Emmaville, Lake George and Park Rapids

We had plans to attend the Jasper's Theater in Park Rapids, MN, in the afternoon.  But to fill the time before, we we headed to Lake George, MN, to visit the Blueberry festival there.  On the way, we got sidetracked by a visit to Emmaville, MN.

The owner of this little restaurant had a sense of humor, making the best of his location "off the beaten track".

 An interesting name.

So we had to stop and see what was going on.

This little cafe provided some wonderful food at a very affordable price.

This building was used as a township hall and a church on Sundays.  Now one can attend the exclusive "University of Emmaville ".

On to Lake George where we did not see any actual blueberries.

Sue purchased some blueberry jam.

We did enjoy a toy tractor pull, here supervised by Mom.

The weight moved forward on the trailer placing more weight onto a sliding metal pad as the machine moved forward.  This is the same mechanism used in actual tractor pulls.

Then we moved on to the Jasper's Jubilee Theater near Park Rapids.

This theater is about 11 years old and is the work of a single large family who own it and provide most of the performers on stage.

Seats, roof beams and the stage curtain were salvaged from other sites around Minnesota.

This is Jack Sand, a former weather person on Channel 6 in Fargo, who serves as host and magician and illusionist on stage.  Here he is using a "live" dummy for his ventriloquism act.

There are four generations of performers in the family.

A little local humor with a Norwegian accent.

We would recommend a trip to Park Rapids to see this theater and the Woodtick in Akeley.  Both are very good but a bit different.

Akeley, MN

Akeley was the site of a small resort owned by friends from Inver Grove Heights.  About 12 years ago we spent several weekends there and used the Heartland bike trail that runs from Park Rapids to Walker, MN and through Akeley.

The trail starts here in Park Rapids following a Rail-to-Trail route.  The detail on the lower right shows the bridge construction which dates to about 1900.  As railroad companies cease operating and maintaining rail lines, many have been converted to bike trails.

This is the bike trail in Akeley.

Paul Bunyan's ox Babe is painted on this building.

Here is Paul Bunyan himself.  Can you find Sue?

We had reservations for this theater in Akeley.

Akeley had many hotels, bars and other buildings in from 1890 to 1920 but then the lumbering that created the wealth and jobs moved on after a fine stand of white pine was depleted.  This building was purchased 23 years ago for $1 and $3,000 in back taxes.  This is their 22nd year of performance.

It makes an intimate theatre for patrons.

This a warm-up act.  All performers, while professionals, live in the area surrounding Akeley.

The show lasted from the 7:15 PM warm up until 10:30 PM with a 15 minute intermission.  They played a mix of bluegrass, country and other styles with a special 1950's rock number.  This was played by the young man second from the right who will be a freshman at Bemidji State University.  The man on the left has had a profession career playing with famous bands all over the USA.

We enjoyed it so much that we regret not having seen it before but we intend to visit it again sometime.

Park Rapids, MN

We spent a day traveling from the Brainerd area to Park Rapids, MN.  We happened on a "Crazy Days" celebration.

They dedicated a street to a stage and play area [in the background].

A unique way of handling parking with two lanes of cars parked in the center of the street.  Also, no stoplights down the several blocks of Main Street.

We enjoyed our lunch at the MinneSoda restaurant.

They have a good memorial to veterans of various conflicts.

Madden's Resort, Brainerd, MN

Today we met with our Indiana family at Madden's Resort.  

This is a very large resort on a peninsula into Gull Lake.  Over time, many smaller resorts were consolidated into this now large complex.

It seems the main attraction here is golf.  Many courses are available from a 3 par course to a championship course listed among the top 100 in the nation.

My son Ed and I played a 9 hole course in Mendota Heights when he was in junior high school.  Most Saturdays in the summer he would be up early while I was still in bed.  But we would go our and sometimes the dew was on the greens and a "rooster tail" of water would form behind the ball.  So this was a good reprise of that time.

Here Sir Flails-a-lot is making his shot.

Afterwards we played games available on the site with very helpful attendants to help us get started.

Here we played a very British game of croquet.  The course was unbelievably flat and well tended.

Sue, Kathy, Ed, Katelyn and Al make up this handsome family portrait.

Wadena, MN

We are traveling around Minnesota to note some interesting places.  Our first stop was Wadena, about 55 miles east of Fergus Falls.

Wadena is on the BNSF railroad line from Minneapolis that ends up in Seattle and other points in the northwestern part of the United States.  Trains pass through here at a high rate of speed and once passenger traffic was handled at this depot.  It is now a museum and is open Thursdays, Fridays and Saturdays for tours.

There are other forms of transportation as well as this patient horse waited for its Amish owner to finish business in town.  We saw several buggies while we were there.

As we walked around the downtown area, we came across this church from behind.  Sue estimated that it was an Episcopal Church and so it turned out to be.  The cornerstone on St. Helen's building indicated that it was built in 1898.

A typical mid western town built in the period from 1890 to 1915, Wadena has interesting old buildings on the main street.

Wadena has murals denoting Minnesota history.  These murals are placed on building walls facing alleys paralleling the main street.  Here we have a mighty hunter.

This mural honors the First Minnesota Volunteer Regiment that held high ground at Gettysburg during a Confederate charge.

Our sister-in-law Jean is half-Italian and half-Norwegian.  So this is to honor her ancestors who are said to have come to North America well ahead of the time that Columbus is credited for in 1492.  However, since Columbus was actually an Italian, she has honor on both sides.

The discovery of the Kensington Runestone has led believers to speculate that these travelers came through Hudson Bay thru present day Winnepeg, Canada and down the Red River of the north to an area around Alexandria, MN.

A translation of the words found on the Kensington Runestone.

More coming up!

CSA Week 4

Week 4 of our adventure with Bluebird CSA here in Fergus Falls.  

This week we received onions, lettuce, zuccini, tomatoes and broccolli.  For the first time green beans were included in the box.  

My evaluation of the contents shows a total cost to purchase as $11.21.  This is very close to the average so far.  We have paid off 20% of our investment with August, September and October to come.

CSA Week 3

We paid $225 for the summer's supply of organic produce from the Bluebird Farm.  Weights of each vegetable are recorded and the total equivalent price is calculated.  The following website gives estimates of the price of each per pound.      http://foodcoop.com/go.php?id=32

We receive a small box, rather than family size or large box, once every two weeks.  This is about right for us as we look forward to the next box rather than stressing about how to use up what we haven't used.  This week the total weight of our produce was 2.8 Kg or 6.24 lbs.  Using the above reference, we calculate that we would have paid a total of $11.62 or about 5.2% of our total cost.   With a summer length of about 10 boxes, we are on schedule to break even with our outlay.

Will report again in two weeks.

Fourth of July Parade at Veterans Home

The parade is an annual event at the Veterans Home in Fergus Falls.  

The grounds of the Veterans Home with the flags placed by the VFW.  Some day perhaps it will be my home.

This one of three trailers holding flags dedicated to veterans that are placed around town on patriotic holidays such as Memorial Day and the Fourth of July.

Each flag has a dedication sticker honoring a veteran and has its assigned position on streets and sidewalks used for the display of flags.  This one honors Walter Bruns who served in the US Navy as a Hospital Corpsman.

Part of the parade route lined with flags and spectators. 

The Honor Guard.

Residents of the home representing all branches of service.

The Patriot Guard that honors veterans at concerts, funerals and other occasions.

The mayor of Fergus Falls.

We must have an antique tractor.

Horse drawn wagon.

Big boys with their toys.

Music provided by the Carlisle Band, in existence since 1894.  If you know them, look for some of my favorite people who are members of the band.