Bemidji/LaSalle/Itasca

When I see things as brilliant as this stemless lady slipper, I wonder at the creativity of our creator(s).

I love, love, love this spot - the headwaters of the Mississippi River.  I came here as a kid and walked across those rocks.

On our camping trip this day (a Sunday) we visited three parks that were really close to each other and on our way home from the northwestern quarter of the state.  Bemidji was first.  We could see the landscape change as we drove there.  By the way, when you drive through Thief River Falls which is a very attractive little city, you will learn that the name of the high school team is the Prowlers.  Seriously? Does that not sound a little stalkery to you?  I know a guy who went to high school in that town. When I saw him I asked him if he was a Prowler.  He admitted he was. He grew up in the area so he never thought anything about the name of his school team.  I guess Prowlers does sound better than burglars or robbers or even the breakers and enterers. When we got to Bemidji about 9:30 I learned there was a ranger led hike on the bog boardwalk at 10. I hurried to the bog boardwalk.  I forgot what a long walk it was to the bog.  I actually have to cross a road and hike another 15 minutes before I got there. It was 10:30 when I got there and the ranger was at the end of the board walk.  I asked him if he could start all over.  He laughed. He did point out a stemless lady slipper flowering which was very nice of him because I missed it completely. People steal those flowers so I felt lucky he showed it to me. It has a stem.  I don't know why it's called stemless but the flower is 3 to 4 inches long and very pretty.  I hiked back to the car where my companion was looking for the geocache. She happened to leave the car door open so I opened it only to hear my cell phone ringing. Offspring #1 was calling with Grandgirl #2.  Grandgirl #2 was fussy and making repetitive complaints so I mimicked her sounds and she heard that and she stopped making them.  We talked for a while.  When my companion returned we went to LaSalle park.  This one is actually a recreational area but I don't get the difference between state parks and recreational areas.  La Salle Recreational Area looked like a state park with camping spaces, showers, fences, outhouses, sign posts and trails.  My companion looked for the geocache there while I explored along the lake. I saw hundreds of yellow swallowtail butterflies. Some kids were swimming next to the dock in the lake and they remarked on the hundreds of yellow butterflies swarming around me. By the way, the sign said this lake is the deepest enclosed lake in the state.  Who knew? At the sides of the lake we saw steep hills.  Many times steep hills next to a lake continue downward under the water. We ate our lunch at a brand new picnic shelter. This shelter had handicapped accessible picnic tables. It also had a shelf with enough space and plug ins for probably 30 slow cookers.  The barn swallows nested above us.  After lunch we headed to Itasca State Park. This is one of my favorite state parks. I loved coming here as a kid and I love coming here as an adult. This park,unlike some smaller parks we had visited, had plenty of staff.  In fact, they had "help wanted" signs posted all over. I  think it would be fun to work at Itasca for the summer.  I could rent out bikes, sell tickets, sell ice cream or answer questions. My companion thought it would be a fun thing to do also. Then I remembered I already had a paying job.  I didn't see any lady slippers in bloom here this time but I have seen them blooming at Itasca before and I hope to see it again some day.  My next blog will be on our last state park of this trip.