Itasca and Bemidji
Bemidji, Minnesota - Thursday, June 27, 2013
by:Timothy W. Shire
Driving in a moderate rain storm, we left Detroit Lakes and headed east to Park Falls, then north to Itasca State Park. Before we got to Park Falls, the rain had petered out and we set to work finding a source to refill the motorhome’s propane tank. The first two weeks of June required the furnace almost every night and we were close to empty. Surprisingly, propane is not easy to find on a Sunday afternoon and we had about given up on Park Falls and were headed toward Itasca State Park when there, on the outskirts of the place, was a fishing store with propane.
North of Park Falls, is a mixed forest, that reminds you of the Nipawin/Carrot River area, only the conifers are not spruce but instead varieties of pine and also, it is important to note, not ravaged by the pine beetle, as we saw in the Black Hills last summer. It is really beautiful country with a bit of agriculture and lots of logging.
We did not visit the State Park itself but went to the Itasca Campground which is right across the road from the park. The campground was very tightly organised but was adequate with the standard advertised, but very poor, wifi. Though remarkably beautiful the surrounding countryside is home to small mosquitoes and that definitely have a lot more attitude then necessary.
Monday, we set off in the Escape on a simple but beautiful drive through the forest and some farm land, into the college town of Bemidji. One of the things we noticed in that drive, was that few farm houses were not house trailers.
Bemidji is a simply awesome place to visit. The campgrounds are decidedly upscale and like Detroit Lakes the community surrounds a magnificent lake. This is the source of the Mississippi River, which we crossed several time coming and going, and in most instances, it resembles the little Dog Hide River that runs through Tisdale.
At the heart of Bemidji is its university campus, which is really huge and obviously sets the tone for the whole place. The downtown area is rich with a flourishing arts community and we captured a few pictures of the art on the street.
Though the big box stores and businesses are present, there is a huge mall half empty and plenty of evidence of extreme disparity of income. Some parts of the community have really big lots and we saw hovels next door to opulent mansions. Dispersed through the city are a lot of signs of the toll laid on by the recession of 2008 and at the same time, there are many signs of recovery, as new businesses are opening.
There are fifty-three pictures of the wilderness around the campground and of Bemidji.