Travels with Daisy
in search of the past in the present
On family road trips up north when I was a kid, we always brought along our dog Rocky, a miniature dachshund.
On this trip, I brought Daisy, my 14-year-old black lab mix.
Our first stop? Lake of the Woods. She lapped it up.
This past week, parts of northern Minnesota experienced flooding and the eastern US had a scorching heat wave, but the weather here has been ideal. Sunny, breezy, and the temperature creeps up toward 80 degrees in the heat of the afternoon and at night it’s in the upper 50s.
Daisy chills on the back deck of the vacation rental; halfway between Warroad and Roseau. It’s a great spot for her to hang out while I go through research notes, read, and write. Mosquito repellent required. Tick checks mandatory.
Daisy accompanied me to Roseau. I hadn’t been to either the library or museum there in five years and discovered the beautiful new Roseau City Center which now houses the Roseau County Historical Society & Museum and the public library, plus city government offices.
Daisy discovered the Roseau River, right near the museum. A tributary to the Red River of the North, its distinctive color is a result of clay soil, muddy banks, and sandy silt. The river flows north and west into Manitoba where it empties into Lake Winnipeg.
She got a bite of my burger from Earl’s Drive-In on the way out of Roseau en route to Warroad, 22 miles east. There the Warroad River empties into Lake of the Woods.
Daisy patiently waited while I went digging for more documents at the Warroad Heritage Center. Her idea of a research road trip, though, is out of town and off leash.
She prefers country adventures along the sandy gravel roads. My dog keeps me grounded in the experience of being here now. She walks me. It helps me get out of my head and into my skin.
Across from this stand of birch trees — in the ditch at the edge of running water — several patches of showy lady slippers pop their pink lips at me.
A rare orchid, it became the Minnesota state flower in 1902. Plants live up to 50 years and can take 16 years before they bloom. Lady slippers require plenty of sunshine and wet conditions near damp woods in bogs, swamps and undisturbed ditches. Since 1925, it has been illegal to pick, uproot or unearth Cypripedium reginae in the state of Minnesota.
Here, I feel time stretch.
In memory of Audrey Kling Bolton (December 30, 1931 - June 20, 2024)
“She walks me.” I love that line.
Thank you for the beautiful photos and Daisy is one gorgeous girl.