Sunday, September 30
We spent Thursday in Belfield resting from our travels and left Friday morning for Casselton, North Dakota where we spent the night. Again, there was a good restaurant with a small bakery to grab something quick for breakfast on Saturday morning. Our destination for Saturday was a park in International Falls, Minnesota near Voyageurs National Park. This was another planned stop on our way east.
"As the fur trade expanded westward, it relied heavily upon the Voyageurs, or French-Canadian canoemen, who moved beaver and other pelts and trade goods between Montreal and the Canadian Northwest. Voyageurs depended on native North Americans for furs, guide services, clothing, food, and medicine. The route of these adventuresome men, who paddled up to 16 hours per day, became so established that the 1783 treaty ending the American Revolution specified that the international boundary should follow their 'customary waterway' between Lake Superior and Lake of the Woods. Today, Voyageurs National Park, established in 1975, adjoins a 56-mile stretch of that Voyageurs Highway."
The Rainy Lake Visitors' Center at Voyageurs had this moose in the lobby. We were told by the attendants that there really weren't many moose in the park, and it turned out that this was the only moose we saw. Pretty nice rack, eh? Great Gray Owl like the one we saw a few years ago north of West Yellowstone. Pretty birds. Driving through the park we could see the leaves starting to change and feel the chill in the air. Pretty little pond with a hint of the colors that are yet to be. This was the VC at Kabetogama Lake. Kabetogama Lake on a stormy day, but still the lakes entice us to come back and visit again. A contrast in colors and the promise of fall with winter coming on. Stamps collected from all three Visitors' Center, we returned to the trailer vowing to go back to Voyageurs. We want to go back and rent a houseboat! The lakes are gorgeous even in the stormy weather. Can you imagine what it would be like on nice summer days? There are places to moor the boats out on the islands and campground out there, too. That's also where the wildlife really are. Sounds like fun! We'll have to schedule a return trip.
Too close to camping!
