The Great River Road 2026
  
 

Day 03

May 27

  
     
     
   
  This Super 8 has a decent breakfast option for a change. Usually it's just Raisin Bran, some fruit and a bunch of pastries. This one has scrambled eggs, gravy and biscuits which is right down my alley. I grew up in the country on sweet milk gravy and biscuits and have never got over it.  
   
  SweetTreat got to take her nap last night beneath a couple of beautiful flowering trees. We are loaded up and ready to roll.  
   
  On my way out, I pass by the arch welcoming you to downtown Bemidji. I do have to wonder just how a feller would say that.  
   
 

I also pass by a Carnegie Library sitting right on the river bank. Therein lies an interesting story -

Carnegie libraries are public or academic buildings funded by steel magnate Andrew Carnegie. Between 1883 and 1929, he donated over $56 million to build more than 2,500 libraries worldwide, with 1,687 built in the United States. Andrew Carnegie was a Scottish immigrant who worked in factories as a child. His life changed when a wealthy man opened his private library to young workers. Carnegie credited books for his success and called them "treasures of knowledge". Carnegie did not just hand out blank checks. He gave communities the funds to build the library structure, but he required the towns to follow specific rules:

Free Access: The library had to be free to all residents.

Local Support: The local government had to provide the land.

Tax Support: The city had to pledge tax money (usually 10% of the grant amount each year) to buy books and operate the building.

  
   
  Soon I see one of the familiar route signs so I know I am back where I need to be.  
   
  It is interesting how up here the river flows in and out of many lakes on its way to the Gulf.  
   
  It is starting to get some width as I follow the road southward.  
   
  I have to say that Minnesota has done a pretty good job of signage for the Great River Road. As I travel further south I will find that other states lack a lot in that respect.  
   
  Here the river flows into a very large and scenic lake.  
   
 

Then it goes back into a normal 'river' form ...

  
   
  with not much width at all.  
   
  I expected to spend a lot more time riding alongside the river but I am finding out that that will not be the case.  
   
  It's almost like playing a game of hide and seek where the river is there for a bit then it wanders off on its own.  
   
  I see this sign and I wonder if I should follow it since it is unlike the other river signs.  
   
  I do, and suddenly I am on a gravel road which I do not care for. There are some nice farms back in here but the road is pretty rough and goes on for about eight miles before I hit pavement again.  
   
  I finally get back to pavement and cross the river again ...  
   
  and it still has not gotten much wider than before.  
   
  I pass through many small towns like Aitkin which  
   
  remind me of the small town I grew up in. This one looks like it has weathered the years much better than most.  
   
  Then I'm at another crossing ...  
   
  and I can't help but think that back home this would be considered more of a creek than a river.  
   
  Sometimes the road hooks up with a major thoroughfare but at least the signage lets me know I'm still in the hunt.  
   
  I come upon the entrance way to Camp Ripley, located near Little Falls, Minnesota.  
   
 

It's an interesting gate to a place with interesting history -

The site for Camp Ripley was first approved following World War I in 1929. The State of Minnesota purchased 12,000 acres of land to be used for military training. The site was officially named Camp Ripley in December 1930. It was named after Fort Ripley, a frontier fort that had been closed by the Federal Government in 1877. The fort was named for Brigadier General Eleazar Wheelock Ripley, a hero of the War of 1812. The site's winter warfare training course is the primary facility used by the National Guard for winter combat exercises. Camp Ripley also hosts the training academy for the Minnesota State Patrol and is a popular site for athletes training to compete in winter biathlons. Most Minnesota Guard soldiers train at Camp Ripley during two-week annual training periods.

 

  
   
  Then I am back alongside the river again as I make my way to St. Cloud. I encounter very little traffic until to get to the city proper.  
   
  It's been a really hot ay as the temps climbed upward after the noon hour. So I am glad to see this sign which brings the hope of some mighty fine air conditioning.  
   
  One of the reasons I chose this motel is the fact that there us a Perkins across the parking lot. They tend be pretty good as a general rule for both supper and breakfast.  
   
  I really like their country fried steak so that's what I order up with some mashed taters and corn - and lots of gravy.  
   
  Tomorrow gives me some concern because I will be negotiating through St. Paul and Minneapolis and I don't know how good the signage will be for the Great River Road. But I don't worry my pretty little head about it too long as the skin over my stomach s stretches from all of that gravy and pulls my eyelids pretty shut in short order.