The area surrounding massive Leech Lake, which now includes the town of Walker, Minnesota, has been visited by Native Americans for centuries. When European fur traders arrived, the Ojibwe occupied the area. The railroad came through in the late 19th century and a small lumber town was established and named after Thomas B. Walker, a lumber baron and one of the wealthiest men in America. Logging was king in those early days, but the beauty of Leech Lake soon started to attract tourism as well. Today, tourism is the main draw to the area but Walker also serves as the Cass County seat. Leech Lake is beautiful and I can certainly understand the draw. The town itself is also very attractive with a cute downtown area and some wonderful parks along the lakefront. While Walker was on one of my lists of photogenic towns to visit in the state, when I found out one of my friends grew up there I definitely knew I had to pass through. While she lives in Moab, Utah at the moment, her parents were kind enough to take me in for the night and show me a good time. When I went to take these photos the next morning, the sky was so blue I found it hard to leave. I hope you enjoy these photos of beautiful Walker, Minnesota, a pleasant town worth checking out on the shores of fabulous Leech Lake.
The Ojibwe referred to the body of water we now call Detroit Lake as “Gaiajawangag", meaning a lake with a crossing in a sandy place. The name “Detroit” was given to the area by a French missionary as “Detroit” means “straight” in French. The Old Red River Road came through Detroit in the early 1800s and was traveled by fur traders and Indians alike. When the Northern Pacific Railroad was pushing west through Minnesota, there was a small village on the lake known as Tylerville, named after Merwin Tyler whose small cabin on the lake also served as a hotel and post office. As the railroad came through, the city of Detroit was established in 1871 and in 1877 it became the county seat. The town provided ice and water to the railroad in the early days, but today’s economy relies heavily on tourism. The name was eventually changed from Detroit to Detroit Lakes in 1926 to avoid confusion with Michigan’s Detroit. I really enjoyed my stay in Detroit Lakes and found the downtown area to be quaint and historic while the lake itself was stunning - especially around sunset. I loved watching the trains cruise past the historic station and found beautiful art all over town. I hope you enjoy these photos from Detroit Lakes, Minnesota, a little town with a lot to offer.
Hello Everyone! It’s been a week of changes here in Northern Minnesota. I must admit that it’s not been the best of weeks for me out here, probably mostly because the weather has been so gloomy (although it could be considerably worse too). The days have passed their equinox and there are now more dark hours than light. Nighttime temperatures have dropped near freezing, and I’ve had to adjust accordingly. My winter clothes have been retrieved from their spot under my bed and my winter sleeping bag is out as well. I have gotten all of the water out of my van’s pipes and hoses so it doesn’t freeze and burst. As I’ve made my way north and west along the Canadian border and then south and east to North Dakota the scenery has changed from forests and lakes to hay bales and grain silos. I’m starting to see western businesses like Arco and Tesoro pop up. I’ve definitely entered the plains region of the state which has been an interesting and quick transition. I saw a lot of beautiful scenery this week, but I didn’t take a lot of photos. Voyageurs National Park was a bit of a let-down and the towns I have passed through have not been very inspiring of photography. I guess it’s been a weird week. Not a bad one, but not quite what I had hoped from it either. We’ve had a couple of good days weather-wise, but I haven’t felt like I’ve been using the blue skies and sun to their fullest.
When I finished off last week, I had just arrived in Hibbing. Hibbing is a very blue collar town whose biggest claim to fame is that it’s where Bob Dylan grew up (he was born in Duluth). Dylan first performed with his friends at a Hibbing High School Talent Show, calling themselves The Cashmeres and playing Little Richard, much to the shock and surprise of the town. Dylan had his Bar Mitzvah at the Androy Hotel which has since been turned into apartments and I had the luck of staying there at my friend Elizabeth’s place which was very cool. We went to see an open-mic night at Mike’s Pub on Wednesday evening and saw some really amazing local talent and I was happy to see a musical tradition has passed down through the years.
