We traveled across the top of Wisconsin on our way to Minnesota. Our first break was at Sunday Lake, which seemed like nice town. A race was being held that day, a Saturday, so people were running along the lake—sometimes in groups, but mostly singly. 

We liked the wooden sculptures and the community spaces along their lake. We walked around for a little bit to work out our kinks and continued along Rt. 2.

Our next stop was a park along the shoreline of Lake Superior. We like the square lighthouse off in the distance.

  
We crossed the St. Louis River as we entered Minnesota near Duluth. We continued on Rt. 2. We were headed toward the headwaters of the Mississippi River and Itasca State Park. Over the next few of days, we followed much of The Great River Road down the state and beyond.

 
This was out first of many crossings across the river. We'd find some places where it was smaller.

It was about 5 feet across at this crossing. We camped at the state park for the night and set out early the next morning.

A beaver dam blocks the river in this area. 

There are some shelters here for canoers and kayakers. The area restricts motorized vehicles, but not snowmobiles. 

We stopped at the entrance to this area to take a photo of the sign. Dean mooed at the cows and an alpaca pranced out from the other side of the pasture to the fence to see who was calling. This was unexpected for sure.

I'm too sexy for these cows.

As we follow the Great River Road, the river is getting wider.

Our next stop is Bemidji. This is the first city on the river, which is at this point, dammed by more than beavers to form Lake Bemidji. The Paul Bunyan statue with his blue ox, Babe, are famous here.

The visitor center flies buffalo plaid flags when it's open. It has a fabulous fireplace the was built in the 1930s with stones from all 48 states and the provinces of Canada--the Fireplace of States.

 
There are fun sculptures around the visitors center.

The third spire in this group is covered with vines.

Lake Bemidji.

This metallic fish was inside the visitors center. It reminded us of the one we saw in Kodiak, Alaska that was made from trash. 

There were sculptures all over town, so we took a little walking tour. All this street art is for sale, and with some pretty hefty price tags. The volunteer at the visitors center said that they move at a pretty fast pace, so they did not have a map of the city's art.

Some used recycled objects. The faucet placement on the penguin made us laugh. I'm just a short person next to this sculpture.

Not much traffic on this beautiful morning...

Sparky the dog and the blueberry bush,

The blueberry bush is made of silverware and includes a wire nest. Note the self-portrait. 

The alien and the ceramic flower man.

 
And we end the art show with this magnificent dragonfly. I'd be tempted on this one. Blind justice sits atop the county courthouse, glowing in the morning sun.