Leaving Minnesota

Yesterday we stopped in Crookston, MN, where we saw the World's Largest Ox Cart. These ox carts carried furs and supplies between Pembina and St. Paul from 1842 until the railroad arrived in 1871. Those must have been some big oxen.


In Crookston, we stayed in Central Park where we noticed all the trees had been damaged. At first we thought there were a lot of really bad drivers who had visited the park.

Then we talked to the park attendant who explained the river had flooded last spring and huge trees and ice floes were responsible for the damage. Actually it wasn't the first time, there were older scars too.

Scary to find out you're camping in the area purposely created for flood control. I'm glad we weren't there in the spring!


We moved on to East Grand Forks, MN/Grand Forks, ND, and learned more about flood control. We found this marker that shows several high water marks. The marker itself was about 15-20 feet about the river dividing the two towns.


After the flood of 1997, they finally said enough is enough. Until then, the river had been lined with homes, but after the devastation was cleaned up, the Corps of Engineers came in and built dikes and walls. When the water level reaches a threatening height, the road is closed and removable walls are installed on each side of the bridge. The area between the walls and the river is now all park with a bike path that looked tempting, but we had to move on.


Bear? What bear? I don't see any bear.