Day 10 – Thursday, May 22, 2014

Ile des Chenes, Manitoba to Grand Rapids, Minnesota – 279 miles

Finally, a sunny day – the first since back in North Dakota.  It started off clear as usual, and it was cloudy for a while, but it cleared up again and now, at 7:00pm, it’s clear and sunny, and warm to boot – 68 degrees.

We were away from last night’s camping spot just south of Winnepeg by about 8:15.  It was a little over a hundred miles to the border crossing at Longworth, Minnesota, which is right on the western edge of the Lake of the Woods.  If you’re familiar with the shape of the State of Minnesota, this is right where that little part bumps up into Canada.  Like our earlier crossing into Canada, this is a little-used port of entry, and once again we were the only vehicle passing through at the time.  Unlike the jovial Canadian customs agent a few days ago, this time we were dealing with the down-to-business, play-by-the-books Americans.  We actually had to open all the storage boxes on the back of the motorhome, and the “agricultural agent” came inside and went through our refrigerator and confiscated our contraband lime and some limp green onions.  He was going to take our two apples because they had a little sticker on them that said “Product of New Zealand” (of all places), but he relented and let us eat them on the spot.

The terrain south of the border, for the first fifty miles or so, is very similar to the Canadian side — very flat, and thickly wooded with what I guess are birch trees for the most part, with some scraggly, second- or third-growth pines.  The ground is very marshy and actually covered with water for large expanses.  There is actually a state park along the way called “Big Bog State Natural Area.”  The farther south you go, the more variation you see in the landscape, until there are some quite scenic, pine-covered hills for several miles.  This is an area of lakes, resorts, and getaway cabins, and the destination for many Minnesotans for their weekends and vacations.  Being the lead-in for the long Memorial Day weekend, the northbound traffic was quite heavy, and it seemed like every third northbound vehicle was towing a boat or an RV of some type.  We were beginning to worry about finding a place to stay, not only for tonight but for the rest of the weekend as we make our way south, then eastward across Wisconsin.  We’ve learned to trust the Holy Spirit when we have doubts like this, and he led us to beautiful Corps of Engineers campground on the banks of the Mississippi River, just outside the town of Grand Rapids.  We’re parked here under a canopy of oak, pine, and birch trees, just thirty feet from the river itself.  This is the mighty Mississippi before it gets mighty — from where we are, you can almost (emphasis on the almost) throw a stone across the river.  There’s a small dam just about a quarter mile upstream from us, and the river is perhaps 150 yards wide at that point.  Downstream from our campsite, the river is already widening into another small lake, with a dam just around the bend. 

While we think of journeys like this one we’re on as adventures, there are a couple of what I’d consider true adventurers camped right across from us – two young guys in their 20’s who are canoeing the length of the Mississippi.  Oh, to be young again…

Mississippi River at Grand Rapids, Minnesota

Sean and Anders, Canoeing the Mississippi to the Gulf of Mexico