Day 11 - July 7th


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July 15th 2013
Published: July 15th 2013
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Uncle Palmer and JillUncle Palmer and JillUncle Palmer and Jill

An interesting man with great stories to tell.
Day 11 - July 7, 2013



After a solid night’s sleep, Palmer greeted us with a fresh breakfast and a sunny day. We packed up and said our goodbyes only to see two ladies walking in the middle of the street. It was Aunt Gladys and her lifelong best friend Laura Mae. They were walking to church. We had to stop for a few hugs and pictures before we left the sleepy, remote hamlet of Enderlin.

We headed east and crossed into Minnesota. The road we had intended to take was gravel, so a new plan was formed. We meandered through the countryside on small, but paved, highways. We stayed mostly on Rt. 108 along the lakes. We stopped in Pelican Rapids to visit one of my childhood memories. After all, this is the home of the worlds largest Pelican! Then we were off again toward the big town of Dent. My paternal grandparents built their retirement home out on Highway 108 across from Star Lake just before Dent. It took us some time to find it. Turns out my memory isn’t that good, and the house had some changes. It was no
Laura Mae, Jill, and Aunt GladysLaura Mae, Jill, and Aunt GladysLaura Mae, Jill, and Aunt Gladys

A great bunch of ladies
longer orange. The new owners have painted it blue, added a huge deck to the front, and planted trees to have more privacy from the road. My Grandpa liked looking out to the lake and never planted any trees in the yard. We saw the cross on the little church that was placed in memory of my Great Grandma, but we were unsuccessful in our quest to visit the graveyard.

On to the big town of Perham where we got a quick view of the high school that my father graduated from 58 years ago. We looked for the church and grave site of my grand parents, but there are over 24 Lutheran churches listed in this small town, and I couldn’t remember the name of the church where they were buried. We did take time to find a geocache before heading north.

We swooped past Detroit Lakes (now a sort of vacation resort), the town in which my grand mother taught school for over 30 years. From here it was on to Itasca State Park. This beautiful state park is home to the headwaters of the Mississippi river. Being the good tourists that we are, we shed our shoes and
Enderlin, NDEnderlin, NDEnderlin, ND

The business district
joined in with youth groups and families to walk across the Mighty Mississippi. Alright, so it was only 15 feet wide, we walked across the Mississippi darn it!

Our only plan now was to spend tonight in the Duluth area. So we hit the “Cities” button on our onboard GPS, entered Duluth, and were instantly teleported to the city on the western most corner of Lake Superior. OK, maybe not all of that is entirely true. Nevertheless, we found ourselves in Duluth, MN along with intense fog rolling in off of Lake Superior. The young man that pumped our gas (J) – and did a remarkable job getting the splattered bugs off the windshield too - said it was pretty common around there.

Up the road from the gas station a huge, hulking, massive, gigantic shadow appeared through the fog. As we got closer it became apparent the dark shape in the fog was that of a steam locomotive. On display in a small park we found a Baldwin 2-8-8-4 “Yellowstone”. This is a titanic engine standing 16 feet high and over 128 feet long., one of the largest steam locomotives ever built. Being over 1,000 feet above nearby Lake Superior
Worlds Largest PelicanWorlds Largest PelicanWorlds Largest Pelican

Standing along the Pelican River in Pelican Rapids, MN
makes one wonder how (and why) this location was chosen to display the Yellowstone.

Our hotel was still rather high up on Spirit Mountain so it was impossible to see much of our surroundings through the fog. After checking in, we went down into town and drove under the fog. We found a nice Mexican restaurant and ate overlooking the Lake Superior, what we could see of it. We had a pitcher of margaritas and . . . um . . . yeah, well, a pitcher of margaritas and some kind of spicy, cheesy food. After watching the fog over the lake we had a better understanding of how boats could get lost or sink!

Thanks for reading,

Jill and Don


Additional photos below
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Big BirdBig Bird
Big Bird

You just never know what you'll find along the road in these parts. Claimed to be the worlds largest turkey, not sure about that but it was big!
"I Did it!""I Did it!"
"I Did it!"

Jill finishes her walk across the Mississippi River.
Paul Bunyan and BabePaul Bunyan and Babe
Paul Bunyan and Babe

No Jill, you can't take him home! Statue of Paul at his birthplace, Bemidji, MN.
2-8-8-4 "Yellowstone"2-8-8-4 "Yellowstone"
2-8-8-4 "Yellowstone"

Can't miss this behemoth, even in the fog.
The "Yellowstone"The "Yellowstone"
The "Yellowstone"

Looking from the tender end
Plumbing on the "Yellowstone"Plumbing on the "Yellowstone"
Plumbing on the "Yellowstone"

What a complicated mess!


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