Lake Itasca State Park spans over 32,000 acres in North-Central Minnesota. Native Americans have hunted in this region for thousands of years. In more recent times the area was inhabited by semi-nomadic bands of Ojibwe and played a roll in the fur trade. In 1832 an Ojibwe leader and guide named Ozawindib guided explorer Henry Schoolcraft to the lake they called Omashkoozo-zaaga'igan (Elk Lake), where he showed Schoolcraft the headwaters of the Mississippi River. Schoolcraft chose a new name for the lake by combining the Latin words Veritas (truth) and Caput (head) to form ‘Itasca’ honoring the ‘true head’ of the Mississippi. A monument has been placed there marking the beginning of the river’s 2,552 mile run to the Gulf of Mexico and is one of the more iconic photos in the state. The park is so much more than just the headwaters though, with dozens of miles of trails, the historic Douglas Lodge, campgrounds, lakes and even a climbable fire tower. The area is so wonderful, in fact, that Minnesota declared it a state park in 1891 making it the oldest state park in the state and one of the oldest in the country. I had a wonderful day in Itasca State Park and found it one of the prettiest places I’ve seen in Minnesota. I hope you enjoy these photos from lovely Itasca State Park, a real gem in the heart of the state.
Food is an interesting and underrated form of communication and an essential part of travel. Even if we are cooking for ourselves, regional differences can be spotted in grocery stores from place to place. Things you may have never seen or heard of are piled high and the locals are all grabbing some. Every state has its culinary specialties and must-try delicacies and ideally when you try them they will help you understand the State or region better. Hopefully they’ll be made with local ingredients and you can get a taste for what grows in the area, and there will probably be hints of where the people who make them came from as well. America is and always has been a great melting pot of flavors from around the world and our culinary traditions are ever-shifting. I encourage everyone to be bold when travelling to new places and eat as locally as you can. You know those big national chains will be mediocre at best. Even if you want fast-food, the local option it bound to be better. Use Yelp to sift through them (with a grain of salt obviously, but a 1 or 2 star place is probably that for good reason), or better yet, ask the locals. Here are seven of my favorite meals from the month I spent in West Virginia..
Tamarack is an incredible idea executed flawlessly. In their own words, Tamarack's vision is to be "recognized globally as a dynamic catalyst and premiere showcase for all aspects of advancing West Virginia arts, crafts and food products and those who produce or perform them". I don't know what I expected when I walked into Tamarack, but it certainly wasn't what I ended up finding there. People had described it to me as a high end arts and crafts market, but it is so much more than that. Tamarack bills itself as "The Best of West Virginia", and after visiting two days in a row, I can say that slogan much better describes what I experienced there.
Sitting right off Interstate 64 in south-central West Virginia and just outside the town of Beckley, Tamarack may be one of the best ideas I've come across in a long time. It opened its doors in 1996 and has never looked back. Tamarack showcases West Virginia's best artists and craftspeople, but is also a restaurant, a conference center, a community gathering place and a work of art in its own right. As soon as you walk through the door, your senses are enveloped by West Virginia...
