Bemidji
Bemidji is our last stop this summer. We have been coming here for a long time and continue to enjoy the place. Why do we like it? Lots of reasons, most of which involve cool temperatures and plenty of places to enjoy nature.
You can see Paul Bunyon and Babe behind the Bemidji sign, surrounded by a chain-link fence. These statues were gifted to the city in 1937 and you can imagine what these two have seen over the years. They have been called the second most photographed roadside attraction, behind Mount Rushmore.
Last year, someone crawled up on Paul, breaking his arm. This year they are performing a major renovation, raising both Paul and Babe by at least a foot to fix some drainage issues and do some repairs on Paul and Babe.
There is this restaurant in Bemidji, called Minnesota Nice. We (I) have wanted to go there for years, but, usually, the line was out the door. This time, we got there at 8 am when they open and got in.
The restaurant was started by a 62-year-old woman and her family. After starting small, they now have the restaurant and a catering company. The food was good!
Each year, downtown Bemidji has a sculpture contest and displays them around the downtown area. Here are a few of this year's.
Lake Bemidji State Park
Another of our favorite places in Bemidji and usually, the best eagle-watching place. However, we are later in the season than when we are normally here and the eagle nest is vacant. We hope the family had a good year and the kids are out there, learning to be adults. We did see a couple of adults flying by but no pictures.
As we were entering the park, we saw these two squirrels, a fox and a grey. I was amazed at the difference in sizes. Could the fox have been a "ground" squirell?
Of course, there were birds around the park bird feeders.
Walker
Walker is a small town on Leech Lake that we enjoy. They have a great farmers/crafters market plus a downtown event called "Crazy Days." All the downtown merchants participate in a sidewalk sale.
Beltrami County Fair
You can take the girl off the farm, but not the farm out of the girl.
We came upon an exhibit of antique farm equipment and had the best talk with Walter Knudsen. He and his wife live on the family farm where he grew up. His son now works the farm, growing alfalfa. Walter explained the use of this grain binder.
This was such fun. As he talked, I could see the binder moving across the field with the field hands setting up the shocks of grain.
Of course, we had to go to the home extension exhibits. Is that not the strangest-looking tomato? The quilts, hung from the ceiling of the exhibit barn, were so beautiful.
Final Week in Bemidji
Seems our final week in Bemidji, which was also our final week of the trip, consisted of bits of walking, seeing the sights, and dreading the drive back to Texas.
The work continues on the underpinnings and drainage around Paul and Babe. While we have been here, they have already raised Babe and appear to be ready to work on Paul. Any time you want to see them, you can check out their webcam at https://paulbunyan.net/cooperative/newsweather/paul-babe-webcam/.
We did finally see an eagle along our Lake Bemidji walk. Majestically sitting atop a tall tree, surveying the surroundings.
We did a walk along Cass Lake and the water is just amazingly clear.
Finale'
The next week contains days of driving, a quick overnight, and back on the road. After the arrival in Burkburnett, there are days of putting up and returning to what we laughingly call normal.
Thanks for riding along with us. Catch us in November when we return to the road.
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