September 2018 – Our travels this past spring and summer were focused in the western states with many fabulous adventures in Utah, Wyoming, Montana, South Dakota and North Dakota, but in early September we drove our RV out of the west in a hurry to catch the fall colors on Lake Superior in northern Michigan.
When I-94 took a turn to the southeast at Fargo, we got off onto secondary roads to make a beeline towards Lake Superior. Suddenly, we found ourselves immersed in Minnesota’s Land of 10,000 lakes. There were lakes of all sizes everywhere.
Walker City Park overlooks Leech Lake in Minnesota.
We hadn’t planned it this way, but we discovered we were driving on one of Minnesota’s designated scenic drives, the Lake Country Scenic Drive. How cool is that?
The views out our windows were certainly very pretty!
We saw a sign for the Paul Bunyan State Trail and just had to check it out. This is a fantastic rails-to-trails paved path that goes for miles and miles between the 10,000 lakes.
We biked a bit of the Paul Bunyan and Heartland State Trails in Minnesota’s lake country.
As we were riding we came to an intersection with another rails-to-trails system, the Heartland State Trail. We were floored to see destinations listed on a wooden sign for as far as 66 miles away. What an amazing place to ride a bike or stretch your legs (especially if you have four of them!).
Buddy loved the rails-to-trails routes too.
The lakes have all kinds of names, but the name Leech Lake really caught our attention. “I wouldn’t want to go there,” Mark said dryly. “I’ve swum in lakes with leeches and had to pull them off me.” Yuck!
But it turns out that Leech Lake is a great spot for all kinds of recreation, and we were soon caught in its spell.
Leech Lake is full of fun, and we never saw any leeches!
The small town of Walker overlooks the lake, and we strolled along the shore taking in the views and relaxing ambiance. What a pretty spot!
Leech Lake.
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One of the most popular pastimes on this lake is fishing, and apparently it is the Muskie capital of the world. From kids to old folks we saw lots of fishermen patiently waiting for the big catch.
The fishing is good here.
Even the dearly departed who left good fishing memories behind in this life took their rods with them to their next destination.
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As we wandered towards town we realized that Leech Lake truly is the lifeblood and soul of this small community, and it had a real beach town vibe. Colorful kayaks were lined up against the wall of a building, ready to take people for a ride, and a huge pelican perched on the rooftop of a shop on the main street.
Kayaks of every color.
Walker is a waterfront town.
As we poked our heads in various nooks and crannies around the town of Walker, we discovered that the very next day there would be a special celebration: the Ethnic Festival. Well, we certainly had to stick around to see that!
We arrived a day before the Ethnic Festival, so we had to stay and see it!
We got into town the next morning just as the vendors were setting up their booths, and a lady suddenly called out to us. “Would your puppy be willing to be my mascot for the day?”
She went on to explain that she was selling hand sewn goodies, and one of her products was bandanas for dogs that slipped onto their collars.
Buddy loves attention, so he jumped at the chance to be a bandana mascot for the day, and he quickly set about choosing which one to wear.
Buddy got hired as a doggie bandana salesman.
Mark held out a few, and he sniffed each one.
“Which one would you like?”
He finally chose a patriotic bandana with American flags all over it. He looked very dapper in it.
A dapper dog!
As he was showing it off he noticed a stuffed dog at the lady’s booth that was wearing a bright red bandana. He had to check it out!
“I like your bandana but you’re a bit stuffy.”
We found out later that Buddy did an excellent job as the puppy bandana mascot for the day. The lady sold dozens of bandanas during the festival!
Buddy kept an eye on how the sales were doing over at the doggie bandana booth.
The Ethnic Festival parade was about to begin and we found a place to watch along the curb.
Patiently waiting for the parade to begin.
The parade began with a flourish as the town’s dignitaries passed. Then came a line of bright and shiny Corvettes that were headed to the Corvette car show that would take place in the Walker City Park after the parade ended. Beautiful!
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Pretty Corvettes roll by on their way to the Walker City Park.
A group of motorcycles went by and we noticed that the backs of their jackets said “Descendants of Leech Lake,” “Descendants of Navajo” and descendants of other groups in the area.
These motorcyclists have deep roots around Walker, Minnesota.
Then a group of flags from many nations appeared.
Flags from many places including the Leech Lake Indian Reservation.
