Blue Goose ~ Day 50

July 20, 2014 ~ Baxter, MN to Superior, WI

Baxter is in Crow Wing County.

I spent the first hour last night swatting mosquitoes in the van. Finally, I completely closed all the windows, put a Skeeter Beater on one and then opened it part way which seemed to fix the problem. I didn't think there would be many in a Walmart parking lot.

I've been doing some research on Walmart but haven't come to firm conclusions / opinions yet. They do not pay their employees well and there is the issue of medical care which now may be moot, given the Affordable Health Care act. How do they compare to stores like Best Buy, Target, Costco, Starbucks, the big chain grocery stores and restaurants, Staples, Office Max, etc. ?

That small local stores and shops and restaurants offering consumer services have been affected is true but by nearly every type of business, not only Walmart.

While traveling, I buy things I need in Walmart because I feel it is a courtesy to do so after sleeping for free on their premises. I have been surprised both at how inexpensive things are and how often their merchandise is not all that different from a Meijer's in Michigan.

Walmart employs a lot of people, and those with limited means buy necessities or just buy into the American dream of non-discretionary stuff at a Walmart and pay less than at most other stores.

There actually are discussions on the Internet about whether Walmart is "good or bad" for America. I personally usually don't choose to shop at Walmart but is that partly elitist?

OK, so that's one of the things I've been thinking about.

I Urban Spooned "coffee" for Baxter and came up with Caribou Coffee, but when I drove there, I saw a Starbucks. I wondered about this and later figured out Caribou was just down the street, alive and well and not usurped by Starbucks. Caribou, BTW, is based in Minneapolis and is the second largest coffee chain.

Starbucks was busy on this Sunday morning with an ethnic homogeneous clientele, many probably coming or going to church.

Rice Lake NWR is 50 miles east, a wonderful and pristine refuge, beginning at the main offices right off the highway, with a Purple Martin house and small gardens of blooming summer flowers. Being a Sunday, it was closed of course, but there was also a sign on the door apologizing that the offices might be closed at other times due to "staff shortages." I picked up a map and first went to  a fishing access on the Rice River where I saw someone hauling in a large fish. As I drove closer, I saw the someone was a middle-aged woman who said she usually catches Northern pike but this was a bass. I hung around here for awhile as the wind was strong, eliminating the insect factor.  Another middle-aged woman drove in with a camera and wandered around, taking photos; a father with three young boys came and started fishing, and then two more fishermen.

Rice Lake NWR - MN

The garbage can had been removed because of "hungry bears, so please take your garbage with you."

Everything about this refuge was done well with marked routes, interpretative signs and several picnic places. At one of these, which was on the shore between two tiny lakes (Twin Lakes), there was a group of Native Americans, their cars blocking the loop through the picnic area. I suppose they checked me out as I slowly turned around and continued through woods and fields to a point which bordered Rice Lake.

Rice Lake on the Rice Lake NWR - MN

The leaves were making a swishy / shushing sound in the wind. Wildflowers were in bloom, including the striking Michigan Lily.


EN.WIKIPEDIA.ORG

The Refuge's history centers around the 4,500-acre (18 km²) Rice Lake which, for thousands of years, has supplied an abundant wild rice crop. Each fall, the bountiful rice attracts hundreds of thousands of waterfowl, as well as American Indians who harvest it using traditional methods. Rice Lake is known for its tremendous number of ring-necked ducks. Because of the high concentrations of migratory birds, Rice Lake Refuge has been designated as a Globally Important Bird Area by the American Birding Association.

Today, there were few birds, although I flushed a Northern Harrier and would occasionally see smaller birds, but the deer flies and other insects were incredibly abundant. Billions, so no hiking here; instead a pleasant drive through the property, always closing the windows at any stop or even while driving slowly. It must be stunning in the fall and winter. The trails in these northern refuges are 10-12 feet wide mowed paths, easy to follow and almost certainly used for X-C skiing and snowshoeing.

Leaving Rice Lake, I continued east in the late afternoon on a nice road, past lakes, through forests and fields and small towns. I saw three Sandhill Cranes.

Sandhill Cranes - northern MN

The latitude is that of the Upper Peninsula of Michigan, definitely at a remove from busy cities. There is a huge tourist industry based on fishing and North Woods cabins. I entered the "Lake Superior Basin," and in Duluth went over the "Richard I. Bong" bridge which name made me laugh. The temperature dropped here from 83 to 66 in minutes. Such is the effect of the lake.

I stopped for dinner at Grizzly's on the south side of Superior, WI, and had salmon, glazed with a bourbon sauce, and (amazingly) a delicious hash brown / cheesy side dish. And a good salad. Tomorrow I will not eat dinner in a restaurant!