On Thursday I went and visited all of the Dylan sites in town – his boyhood home, Hibbing High School (where they are just completing a monument to his winning of the Nobel Prize in literature) and some of the old stores and restaurants he enjoyed around town as a teenager. The biggest tribute to the great songwriter in Hibbing was in the basement of the public library, which had memorabilia, books about his life, concert posters and artifacts from the town’s Dylan Days festivals. Bob has asked that no museum be built until after he dies which I guess is fair enough, but Hibbing could really use a Dylan museum to attract more people to the town. That night we hung out at The Sportsman, another of the pubs on Howard Street, the town’s main drag. There were some wonderful salt-of-the-earth folks there that night, and I enjoyed their company and had a good laugh. One of the things I found disturbing, though, was how many of them were in chronic pain and self-medicating with alcohol (among other things). More than one said they had broken bones recently but couldn’t afford X-rays and they weren’t bones that could be set anyway. I really don’t know why people in this country are opposed to socialized medicine. In all of my travels around the world, in all of my conversations with the thousands of tourists I’ve taken on vacation over the years and through my own experiences with it while living in Japan, I’ve never seen anything but good come from socialized medicine. Every system around the world could be improved, but what you don’t find in those countries is people who can barely get out of bed in the morning because of the pain they’re in but can’t afford to go see a doctor. And as I’ve mentioned in this space before, you won’t see GoFundMe pages from people who are trying to afford their children’s cancer treatments. It’s one of the greatest tragedies I see in this country and that night it was so prevalent it was hard not to think about it. Good people though and we had a very good night.
The next morning I went to see Hibbing’s other claim to fame – the old Greyhound Bus museum. Started as a cheap way to transport miners to their jobs right there in Hibbing, Greyhound was the beginning of bus transportation in America.
Thief River Falls gets its name from the falls at the confluence of the Red Lake River and the Thief River (which traces its name back to a conflict between the Ojibwe and Dakota people). These falls made navigation by boat impossible beyond this point, so a town was born here in 1887. Thief River Falls was originally a lumber town and then shifted to wheat farming, but it really took off when the Great Northern and Soo Line railroads came to town in the end of the 19th and beginning of the 20th centuries respectively. The rivers and railroads still power the local economy today and Thief River Falls is also the home of an Arctic Cat Snowmobiles plant. Thief River Falls has a population of around 8,600 people today and it really put on a show for me during my visit. The temperature hovered around 70 degrees under sunny skies and the sunset was absolutely spectacular. I hope you enjoy these photos from my visit to beautiful Thief River Falls, Minnesota.
Minnesota’s North Shore stretches along Lake Superior from Duluth all the way to the Canadian border. This region was at the top of all of my Minnesotan friends’ must-see lists and after five days of exploring, I certainly understand why. There are eight beautiful state parks along this stretch, as well as Grand Portage National Monument which is a cooperative effort between the National Park Service and the Grand Portage Band of Lake Superior Chippewa. This park tells the story of the early fur traders, voyageurs and Native Americans who came together on the western shore of Lake Superior. Waterfalls abound along the North Shore, including Minnesota’s tallest - High Falls in Grand Portage State Park. I also found lighthouses, cute little lakeside towns and breathtaking views out over Lake Superior. Also in this region is the wonderful Gunflint Trail Scenic Byway which stretches 40 miles, from Grand Marais to Gull Lake, and offers wonderful lodging and recreation activities in the state’s Boundary Waters Canoe Area. While not technically on the North Shore, I’ve included some of my favorite shots from my two days along this beautiful road as well. I so enjoyed watching the sun set and then rise again in the morning over Gunflint Lake, and the stars at night were simply amazing. I will echo my friends’ recommendation - if you’re coming to Minnesota, the North Shore is definitely a place you must see. For such a compact area, it’s one of the most beautiful regions I’ve seen in my travels anywhere in the country. I hope you enjoy these photos from Minnesota’s North Shore and the Gunflint Trail Scenic Byway.
