Portland to Portland

I’m doing footprints for several days in Minnesota at Big Sugar Bush Lake, Lake Itasca, Bemidji and Walker.
After our warm and restorative days with Jill and Dave’s generous hospitality, we set out eastward from Hawley. A moment after I thought I was doing a good job of navigating, I got off course. As we looked at maps to confirm that a mile and a half of backtracking was necessary, Bob and Linda drove up, saying they noticed us looking at maps as though lost and immediately invited us to their home on Big Sugar Bush Lake just a short way off our route. We said ‘YES’. Bob and Linda treated us to snacks and a pontoon boat tour of the whole lake, describing the history and hydrology and botany and wildlife. We saw a loon family complete with a chick and two fledging eagles in a huge nest on a dying tree. Back at the garden we watched the progress of a monarch butterfly making it’s chrysalis followed by dinner and more conversation. In the morning, we were treated to breakfast as we packed up our tents and hit the road again.
Next stop was Lake Itasca where we got POUNDED by rain for a few miles. We got the last campsite in the park, ate dinner and went to bed. Next morning on beautiful weather, we visited the humble beginnings of the mighty Mississippi at its headwaters, walked across a few times and headed for lunch where we enjoyed the company of a dad and his two daughters who were all delightful. Meeting people, even briefly, has been a magical highlight of this trip for me.
From Lake Itasca, we traveled to Bemidji where we saw Paul Bunyan and Babe, then on to Walker. Our trip to Walker was entirely made on a dedicated bike path through the woods. DELIGHTFUL! I’m not sure if the pelican in the attached photo is the worlds largest, but ‘the worlds largest’ is a thing here so who knows?
Once in Walker, I got some major caloric intake including a DQ Blizzard that they hold upside down to show that it’s cold. Hilarious!
Today, we continue on the bike path to Brainerd. Because I get to eat as many calories as I like, todays breakfast included Fruit Loops. Yay!Läs mer