Over 700 miles separate Medora, North Dakota and Voyageurs National Park in International Falls, Minnesota. I made three stops along the way. 

The first stop was in Jamestown, North Dakota. It is on I-94 and is home to the world’s largest buffalo statue. I spent the  day there. The statue is in Frontier Park, which also houses the National Buffalo Museum and a preserved North Dakota town with a church, a school, a newspaper shop, and a blacksmith. I chose not to visit the Buffalo Museum, but it appeared to be relatively popular with others.

My next stop was Fargo, North Dakota. It was the closest place on my route to get the twisted awning arm fixed. I had called ahead, sent all the sizing and directions, and asked that the part be ordered so it could be easily put on when I got there. The temporary fix to keep the awning from getting worse was holding just fine. I pulled out of Jamestown earlier than normal so that I could get to Fargo in time for them to fix the issue, and keep me on schedule. However, they weren’t quite ready for me when I got there. As it turns out, the person I had been working with was off sick, but this Camping World did an exceptional job of stepping up, figuring it all out, and getting the job done. 

By the time we figured out what was going on, it was just about lunchtime, and I asked where food was. They pointed me in the direction of the local mall, and then someone said, “Oh, there’s a cool diner down there you might like.” They gave me the name of it. It was in the same direction, so I figured if I didn’t like the look of it, I could just keep going to find other options. The Kroll Diner is a Russian-influenced German restaurant. The food I had there was some of the best regional cuisine I’ve enjoyed on this trip. It looked like a 1950s diner, but the menu had a decided German bent. I started with a thick, creamy chicken pasta soup called Knoephla. I then had a burger in a pastry, called Fleischkechle, and the Kuchen for dessert. I grew up in a German heritage area of Ohio but had never heard of these dishes. They were outstanding. The diner was a great find, and if you’re ever in Fargo, I would highly recommend you try this place out.

From Fargo, I made my way to the Lake Country of Minnesota. With 10,000 lakes, just about all of Minnesota is lake country. I was near the city of Bemidji and needed a stopping spot between Jamestown and Voyageurs National Park. Doug and Cheryl had reminded me that the Paul Bunyan and Babe the Blue Ox statues were in Minnesota, and upon googling, I found they were in Bemidji — right on my route. I found a campsite on Fox Lake. I don’t know how they come up with names for so many lakes.

The temperature was perfect — low 70s, low humidities, bright blue sky — until it wasn’t. I had to contend with rain for much of my time in Bemidji, but I had one really great day. The first evening that I was there, there was a beautiful sunset that turned the lake almost orange. On the lake was a family of swans. I couldn’t stop taking pictures. The swans were so beautiful. The two baby cygnets were just adorable, but they didn’t show up as well in the orange sunlight as the parents did.

On the one day, the weather was beautiful, I took a drive to Lake Itasca. Lake Itasca is the headwaters of the Mississippi River. So, I have now been to the headwaters of the Missouri, the Mississippi, the Ohio, the Tennessee, and the Colorado.

I was very impressed with the way Minnesota State Parks were presented to visitors. They were attractive, with excellent interpretation, nice cafes, and well-stocked gift shops. It was such a difference from the way Montana presented the headwaters of the Missouri. In case you’re wondering about that trip, go to the piece called “A Day of Disappointments.”

The water was warmer than I expected it to be in northern Minnesota. And there were lots of people playing in the water. Some people were kayaking or canoeing on the lake. Old and young alike were enjoying water experiences at the beginning of the mighty Mississippi.

I thought about how little water there was in the Mississippi here versus what I had seen in New Orleans. When I was a child, I was taught that the Mississippi is the longest river in the country. Today, by a few hundred feet, it is the Missouri that is the longest river in the country.  But as a waterway for commercial use, the Mississippi is certainly the most important river in the country. It is 2,552 miles long and drains 41% of all the water from the contiguous United States into the Gulf of Mexico.

I went to Bemidji for souvenirs, postcards, and a decent photo of Babe and Paul Bunyan. When you look at them closely, they’re pretty ugly. But they were built in 1937, and the representations are not bad for that time. The statues remain a significant tourist attraction to this day. Downtown Bemidji is smitten with Paul Bunyan, Babe, the Blue Ox, and at least a third of the businesses and the most major roads have some part of the names associated with them. The city was clean and neat. 

I enjoyed my evenings at Fox Lake Campground. Most of the people in the campground were from nearby, so they were intrigued by my tales of wandering.