Day 5, September 25, Touring Saint Paul, Minnesota

It was a cloudy 12.6C (54F) as we boarded the coach bus for today's adventure at 8:15.

The first stop was Minnehaha Falls. This park takes its name after the beautiful stream and its spectacular falls that plunges 53 feet into a gorge before running out to the Mississippi River. The New England poet, Henry Wadsworth Longfellow, gave this Minneapolis waterfall national fame in the Song of Hiawatha, although he never saw the 53-foot falls he wrote of in 1853.
From there we drove along Ford Drive, past where the former Ford plant was located, then across the Mississippi River (one of many crossings).
Next, we cruised along Summit Avenue, the longest street of preserved Victorian homes in the nation. It is a beautiful street, divided by a grassy, treed boulevard. Most of the houses on the street are large, distinctive houses built between 1890 and 1920.

At 10:00 we arrive at Saint Paul's Cathedral, an imposing and impressive structure. The Cathedral of Saint Paul is a Roman Catholic cathedral in the city of St. Paul, Minnesota. It is the Co-Cathedral of the Archdiocese of Saint Paul and Minneapolis; the other Co-Cathedral is the Basilica of St. Mary in Minneapolis. One of the most distinctive cathedrals in the United States, it sits on Cathedral Hill overlooking downtown St. Paul and features a distinctive copper-clad dome. It is the third largest completed church in the United States, and the fourth tallest. It is dedicated to Paul the Apostle, who is also the namesake of the City of St. Paul. The current building opened in 1915 as the fourth cathedral of the archdiocese to bear this name. On March 25, 2009, it was designated as the National Shrine of the Apostle Paul by the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops and the Vatican.
                                                                    Downstairs, I found a model of the church built with Lego! The model is 5 feet long, 4 feet wide and 3 1/2 feet wide. It took about 50 hours of planning and 100 hours to build. Approx. 70,000 blocks were used to build this model. Each Lego brick is unaltered from its original from its original size and colour.







For our lunch stop at 11:05, we went to "Joseph's Grill" along with several others. It started raining when we went in. We enjoyed a great lunch from an extensive delicious menu!
The rain continued as we returned to the coach.

A short drive later, we arrived at the Wabasha River Caves, which are said to be haunted. Our tour guide was "John Dillinger", who provided an entertaining history of the site. 

Our Wagon master, Bill holds up "John Dillinger"

The caves, which technically are mines because they are man made, are carved out of sandstone and date back to the 1840s. Throughout history the caves have been used for a number of different activities, including growing mushrooms, storage of food and belongings, music, and dancing.



In the 1920s, the caves were used as a restaurant and nightclub venue known as the Wabasha Street Speakeasy. The speakeasy was said to have been frequented by gangsters such as John Dillinger and Ma Barker, however there is no evidence that these visits occurred; thus, these stories are considered legend.
After the tour of the caves, "John" joined us on the coach and escorted us on a "Gangster Tour" of Saint Paul.....when the Saintly city wasn't so saintly, a bus tour that took us around town to the sights of mayhem & mystery.



 Along the tour, we saw the Hamm mansion, where Hamm's, first brewed in Minnesota in 1865, is America's classic beer. Hamm's is brewed using the purest water and the choicest barley malt, grain and hops. The Theodore Hamm Brewing Company was established in 1865 when a German immigrant, Theodore Hamm (1825-1903) inherited the Excelsior Brewery from his friend and business associate, A. F. Keller, who had perished in California seeking his fortune in the gold fields. Unable to finance the venture himself, Keller had entered into a partnership with Hamm to secure funding. Upon Keller's death, Hamm inherited the small brewery and flour mill in the east side wilderness of St. Paul, Minnesota. Keller had constructed his brewery in 1860 over artesian wells in a section of the Phalen Creek valley in St. Paul then known as Swede Hollow. Hamm, a butcher by trade and local saloon owner, first hired Jacob Schmidt as a brew master. Jacob Schmidt remained with the company until the early 1880s, becoming a close family friend of the Hamms. Schmidt left the company after an argument over Louise Hamm's disciplinary actions regarding Schmidt's daughter, Marie. By 1884, Schmidt was a partner at the North Star Brewery not far from Hamm's brewery.

Our day continued with a tour of Saint Paul before returning to the park at 5:00.

Day 4, September 24. Brainerd to Dakota Meadows RV Park, Prior Lake, Minnesota, 235 KM

It was a much warmer morning, with the temperature being 15.4C
At 9:45 this morning Marcel & Terry went to the Minnesota Military Museum, which is located inside Camp Ripley, a military base found between Brainerd and Little Falls, MN in central Minnesota. Fort Ripley was established as a military post back in 1848 to keep peace among the local Indians and white settlers. Nowadays, it’s home to mostly Minnesota National Guard training and housing as well as DNR and State Highway Patrol training, and one kick-ass museum.

The Museum covers everything from each war the US was involved in, Minnesota’s role in those wars, and Minnesota’s own conflicts, mostly with the Dakota and Ojibwe.

The self-guided tour through the museum also goes through the “Arms Room,”  which is an exhibit of the development of military small arms in the 19th and 20th centuries. Dozens of on-display pistols and revolvers, rifles and carbines, machine guns, edged weapons, ammunition, and more.

