My plan was to stay in Bemidji, Minnesota for 6 nights and look for loons. Day 34 of my trip started with a Weather Channel report stating beautiful weather in Bemidji, so I was on my way!
My drive from Madison, Wisconsin to Bemidji, Minnesota was 7.5 hours and then while taking some breaks for snack, stretch and lunch it was about 9 hours. Interesting change in the scenery with Minnesota being more open whereas Wisconsin seemed to be more forested. Both states have agricultural land with corn and soybean, dairy farms and beef lots. Minnesota had ponds, rivers and lakes every turn I took. How do truck drivers survive the long hours? My body feels like it needs to unfold after a couple of hours. I can understand the need for their truck plazas for food, gasoline, showers, and whatever else they offer to cater to truckers. Their job is not easy … staying awake, in shape, hydrated and fed, and having a place to pull off the road to sleep.
About 2.5 hours away from reaching my camping destination I was surprised to see a gray sky, especially after listening the the weather report. One moment there were a couple of raindrops, so I thought maybe it is a local rain. An hour away from my destination, I pulled off the 2 lane road that had no shoulder so I could take a pee stop.
Finally saw a safe place to pull off the road and I immediately realized it was smoke creating the gray in the sky. I arrived in Bemidji and had to cancel my 4 nights of camping. There was no way I could breathe the smoke for 24 hours and for a few days … so I moved my 2 hotel nights to my arrival and the next night. I was lucky to get the last room at the hotel! Apparently the smoke is from Canadian wildfires … our earth is really burning up! Forest management seems to be the topic for today, along with water management as even Minneapolis, Minnesota has put water restrictions in place.
Day 35: A full day in Bemidji! I spent hours at Diamond Point Park and saw 16 different species of birds. I also walked one mile along Lake Bemidji near the state park, but no loon seen even though I waited to look for them between 4 – 6pm. Photos of some birds are below.
It was less smoky today, but still not good for tenters. Staying at the hotel allowed me to breathe air-conditioned air and be away from the smoke. I contemplated extending my time, but additional hotel costs are not in my budget, so another plan needs to be considered. I will definitely return to Bemidji some day. This was another area for some bicycling and I definitely need to find a loon! People in both Wisconsin and Minnesota have been friendly and helpful. I look forward to returning to both states.