Minnesota has a strong Scandinavian heritage but lots of other folks have made their mark too. From bagpipes to accordions to alphorns we heard music of all kinds and saw some fabulous floats and outfits.
A bagpipe band marched by.
Musicians of all kinds drifted by on floats, and dancers showed off their moves.
Musicians from the First National Bank floated by.
After Smoky the Bear wrapped up the parade atop a US Forest Service truck we made our way over to the vendor booths to look around.
A fantastic duo playing alphorns had appeared on a float in the parade, and we found them again playing in the streets among the vendors. These beautiful horns make a deep and mellow sound, and the prettily dressed women stood in the middle of the throng playing all kinds of sweet melodies.
Two gals played these fantastic alphorns.
In addition to a wide variety of ethnic foods being sold from carts all around the park, there were lots of arts and crafts for sale too. We knew we had hit the eastern side of the country when we saw baskets and miniature canoes made of birch bark!
There were lots of arts and crafts including goodies made from birch bark.
As we admired the birch bark baskets, Mark and I chatted with each other about how we’d started seeing the white barked birch trees of the east rather than the white barked aspen trees of the west.
“Wait, did we cross the Mississippi?” Mark suddenly asked. I wasn’t sure, and we didn’t have a map handy. Ironically, within a few minutes we started talking to a local fellow, and when we asked him for suggestions of what to see and do in the area he said:
“You’ve gotta go see the headwaters of the Mississippi. It’s just 35 miles northwest of here at Itasca State Park. It’s just a tiny trickle of water, though!”
We ended up saving that adventure for another time, but it was very cool to have our question anwered like that.
Down at Walker City Park on the lake the Corvettes were gleaming in the sun.
The Corvette Car Show was lots of fun.
Sports car in front and yacht behind. Nice!
The begging worked!
One fellow brought his handcrafted woody car to show off as well. What a beauty! Built on a Chevy S-10 frame, he spent 18 years creating it. What a smile he had as he drove up!
For all that Corvette beauty, the star of the show was a hand crafted woody built on a Chevy S-10 frame.
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It took 18 years to make this beauty.
The spare tires on each side sported covers decorated with an eagle made of inlaid wood.
The Ethnic Festival and Corvette Car Show in Walker made for a really fun day, and Buddy basked in the attention that he got all day long.
One family stopped to pet him early in the day and then sought him out a little later to get a second round of pats. “We needed another Buddy fix,” the mom told to me as her kids settled down in the grass to rub their hands on Buddy’s soft fur.
Buddy made lots of new friends.
Aw heck, I love getting my Buddy fixes too!
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We were totally tickled that we had thrown a dart at the map of Minnesota and randomly chosen the Walker area as a stopover on our way to Lake Superior. What luck that we not only found a cool small town but that they had a festival going on while we were there.
Then again, it seems that almost any weekend you arrive in Walker, Minnesota, there is something exciting going on. The calendar of events for Walker reveals something special happening every single weekend all year long.
This is a place we’ll return to for sure. What a great introduction it gave us to the state of Minnesota!!
I noticed this painted rock sitting on a mailbox.
Right after I snapped this photo, a Minnesota Vikings fan came by and snatched it up!
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More info about this area:
- Heartland State Trail
- Paul Bunyan State Trail
- Leech Lake Festivals and Events
- Mississippi Headwaters at Itasca State Park – Check out the cool web cam!
- The Lake Country Scenic Drive
- RV camping options in and around Walker MN
- Our Route to Walker, Minnesota
Other fun small towns we’ve visited:
- Creede, CO – Mining History & Championships + 4th of July!
- Buena Vista Colorado – What a Place for an RV Breakdown!
- Pomeroy, Washington – An Impromptu Sunday Stroll!
- Finding Enchantment…in Encampment, Wyoming!
- Mackinac Island, Michigan – A Precious Walk Back in Time!
- Picturesque Medieval Charm an Hour from Paris – Moret sur Loing
- Buffalo Wyoming – Cowboys, Cowgirls and Sheriff Walt Longmire!
- Eastern Wyoming Small Towns – An RV Trip through Wyoming’s Quiet Side!
- Custer South Dakota Highlights on an RV Trip
- McCall, Idaho – Summer Beach Fun on Pretty Payette Lake
- An Idaho Panhandle RV Trip on US-95: Sandpoint, Moscow & McCall
- Sedona, Arizona – Great Beer, Coffee, Red Rocks & Psychics!