According to Visit Cook County’s website, tiny Grand Marais has been named America’s Coolest Small Town, a Top 10 Beach Getaway and National Geographic Adventure’s Next Great Adventure Town. Those are some pretty strong accolades for a town with a population of less than 1500 people. Before European exploration, the local Anishinaabe People called this area Gichi-biitoobiig meaning “Two Bays” while early French-Canadian explorers called it Grand Marais or “Great Marsh”. The area’s natural rock breakwater made it an important harbor for early ships to escape the fury of Lake Superior storms and the entire region was important in the 18th century fur trade. All along the western shore of Lake Superior goods would come in from Europe and points east and be traded for beaver furs with the Ojibwe and Cree People. More recently, Grand Marais became Minnesota’s oldest artists’ colony and is home to the North House Folk School. It’s the largest town on the upper end of Minnesota’s North Shore and the jumping-off point for the Gunflint Trail and the Boundary Waters Canoe Area. And not to forget about its position on Lake Superior, Grand Marais also hosts a fleet of charter fishing vessels. You can’t miss Grand Marais on your trip to the North Shore, but it’s definitely worth your time to stop and stay awhile. You’ll be happy you did. I hope you enjoy these photos from beautiful downtown Grand Marais, Minnesota.
Hello Everyone and greetings from Minnesota. I crossed over at Duluth on the first of October which seemed like and appropriate day for a new beginning. It’s always a bit strange crossing into a new state because over the last however many weeks I’ve become accustomed to wherever I was. Within a state there are certainly regional differences, but crossing the state line isn’t a gradual change from north to south or east to west. Grocery stores are one way in Superior, Wisconsin and are something completely different 10 minutes away in Duluth (no booze in MN stores). And while people obviously move freely between the two, you can see differences in the culture immediately too. Packers green and gold gives way to Vikings purple and white and the maps on peoples’ t-shirts change as well. Spend enough time in one state and you’ll forever after recognize that state’s shape because you’ll see it everywhere if you’re really paying attention. It’s fun. Also apparently they call port-a-johns “biffies” in Minnesota. Oh, and the Twin Cities become just “The Cities” when you cross the state line. I have definitely been a little bit surprised by how many clothes people are wearing up here. Temperatures have been in the fifties and sixties and I’m still in shorts and a t-shirt but the locals are wearing jeans and coats and hats. Mark Twain has often been quoted (erroneously, apparently) as saying “the coldest winter I ever spent was summer in Duluth” and I know winter temperatures around here can get down to 50 below, and I just can’t imagine how cold these people must feel in the middle of winter if they’re so wrapped up in the beginning of October. I also got a kick out of a local radio ad which was telling employers to book a fun day out for their employees with a no bag-limit pheasant hunt “reserve your birds today”. Of course if it weren’t for these differences, traveling around the country the way that I am wouldn’t be nearly as fun.
So I have a fly which has been in my van for a few days now. I envision him thinking he is my dog because he seems to want to play all the time. He’s also very Midwestern in his mannerisms. He doesn’t bother me, but he wants me to know I’m not alone either. He keeps me company and comes and lands on me when I hop into bed. He doesn’t bite and he leaves me alone if I swish him away enough, but every time I get him out the door, he flies right back in again. He doesn’t move very fast and I could whack him with a flyswatter pretty easily, but he’s not really causing me any problems so for now, he can stay.
After I finished up this post last week, I headed out to Amicon Falls State Park which is about 15 minutes east of Superior. It’s a beautiful state park with quite a few waterfalls around to see, all within an easy walk of the parking lot. Like so many of the rivers in Wisconsin, there are a lot of tannins in the water from the trees which line their banks, leaving the water a brown, cola-like color. I don’t know where the Amicon River flows from, but it was raging when I was there. There was so much water going over the falls, and there hasn’t been much rain here recently and obviously no snow-melt in quite a while. It was pretty cool to see that much power in the water. That evening I went to celebrate my time in Wisconsin coming to a close with a beautiful cut of prime rib at Hammond’s Bar and Steakhouse which of course had to be accompanied by a brandy old-fashioned. I only made it to a few of Wisconsin’s storied supper clubs, but they made a big impression and were a wonderful part of my experience.
Thursday morning dawned foggy and grey, but I had one last place I wanted to see before I could leave Wisconsin: the state’s highest waterfall: Manitou Falls, at Pattison State Park. It was also only about 15 minutes out of Superior, and definitely worth the drive. I was actually really surprised by how high it was as most of the waterfalls I have seen around the state have been pretty small (it’s a flat state). Manitou Falls was impressive by any standard and I enjoyed eating my breakfast and watching the cascades. After breakfast I went on a little 3 mile round-trip hike to Little Manitou Falls which was also a pretty good sized waterfall. The sun came out and the fog burned off and by the time I returned to my van it had turned into a beautiful day. I decided to hang out there for a while, work on my podcast and enjoy the weather. I ended up staying at the park far into the middle of the afternoon and then headed to the library for a while to try and catch up on some of my photos from last week. By the time I was ready to go, it was late so I decided to hang on in Superior for one more night instead of crossing over late and when I was tired. I went for a burger and the Anchor Bar in Superior which came recommended by a friend. It was a decent burger at a very good price, but the people working there looked and acted the way most servers and bartenders feel but don’t show. I ended the night back at the Thirsty Pagan in the old railroad station with a nice beer and some good live music. That’s definitely a place I will return someday.
