Bemidji, First City on the Mississippi

Today we begin our exploration of the Mississippi River along The Great River Road. Actually we’ve been fascinated by the great river from Lake Itasca, the Mississippi Headwaters in northern Minnesota to Destrehan Plantation near New Orleans, we’ve visited quite a few sites involving the river, and have often come across signs indicating the Great River Road. This trip we’ll deliberately follow the route for a while.The Bemidji KOA Journey west of Bemidji, Minnesota is our home this Fourth of July weekend. It’s been absolutely luxurious to have full hookups these three nights, a chance to do some grocery shopping, and getting caught up on laundry. We also loved taking long walks around the campground, doing a grill night on the Weber Q, enjoying a campfire with neighbors Charles & Lori, and just relaxing in camp. Then this afternoon we headed in to town to do some exploring and learn a bit of the rich history of this First City on the Mississippi. We weren’t lucky enough to be able to visit the history museum or visitors center but we learned that this land was peopled by the Ashinaabe (Ojibwe, Chippewa) before the arrival of the European American settlers, that the legend of Paul Bunyan is big here, that the community not only benefited in the early 20th Century from a Carnegie Library but that they’ve preserved the building as a community center, and that the Mississippi River runs through town and through the lake and out the other side.