Blogs from Grand Marais, Minnesota, United States, North America

Grand Portage National Monument, Grand Portage, Minnesota It is hard to imagine that the European demand for hats made of beaver skin would be responsible for opening up an entire continent. But that is pretty much what happened up here. I was aware of the general history that French trappers had a great deal to do with exploring the interior, but I wasn’t aware of some of the more interesting details. Trapping for furs has been around for quite some time - clothing was originally made from animal skins before we figured out how to make them from plants or petroleum. I’m not quite sure why the French ended up monopolizing the industry, except that they happened to first colonize North America in the area that was once scraped clean of good soils by glaciers. So ... read more