According to their Chamber of Commerce, Bayfield is one of USA Today's Best Coastal Small Towns, Wisconsin's Smallest City, the Berry Capital of the State, and the Gateway to the Apostle Islands. That’s a lot for a place with a population of only around 500. the town was named in 1856 for Henry Bayfield, a British admiral and topographic engineer who explored the region in the 1820s.Lumber and fishing were the big industries in the early days and Bayfield also served as a port city. You can tell from some of the beautiful Victorian homes in town that at least a few people made their fortunes here. I found Bayfield to be a charming place with beautiful architecture and wonderful views out over the lake. It was my jumping-off point to both Madeline Island and Apostle Islands National Lakeshore. If you visit, be sure you try the local delicacy of whitefish livers which was one of the tastiest dishes I’ve had in a long time. I hope you enjoy these photos from this wonderful lakefront city.
Madeline Island is the largest of the Apostle Islands which sit just off the coast of Wisconsin’s Lake Superior shoreline. It is the only one of the Apostles which isn’t a part of Apostle Island National Lakeshore and the only one open to development. The permanent population of the island hovers around 300 but grows considerably during the summer months. The island is named after Madeline Cadotte, an Ojibwe woman and the daughter of Chief White Crane who married a white fur trader and lived on the island in the 19th century.
The island is important to the Ojibwe as a spiritual center and was also the home of Chief Buffalo, the man responsible for negotiating the Treaty of 1854 which helped create a permanent Reservation on the Lake Superior coast.
Madeline Island was a major fur trading post for many years and later industries included commercial fishing, logging and tourism. Both Father Marquette and Bishop Baraga (the “Snowshoe Priest”) visited the island and helped establish missions there.
I had a great visit to Madeline Island. The ferry only took about 20 minutes to make the crossing and I brought my van with me and stayed at wonderful Big Bay State Park on the far side of the island. The ferry docks at La Pointe, the island’s only town which has several restaurants, bars and shops. It’s also where I found Tom’s Burned Down Cafe, one of the coolest bars I went to in the state. I enjoyed hiking in the state park and a long drive around the island on a very well maintained dirt road. I was sorry that the museum was closed when I was there, but I’m sure it had some interesting artifacts in it. Sunset over Lake Superior looking back at the mainland was magical. I hope you enjoy these photos from my time on beautiful Madeline Island.
Hello Everyone! It’s hard to believe that September has come and gone so quickly. We’re still a solid week or two from peak fall foliage here thanks to the lakes, but the weather has cooled and it definitely feels like fall. I’ve had a wonderful week on the road as I wound up my time here in Wisconsin with a visit to the Apostle Islands, spent a day with the Red Cliff Band of the Lake Superior Chippewa and a quiet night on Madeline Island before following Lake Superior to the Minnesota border. It’s been great to be back on the banks of this greatest of the Great Lakes. As much as I’ve loved my time in Wisconsin, I missed sitting on the shores of one or another Great Lake as I went. I did get two sad messages this week that I wanted to share with you. Way back when I had just begun this blog, I visited McDowell County in southern West Virginia and met a wonderful lady named Orbie Campbell who ran a tiny coffee shop in the town of War. Ms. Orbie passed away this week at the age of 76. She will be greatly missed in War for her kind spirit and welcoming demeanor. I also got word this week that Nancy, who ran the bar and kitchen at Teddy’s Juke Joint in Zachary, Louisiana (and was married to Teddy for over 40 years) passed away this month as well. Nancy was a kind soul who always had a cold beer and a good story waiting for me when I walked in the door. She will also be truly missed. May Ms. Orbie and Ms. Nancy both rest in peace.
