I've been in Northern Minnesota for a couple of weeks, away from electronic devices - enjoying the quiet sounds of water lapping at the shore of a nice clean lake surrounded by tall pines and birch trees. It was a wonderful break from work and the day to day. I did exactly what I wanted - nothing.Almost nothing.
I did attend my niece's wedding in Minneapolis and after we got to the lake we played cards, frisbee, horseshoes, ate, swam, boated, rode bikes, and my favorite - took hot saunas and jumped in a cold lake. I also had to go into town every so often to get an espresso and hit the Indian Casino at Cass lake a couple of times, where Rachel got super lucky playing Black Jack.
One of my favorite things about this place is the wood-fired sauna. It's fun to light the old cast iron wood stove and alternate between the hot sauna and the cool/cold lake. It's really refreshing and a great way to clean up - I didn't take a shower for the two weeks I was there.
Big Bass Lake is Northeast of Bemidji, a popular vacation area. The lake is spring fed and has a variety of warm water fish, as well as a nice natural sand beach, in front of the cottage, which makes swimming and playing in the water fun. It's a good place for kids and older folks to hang out.
The two pictures below are from a place along a road between Minneapolis and Bemidji. Besides the cool pink Caddy, there was a small self-serve roadside fruit and vegetable stand, which had fresh local tomatoes and peppers, as well as canned jams and jellies and some craft items for sale. It was one of those, leave your money in the jar, operations that you sometimes see.