They returned to the park & we packed up and were on the road at 11:55 with Terry leading. Today we followed the scenic River Road, which consisted of back roads criss-crossing the Mississippi River. By the time we passed through Saint Cloud it had warmed up to a very pleasant 23C (73 F). It was an interesting trip with many views of the river.

We arrived at Dakota Meadows RV Park at 3:30. It is a beautiful park surrounding a small lake and within walking distance to Mystic Lake Casino. They also provide a shuttle to make it easier to part you from your money! 

We are fortunate to be spending 4 days here. Hopefully the weather will cooperate.

Day 3, September 23, Bemidji to Crow Wing Campground, Brainerd, MN, 291 KM

We left Bemidji behind and headed off to Brainerd. On the road at 7:35. It is 7.7C, hoping it will warm up as we go south.
Instead of following the suggested route following the river we all took Hwy 2 so we could arrive at the Forest History Centre in Grand Rapids in time for a presentation. Actually, we are retracing part of the route we took to Bemidji!
We arrived at the Centre at 9:00 and viewed the amazing exhibits and videos until it was time for the tour of the logging camp. It was very COLD and windy!
 Discover the past, present and future of Minnesota's forests through guided tours of a 1900s era logging camp and hands-on environmental learning programs. Board the moored river "wanigan," a floating cook shack, take a seat on the porch of a 1930s Minnesota Forest Service patrolman's cabin, climb a 100-foot fire tower and explore the site's self-guided trails.

We started our tour in the "sleep camp" where 75 men slept.

Long tables set for a meal

The cookhouse where meals for 80 men were prepared 3 times a day

Blacksmith shop - the only warm place!

Start your journey at the visitor center which boasts interactive exhibits, then tour the logging camp, join a naturalist led program… More and hike the self-guided trails.

Take a guided tour of the recreated logging camp where story themes change often. Meet the blacksmith, saw filer, bull cook, clerk and lumberjacks. See draft horses demonstrate feats of strength during cross-hauling and jammer shows as lumberjacks load logs onto sleighs. After the tour, take a short walk to the moored river "wanigan," a floating cook shack and bunkhouse used by river drivers when moving logs downriver to the mills. During the summer, 60 minute guided tours are offered daily.

After the tour, we had lunch then decided to take a detour to Aldi's which was nearby. When we completed our shopping, couldn't find the suggested route which followed the river, so went straight to the Crow Wing Campground.

The Wagon Masters & Tail-gunners provided a Campground cookout for supper. We had grilled brats, chicken brats, carrot salad, green beans with lemon squares for dessert. Delicious!

Day 2, September 22, Touring Around Bemidji

The fun begins! It was a chilly 8C this morning
We loaded up onto a coach bus and were off by 8:15
Our first stop was at the Bemidji Woolen Mill which has been in business for 98 years. A young employee gave us a tour of the facility, explaining the process of how the raw wool arrives from the sheep farmers and is turned into beautiful fabrics.

This is the carding machine that is over 100 years old

There are a lot of various sewing machines, which were idle, since it is Saturday.

Next stop was at the Great Northern Depot.
The Great Northern Depot is the last depot built by Empire Builder James J. Hill. It was built in 1912 as a passenger and shipping depot for the Great Northern Railroad in Bemidji, Minnesota. It went on the National Register of Historic Places in 1988. A collaboration between state and local government, community groups, and private individuals restored the Great Northern Depot in 2001 and opened it as the Beltrami County History Center, operated by the Beltrami County Historical Society. It now serves as a history museum and archives, open to the public year round. It features multiple history exhibit galleries, a unique gift shop, and a research room and archives.
The building is a one-story hipped roof, brick and limestone structure with arched windows and wide eaves influenced by the Arts and Crafts Era of architectural design. The interior features a restored telegraph office, terrazzo marble floors, and restored woodwork.

We look so small!

Then it was off to the requisite Visitor Centre, where a Docent explained the history of Bemidji and introduced us to Paul Bunyan and Babe, the Blue Ox.Overly broad-shouldered and boxy, the 18-foot-tall, 7.5-ton Paul was built of steel and concrete in January 1937
As some stories go, the idea of building a giant statue of the town’s lumberjack son was conceived over sharing a pint (or two). 737 man hours, and 2.5 tons later, a national tourism legend was proudly born. After more than 50 years of towering Lake Bemidji, the statues were officially honored by the National Parks Service as a cultural resource worthy of preservation, adding them to the National Register of Historic Places. Today, the statues of Paul Bunyan and Babe the Blue Ox are recognized as the second most photographed roadside attraction in the nation.
Built in 1937, Paul Bunyan and his Blue Ox Babe stand along the shore of Lake Bemidji near the Tourist Information Center. True to their Bemidji roots, this larger than life duo were known to work hard and play harder!

