Living on One of Minnesota's 10,000 Lakes

We've just spent a couple days at Itasca State Park, where we saw where the Mississippi River begins. So as we continued north down the highway towards a new campground, we chuckled as we crossed this tiny country road bridge over the river.

This little creek doesn't look much like the Mighty Mississippi River we've seen further south.

About an hour down the road, we pulled into a wonderful campsite on Fox Lake, just outside the town of Bemidji, Minnesota. We're enjoying the half-price Passport America rate, and we still got a front row pull-in site with a lake view. We are already loving Hamilton's Fox Lake Campground!

Besides a full-hook-up site with a lake view, the campground offers usage of their kayaks and canoes. Instead of inflating our kayak, we appreciated getting to take off from the shore using the campground's equipment. After years of kayaking in our Sea Eagle kayak, we had forgotten how tippy a canoe can feel as we started across the middle of the lake with the wind in our face.

As we looked back to the shore, we could see our motor home looking back at us, enjoying its front row site.

We have found another chain of lakes. As we left Fox Lake, we rowed into a watery canal with water lilies on both sides.

After a half-mile in the canal, we entered Beltrami Lake. Then we headed down yet another narrow passage towards another lake. This time we had tall reeds on both sides.

We were surrounded by greenery to our left and right, and even underneath us. Through the perfectly clear water, we could see that we were paddling against a light current that was stretching the lake grass under the water in our direction.

We had hoped for some wildlife sightings, but aside from a few deer flies we saw none. We did see evidence that the beaver population is thriving, as we passed a couple beaver lodges along our route.

We made our way back home through the canals that connect these chain-of-lakes. The water here was perfectly clear and perfectly still, reflecting the puffy white clouds above us.

As we put away our paddles, we did get our wildlife sighting of the day--a baby bunny hunkered down in the flower garden close to the office.

We now have first-hand knowledge that Minnesota is the land of 10,000 lakes. They are everywhere! Just a short drive down the road took us to Bemidji Lake State Park. Complete with sandy beaches and beach chairs, it was a great place to sit and watch the waves as the sun got low in the sky.

The real reason we have made the trip to another lake, is to enjoy the summer concert series hosted by the state park. This evening we were entertained by a talented trio of women that call themselves "Bluebird." They played and sang blue-grass music for an hour in the open amphitheater, and we were delighted that a light breeze kept the mosquitoes at bay.

What a great way to start our introduction to a new part of Minnesota. We can't wait to see what else we will find in our new neighborhood on the lake!