- Maysville, Kentucky – Come for the History, Stay for the People!
- Rockport, Massachusetts – Quaint Charm on Boston’s North Shore
- The Artsy Side of Sun Valley, ID
- Joseph, Oregon – At Heaven’s Door!
- On the road to Baker City, Oregon
- Costalegre: La Manzanilla – Exotic animals & RVing Copper Canyon!
- Pátzcuaro – A “Magical City” with a colorful outdoor market
- Huatulco Farewell – Fabulous Memories of a great stay
- Lake Michigan – Charming coastal towns
- North Lake Michigan – Alluring Coastal Towns
- Kanab & Alton, UT – Whoa!!!
- Parowan UT – Vermillion Castle and County Fair
- Chanute, KS – Tour of NuWa / Hitchhiker RV Factory
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If you get over to Grand Marais (which is really neat), Devils Track is a nice paid FS campground. There are a handful of free FS campgrounds in the area though they are listed as rustic (https://www.fs.usda.gov/detailfull/superior/recreation/camping-cabins/?cid=stelprdb5365691&width=full) our favorite here is kiwishiwi. Might be tight with your rig though, way out on the edge of the BWCA but very nice, can get a very faint cell signal on verizon with booster and good antenna.
Thanks for the tips, Tom. Looks great!
Such a charming, colorful place, Em. Not surprised to see that Puppy Chow stole the show! 😉
Bob
As always, Bob! It’s so much fun to watch the smiles that Puppy Chow brings to people everywhere he goes, but it was a huge surprise when that gal asked if he could be her mascot for a day!
Being from Minnesota, Walker is great representation of our state! Your dart landed on a good one, but there are SO many awesome places like that, each having their own uniqueness in each corner & across the state. Some smaller rural towns & the more populated cities with a vibrancy all their own- all definitely worth visits. The Mississippi runs through Minneapolis & St. Paul, the “Twin Cities” with great spots within them. Some of my favorites towns are Lanesboro, Spicer/Willmar, Stillwater, Moose Lake, Nisswa, Breezy Point, Duluth, Lutsen, Grand Marais & lots of places in between the southern, mid-state, “up north” & along the north shore of our Great Lake Superior! If you ever get a chance within the 12 days prior up to Labor Day, come to “The Great Minnesota Get-Together”, the Minnesota State Fair – it’s the 2nd largest in the country behind Texas & it is indescribably incredible. I go every year & there’s so much different things to see & do- I can never do even half of it in one day. Early October, or around then, when the trees change colors, is also too magnificent to describe, especially along the bluffs of the Mississippi or around our lakes. Hope you’ll come back for some more “Minnesota Nice” sometime!
Wow!! What a fabulous welcome, Christina! See what I mean, folks? Minnesota is special. We will definitely be returning and will check out the small towns you mentioned. The state fair sounds like a blast, and I know the leaf peeping must be gorgeous. Thank you so much for your insider’s suggestions for all the places to visit. That’s the best kind of advice and we’ll be taking you up on it!!
Ah ! small-town America…can’t beat it ! That hand-crafted wood station wagon is something else !
And please don’t take Buddy to Hollywood…he would have his own star in the sidewalk in no time !!!!
The wooden car was absolutely amazing. A true labor of love and so beautifully made. Buddy might have a shot in Hollywood, but our sweet little star will be staying with us. He likes traveling!
Great article and tips. Wally and I are in DC right visiting a childhood friend. We have our RV and will head out for places unknown so good hints in this article.
You’re brave to tackle DC with your RV, Liz, but you’ve got the right size one, that’s for sure!! I’d glad these tips were helpful. We’ll have lots more posts from the midwest coming up!
Great photos as usual Emily and Mark. What a great place to select for your article! You came late enough to probably miss the 6 trillion mosquitos that accompany the 10,000 lakes! Enjoy!
Those dastardly mosquitos were down to just 1 trillion which was a huge improvement. Thank goodness we discovered those essential oils for repelling bugs ’cause we were slathered in it every day for a few weeks!! But it was still beautiful!!
What a cool place (Walker). A slice of Americana. Real people. I loved the bandana story and Buddy pets. 🙂
It was a stellar day, Annie, and Buddy sure was cute with his bandana. He got so many pets and pats all day that his fur was matted by the end of the day. That’s a lotta lovin’ !!