy and creative obsession—a labor of love and joy.
On our way home from the motel after our backpacking trip, we parked the car and took a closer look. As I walked along the road videoing this art, Dane noticed Chuck coming down his drive on a four-wheeler. I thought for sure we’d get to meet him, but after looking both ways, he crossed the highway, turned toward Grand Marais, and disappeared. Was he out early looking for more rocks that the lake had spit out the night before?
His installation includes statues of all types of wildlife—many foxes, deer, birds, wolves, eagles, and smiling squirrels—as well as mannequin doll heads of all nationalities, shapes, and sizes. American flags and peace flags are present, and I counted at least 11 pride flags! Tons of driftwood pieces, along with thousands of rocks, are mixed in around the distinctive green Sinclair gas station dinosaur, along with an abundance of hearts, globes, and peace messages. There’s even a hand-forged seven-foot iron moose!
We didn’t know until we got home and read about him that Chuck was a Democratic-Farmer-Labor (DFL) member of the Minnesota State Senate from 1997 until he retired in 2023. He represented the Maplewood area in the Twin Cities for twenty-five years. Chuck’s erosion project became a solo hobby, which we read was a way to relieve stress from his legislative duties. He used his four-wheeler, a dump truck, and his own two hands in building his creation.
He found many items for his art wall at resale shops and garage sales; others were gifted to him by friends and strangers, and he is most fond of the contributions from his grandchildren.
As I filmed and Dane walked alongside, we kept commenting on different objects of interest we found, from an old pair of boots to the different sections of green, blue, red, and yellow glass and bottles. A few times, we were startled when a mirror suddenly reflected our images as we walked past!
Just as we were leaving, Chuck came back up his driveway on his four-wheeler, but not close enough for us to say hi and tell him we’re both in the “lovers” category when it comes to his art!
