Sheyenne River Scenic Backway – typical Lutheran church found in this part of North Dakota. Most of the Lutheran churches in the area were founded by Swedish immigrants during the 1800s. This church conducted services only in Swedish until 1917 when they added a second service in English. 0027,0028
Kathryn, ND Pop. 50
Lunch Box Eatery, Fort Ransom, ND Pop. 130 Breakfast is serious business in ND!
Redetzke Ridge Hike – Fort Ransom to Kathryn
We camped a couple of nights in the Hankinson Hills Recreation Area which is part of the Sheyenne NG. Certainly not dramatic scenery but we enjoyed significant solitude with the exception of the occasional horseback rider or atv enthusiast. The night sky on the other hand was quite spectacular with the Milky Way galaxy clearly visible as it crossed the sky each night.
Heading next to the Sheyenne River Valley for some kayaking and hiking along the Sheyenne River. 0025,0026
We spent a couple of hours at the above captioned art museum. The museum is small but has an interesting collection. Maria and I particularly enjoyed the current exhibition on the emergence of the Lakota Nation. The Lakota are now more commonly known as Sioux. The irony here is devasting. All of the works in this exhibition are painted by members of the Sioux tribe and very beautiful. The Lakota have been one of the most victimized indian nations in America’s history. The land agreements made with the federal government were violated multiple times with the government confiscating additional large tracts of their land.
Below is a sample of some of the works we viewed. Many of the works depict specific moments in the history of the Lakota. 0024
We enjoyed a relaxing stay in Fargo after leaving the deep forests of central Minnesota. An old fashioned downtown with plenty of vitality especially on “Broadway” the main street through downtown. Plenty of excellent coffee and tea to keep us fueled while poking around the shops and museums. We were also able to align our stay with several classes at Downtown Yoga and get in some much needed studio practice.
P.S. While very tempting we successfully resisted the the urge to have our picture taken beside the infamous “woodchipper” used in the movie “Fargo”.
Cool weather in Minnesota making for great biking and lots of firewood!
Finishing our time in the Great Lakes region with a couple day stay in Duluth. Perhaps because we are easteners we never comprehended the magnitude of the maritime traditions and sheer volume of commerce that has been enabled by these massive inland seas. Below you will see photos of one of the hundreds of “Lakers” that ply the Great Lakes carrying iron ore, copper, coal and grain. Some of the Lakers are as long as 1000 feet. We also were surprised to find that there is some pretty good surfing on the eastern shore of Lake Michigan.
While in Duluth we enjoyed several great meals and some very scenic biking along the Lake Superior shore line. Heading west through Minnesota for some camping and hiking in the Chippewa NF and then on to North Dakota.
The “Beast” continues to garner a lot of attention everywhere we go. We have the talk track and tour down pretty well at this point.
From Traverse City we traveled north on M31 and over the Mackinac Bridge onto the Upper Peninsula. Several coffe recommendations from Erik at Planetary Coffee paid off handsomely. Dripworks in Petoskey and Veladrome in Marquette featured below were outstanding! We also stopped in at Superior Coffee Roasters in Sault Ste. Marie while in town to watch lake freighters move through the locks.
We have been able to take full advantage of the Hiawatha NF camping along small lakes each night.
Additional highlights on the UP included visiting the Whitefish Point Light on Lake Suprior, a 4WD drive out to the beach at Vermillion Point and hiking to the falls at Tahqueamenon Falls.
Arriving in Traverse City marks our completion of the 117 mile long M22 which follows the Lake Michigan shoreline of the Leelanau Peninsula. The M22 is a beautiful scenic drive offering great vistas of Lake Michigan and the Grand Traverse Bay. 0014,0015
Traverse City Coffee Scene: Higher Grounds + Planetary Coffee. We have been disappointed with a number of the coffee roasters/shops in Western Michigan. Arriving in TC has brought us a couple of notables with Higher Ground Coffee Roasters and Planetary Coffee (serves Half Wit beans). Erik Harms owner and barista (pictured below) at Planetary is a long time roaster having previously roasted at Higher Grounds and the well regarded Dogwood Coffee in Minneapolis. Erik has provided us with several recommendations for the UP which we are excited to try over the next week. 0015,0016
Biking the Leelanau Rail Trail TC-Sutton Bay-TC. 0015
Hiking the dunes at Sleeping Bear National Lakeshore. Camping at Leelanau SP. 0014
Kayaking on the Pere Marquette near Lake Michigan. 0013
Biking on the Pere Marquette State Trail. 0012
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Deep Lake in Yankee Springs Recreation Area near Hastings Michigan. Enjoying the peace and solitude of nature. 0009
ON THE ROAD with Maria + Stephen 