The Fireplace of States began in the 1920’s when a local resort owner named Harry E. Roese  began collecting stones from around the state to be used for a giant fireplace at his resort on Lake Bemidji. As his stockpile of stones grew, he went on to write hundreds of letters to state governors and officials, Canadian provincial governors, high ranking officials at our nation’s state parks, and even the President of the US, soliciting stones to be used in the fireplace’s construction. After the collection was amassed, he caught the attention of the US Federal Works Progress Administration.  The chief goal of the WPA was to put people to work during the Great Depression, often building roads, structures, water towers, etc.

Wading in the Headwaters

Back on the bus for the drive to Itasca State Park which houses the headwaters of the Mississippi River.At Itasca State Park, the mighty Mississippi River begins its 2,552-mile journey to the Gulf of Mexico.Come relax aboard the “Chester Charles II” on beautiful Lake Itasca, the source of the mighty Mississippi River.

Marker signifying the Headwaters

Next we were treated to a cruise on Lake Itasca aboard the Chester Charles 11, where we were given a box lunch to eat on board. We saw bald eagles soaring and wild rice growing along the shore.

The tour follows the same route taken by Ozawindib in 1832 when he guided Henry Rowe Schoolcraft to the Headwaters of the Mississippi River where they recorded the source of the greatest river in the United States as it begins its flow 2,552 miles to the Gulf of Mexico.

The day concluded with an interesting talk by a local archaeologist who enlightened us on the fascinating history of the area.

Day 1, September 21 Royal Oaks RV Park, Bemidji, MN

Woke up this morning to rain and 7.6C. 

Heard on the news that there were 5 tornadoes confirmed across south Minneapolis last night. It was very windy through the night here!

After a walk around the park it stopped raining. Then it was off to Walmart for fuel ($3.089/gal) and a stop at Lueken's Village Foods for some groceries.

By the time we got back to the park at 11:45, it had warmed up to 11.1C with sun & cloud.

Terry & Sharon Burr arrived at 1:30, just in time for the Orientation meeting. It seems they brought sunny skies and 14C temps with them!

At 5:30 we all attended a catered dinner in the meeting room, which was great, followed by a campfire

At 9:15, I heard that a tornado ripped through Ottawa and Gatineau, but couldn't get any more information b/c no internet! Frustrating!

September 20, Bemidji, Minnesota

Today started out cloudy and cold 10.1C. It was our "wind down" day today to just relax. The four of us (Gus & Joan, Stan & Betty and Glen & Carolyn) went in to Bemidji to check out the town and found a mall which we covered.Then it was lunch time, Tried out Culver's which wasn't bad, then it was on to Walmart and Target.
Rain started when we came outside, quite heavy. Our last stop was Goodwill, then it was back to the campground.
The rain continued and the temperature remained unchanged at 11.9C, (53F)
The internet kept dropping off at our site, so I went to the meeting room, which was better.
As the rain continued we had tornado warnings, a severe thunderstorm warning and a flood warning! Thank goodness none of it came to pass!

My Apologies

I have not been able to post the past few days because the internet at this park is intermittent and unreliable. I can only get a good connection in the Meeting room, but it has been occupied the last couple of evenings. Hoping for better things tomorrow.

September 19, Iron River, Wisconsin to Bemidji, Minnesota 313 Km.

It was misty this morning and 11C when we got on the road at 9:00.
Things were going well until we approached Duluth. Yet another detour which took us through the industrial area. Oh well, it was new territory for us!
After crossing the bridge and entering Minnesota it was a straight drive on Hwy 2 to Bemidji.
At 1:15 we arrived at Royal Oaks RV Park and got set up. We will be here for 4 days.

We met the Tailgunner, Bob Hephner (L) and Wagon Master, Bill Maack (R).
We will be starting the actual Caravan tomorrow with an Orientation and Get Acquainted Party.

They had Early registration where we received our name tags and maps of the Mississippi River.

The weather remains chilly but hopefully will warm up!

September 18, Sault Ste Marie to Iron River, Wisconsin 661Km

Up early this morning to get ready for a 7am start. Sky was clear but it was cold, 11 C. Turned off the A/C in the truck & turned on the heat!
It was a short run to the bridge and customs. Very uneventful crossing into the US for all of us, thank goodness.
I was pleased to find that Michigan's M 28 highway has been recently re-paved! Made for a smooth ride.
The temperature remained fairly constant the whole way, with a bit of light rain thrown in.
Shortly before the Wisconsin State line we encountered a detour. Apparently a bridge was out (according to the sign) Entered the Central time zone and gained an hour. That time was spent at the first Walmart that we have seen in Ironwood, Michigan. Shortly after leaving Walmart, we entered Wisconsin and arrived at our destination at 5:00 local time. Long day. It is 12.5C as I am writing this brrrrrrrrr.

September 17, 2018, Callander to Sault Ste Marie 464 Km

Our first stop after a good drive to Sault Ste Marie. Gus & Joan Doomernik were already here. We are set up at Glenview RV Park and Campground for the night, waiting for 2 friends (Stan & Betty Arkwright and Glen & Carolyn Dowson) to join us. The weather was warm & sunny until we arrived. It became very windy and the temp dropped quickly.
Our remaining friends arrived at 5:00. Our group consists of a Motor home, a fifth wheel, a travel trailer and a Class C.
We'll be off for an early start tomorrow at 7:00!