Tuesday, October 09, 2007
My hometown is Park Rapids, MN. I'm proud of where I grew up. Park Rapids is a small town, about 3000 residents, in north-central MN. There are no malls in Park Rapids, and when I was growing up, very few franchises. McDonalds came into town after I graduated from high school, as did Burger King. We had a Hardee's in town when I was a youngster, but no Best Buy, Red Lobster, Walmart, Sears, Pizza Hut, etc.
The town is a hub for the farms and resorts that surround it. The primary industry is tourism, and then farming. Park Rapids sits smack dab in the middle of lake country. There are gently rolling hills, tall pine trees, and hundreds of lakes and rivers, and because of the pristine scenery, lots of outdoor activities, ones for each season and to suit many different lifestyles.
I miss my hometown.
As I said, Park Rapids' main industry is tourism, so the summers are busy, the town packed with people who drive the 4 hours from Minneapolis/St. Paul to enjoy the scenery and outdoors. When I was growing up, we had one stoplight in town, at the junction of highways 71 and 34, and during the summer season, traffic was backed up for blocks at this one light. In the winter, after the tourists had left, the town felt like a ghost town.
All for now.
The town is a hub for the farms and resorts that surround it. The primary industry is tourism, and then farming. Park Rapids sits smack dab in the middle of lake country. There are gently rolling hills, tall pine trees, and hundreds of lakes and rivers, and because of the pristine scenery, lots of outdoor activities, ones for each season and to suit many different lifestyles.
I miss my hometown.
As I said, Park Rapids' main industry is tourism, so the summers are busy, the town packed with people who drive the 4 hours from Minneapolis/St. Paul to enjoy the scenery and outdoors. When I was growing up, we had one stoplight in town, at the junction of highways 71 and 34, and during the summer season, traffic was backed up for blocks at this one light. In the winter, after the tourists had left, the town felt like a ghost town.
All for now.
Labels: Hometown
Monday, October 08, 2007
When is Fall coming?
Here it is, October 8, and it's still 90 degrees outside. This would be okay if I lived near an ocean, and this was a sun culture, but it's not, this is middle America, the corn culture. Yes, corn needs lots of sunlight and warmth to absorb and pass on its bounty from the sun, but that's only during the growing season, which is OVER!
I'll probably end up eating my words because this will turn out to be the coldest and wettest fall on record, but, right now, I'm ready for a change in the seasons. As a native of MN, I'm used to 4 very distinct seasons, and I always looked forward to each of the seasons because each has their benefits.
The thing about seasons in MN is that there are activities attached to each one, and thee activities allow people to sort of reinvent themselves for the season. Fall in MN is hunting season, so it's time to put on the camoflage, or bright orange, depending on your flavor of hunting, grow the beard, hang with the guys, and drink some beer.
Winter is the time for Sorrel's, hats, gloves, scarves and ice fishing, snowmobiling, XC skiing. You get to reinvent yourself again, this time as a rough and tumble outdoorsman.
Here it is, October 8, and it's still 90 degrees outside. This would be okay if I lived near an ocean, and this was a sun culture, but it's not, this is middle America, the corn culture. Yes, corn needs lots of sunlight and warmth to absorb and pass on its bounty from the sun, but that's only during the growing season, which is OVER!
I'll probably end up eating my words because this will turn out to be the coldest and wettest fall on record, but, right now, I'm ready for a change in the seasons. As a native of MN, I'm used to 4 very distinct seasons, and I always looked forward to each of the seasons because each has their benefits.
The thing about seasons in MN is that there are activities attached to each one, and thee activities allow people to sort of reinvent themselves for the season. Fall in MN is hunting season, so it's time to put on the camoflage, or bright orange, depending on your flavor of hunting, grow the beard, hang with the guys, and drink some beer.
Winter is the time for Sorrel's, hats, gloves, scarves and ice fishing, snowmobiling, XC skiing. You get to reinvent yourself again, this time as a rough and tumble outdoorsman.
Labels: FW 10/8