After I finished this post last Wednesday, my new friend Russ and I did indeed do some kayaking. We loaded up his kayaks and headed out to Black River Lake and had the whole place to ourselves. It was a great time and a beautiful day to be there. We had one bald eagle and two swans for company and spent a couple of hours paddling around the lake under sunny skies with a pleasant breeze. Afterwards we went and shot some pool at the American Legion before calling it a night.
Thursday I took off from Bessemer and headed deeper into Michigan’s Upper Peninsula to spend the day in the Porcupine Mountains. I decided to skip this far corner of the U.P. when I was up there last month, knowing I would be much closer when I came north through Wisconsin and imagining it would be more beautiful in the fall. It really was a beautiful day and the park didn’t disappoint. I spent the morning in the Presque Island side of the park, wandering the coast and then up the Presque River to a couple of waterfalls. Then I headed around the park to the other side to visit the stunning Lake of the Clouds. Lake of the Clouds is one of Michigan’s most well-known natural features, and its reputation is well deserved. The lake is nestled in a hilly basin just up from the shores of Lake Superior, but it feels much more isolated when you are there. The best views were from the overlook, but I enjoyed a hike down to lake level as well. Fall colors aren’t quite at their peak, but I definitely think what color was there added to the scenery. It was a beautiful stop. From there I headed back to Wakefield where I stopped at the Randall Bakery for a delicious pasty (when in Rome, right?) before boogying back to Wisconsin. I pretty much made a beeline for Ashland as the day was wearing on and I wanted to get there before dark. Russ had gone kayaking in the Apostle Island sea caves that day, so he met me for a beer at the brewery before he headed back to Bessemer. I really enjoyed hanging out with him for a few days – we had a really good time.
Friday morning I headed to the Ashland Historical Museum. It was a typical small town collection of bric-a-brac, but I enjoyed poking around and the people there were nice. I took a stroll around downtown to check out Ashland’s beautiful murals and then ducked into the library right as it started to rain. I wanted to start to wind up my time in Wisconsin and look ahead towards Minnesota. When the rain started to let up, I made my way out to the beach for a while. It was a little chilly for a swim, but I enjoyed my dinner with a view out over Lake Superior. That night I enjoyed listening to the local high school team, the Ashland Oredockers, play Friday night football on the radio. I had a couple of beers in a few different places, but they were all pretty quiet so I called it a night.
Mercer is a small community of under 2,000 people situated along Highway 51 in Iron County, Wisconsin. The area has one of the highest concentrations of loons in the country and Mercer has designated itself The Loon Capital of the World. The town placed a massive 16 foot loon at its Chamber of Commerce named Clair d’ Loon. Every year in August, Mercer celebrates Loon Day which includes a loon calling contest. I thought it was a great little town with some fun shops and a cute Northwoods-style downtown area. It seemed like a lot of the businesses in town were for sale, so maybe this would be a great opportunity for someone looking to move to the area. I wasn’t in Mercer long, but it definitely charmed me and I wanted to share these pictures with you from The Loon Capital of the World.
Rhinelander is a charming little town in Oneida County in the Northwoods of Wisconsin. Located near the convergence of the Wisconsin and Pelican Rivers, Rhinelander got its start as a lumbering town and was first called Pelican Rapids. They changed their name to Rhinelander after Frederic Rhinelander, who was president of the Milwaukee, Lake Shore and Western Railroad at the time, in an effort to bring the railroad to their town.
In 1893 a local man named Eugene Shepard came to town with stories of a savage beast he caught which he called a “hodag”. A couple of years later, he told people he had caught another hodag, but this time it was alive. He brought his catch to the county fair where he charged people for a peak at the beast. When news of the hodag reached the Smithsonian Institution, they were determined to send a team to document the find. It was then that Shepard admitted it was all a hoax. Despite this admission, Rhinelander took the hodag and ran with it. Today you can find hodag statues at the Chamber of Commerce, the courthouse, the library and many other locations. You can drink Hodag Blood Ale at the brewery and cheer on the Rhinelander Hodags at their high school sporting events. It is definitely the town’s mascot.
I had a wonderful visit to Rhinelander. I loved the beautiful downtown area, the county courthouse and especially the photogenic feed store in town which was especially magical the evening I took these photos. I hope you enjoy these photos from my visit to Rhinelander, Home of the Hodags.
