Bogged

The boardwalk at Big Bog

What is that up ahead on the bog boardwalk?

A bog frog. A frog in a bog. A tree frog in a bog posing for pictures. This frog was still there on our way back.

This lake was at the parking area.  I sat on the dock and cooled off my feet.

Then four visitors came to the lake.

Today at work someone said, "I know you are bogged down with work but can you do this favor for me?"  I was bogged down with work. I was swamped with work. But she asked in such an endearing way I had to say yes because I was all relaxed after my wonderful vacation which included camping two nights at Big Bog State Park. This is a big bog.  How big is the bog?  Is it the biggest one in Beltrami County? Yes. Is it the biggest one in Lake of the Woods county?  Yes.  This bog is so big it is in both counties.  This bog is the largest bog in Minnesota.  This bog is the biggest bog in the United States and the biggest one on our continent. This bog has over 9,000 acres. The peatland has a crazy mixture of trees, plants and animals. Carnivorous plants thrive because other plants don't have enough nutrients to survive. Rare plants are found here. The campgrounds were across the highway from Upper Red Lake.  We got up in the morning and went on the board walk into the bog. The board walk is a mile long and it took a long time to get out there because we kept stopping to look at warblers and trying to identify the plants we saw.  We did see leather leaf and Labrador Tea, sphagnum moss, tamarack, poplar, red pine, birch, black spruce and white pine.  We hoped to see lady slippers but we were too early. Once, as we stood there, a couple of warblers came flying past us, almost striking us, and flew under the board walk. I lay down on the boardwalk to see where they went but I couldn't find them. All I could see was moss and standing water down there. By the time we got to the end of the boardwalk my bladder called so i walked back pretty fast. I waited for my companion by sitting on the dock and soaking my feet in the cold, boggy water. A beaver swam back and forth, back and forth. Wood ducks swam around. I heard a honk overhead. Four trumpeters passed over my head, flew over the lake, turned around, and landed on the far side of the lake looking right at me. By then my companion had come off the boardwalk and she was on the other side of the lake. She saw the swans land so she walked around the lake so the swans would come at me giving me a better chance to take a photo. That was a very nice moment. Most of the campers here had boats. Even if you don't fish, this is a great park to visit.