#19 Cloquet, MN to Bismarck, ND

# 19 Cloquet, MN to Bismarck, ND

The quickest way across Minnesota from Cloquet appeared to be Highway 210. So we headed west following signs to Brainerd. The road was a bit rural, but scenic.

As we wound through the countryside, this intersection reminded us of Canada.

Soon we were back in the country landscape again.

We passed through the stereotypical American small towns. Being rural they had a good size John Deere dealer.   Do you notice that the number and size of vehicles looks considerably smaller than what we saw in Canada?

The water is prevalent since we are still in Minnesota….the land of 10,000 lakes.  I only caught this raptor as we sped by. I can’t remember if it was an eagle or osprey or something else.

Deerwood sits at the midway point of our travels on Highway 201. Hello small town America!  It looked quaint even on a rainy day.

The city of Brainard, MN claims a population of 13,592. I am not sure what this tower structure was, except it was an interesting structure.  Of course more people equates to traffic. And…what is a big city without a mall?

We crossed the Mississippi at this point. In 2006 we followed the Mississippi from its starting point here at Lake Itasca in Minnesota clear down to New Orleans.

Just past the city we found hay being baled. This appeared to be a very successful farm.

Nice looking farm house.

You know you are in farm country when these vehicles share the road with you.

More fields and pasture land. We have certainly seen a lot of it this trip.

Loved this shot with the trees.

More fields and water areas as we pass through the state along I-94 heading  north for Moorhead, MN

We spotted several of these snowmobile signs next to I-94.  They certainly tell a story of winter here! 

The splat on the water tower is on our windshield, not on the tower. Moorhead, MN and Fargo, ND are almost one city they sit so close together. I really liked this freeway wall with its unique design.

Hello North Dakota!

Back on the plains!  Except we are driving in the United States! The land flattens out and you can see for miles. Grasses blow in the breeze. The only heights you see are the cell towers and silos.

I am not sure why, but all of the cattle were lined up with their rears on the fence line. I wonder why?

Several farms had huge rock piles in the centers of their fields. We don’t know if they were cleared off the land or had some other purpose.

We left Cloquet at 9:30 this morning and arrived in Bismarck at 5:30. Nine hours on the road is a very long day for me, but we were hoping to pick up some time so we could arrive in Bremerton a day or so earlier.  We stayed at the Bismarck KOA.