JAM tour Day 5: Tuesday, August 2nd

We spent a nice evening on the North Shore in Silver Bay and we all made it past 8:30 before calling it a night. I managed to finish knitting my sock before bed. For me, the next morning must have been a little rough since I confused the lotion for hair conditioner. Prior to this point I have used my own but I forgot to dig it out the night before. I am the first shower slot at 5:15 and I just grabbed the supplies from the sink. The water seemed a little hard and that conditioner had to be applied twice and it still didn't work very well. I would not have know but my travel companions pointed it out. 

This morning the AmericInn served up cheese omelets and breakfast sausage. Mom and I split a waffle and had the most delicious strawberry topping. So far we have not been served the same thing twice.  Today we have 6 hours of travel time as we drive from the eastern shore of Minnesota to the western plains of Minnesota. After looking at the map we decided to add in another stop today.

We traveled across the Superior National Forrest and the Chippewa National Forrest and the trees were tall and majestic and we had the road to ourselves in all directions. I think we traveled over an hour before we even saw another vehicle and it was parked and empty. At point I commented about the beautifully white birch set in front of the colorful majestic pines and my mom and Alyssa wondered out loud if I liked dead trees? The birch were indeed dead but the striking texture and color contrast were beautiful.

Our first destination was Anderson's in Blackduck. We were greeted by a really lovely woman who plied us with Jolly Ranchers and cookies. What is not to love about those sweet treats? This was the first shop in the Northwest Section. Our helpful staff person made sure we knew how to get to our next destination of Sadie Rae's. Let me just mention for most of the 2 plus hour trek through the National Forrest land there is no cell service and no satellite service. It is important to know where you are going and have a full tank of gas.

Sadie Rae's is right in the older part of Bemidji.  Somewhere between Blackduck and Bemidji the landscape started to change from forests to farmland. Hay could be seen here and there and I think horses must be the thing and not cattle. Sadie Rae's was full of "littles" as I call it. Samples made out of traditional fabrics and the quilts are the "littles" of Kim Diehl and JoMorton that I love so much. 

Oklee was our next destination and we enjoyed our car lunch along the way.I was hungry and nearly forgot to take the picture. We also had mandarin oranges. The drive was over an hour and we had plenty of time to eat at a leisurely pace. Oklee's streets were super quiet but it clearly was a gathering place since there were multiple chuches and social spots. I immediately fell in love with a mural on the side of a building across the street. My treasure from Oklee was a centennial cookbook that was several inches thick. I love church and community cookbooks. No one would ever put a bad recipe in them because every one knows everyone. The two sisters that were in the shop pointed out there recipes and their moms. Be sure to try the Veggie Pizza was the advise I received.

Since we still had plenty of time in our day we continued on to East Grand Forks to finish our Northwest Section. I had to say hello to all the BERNINA's here. I was beginning to go through withdrawal. The section prize is a custom mug with patriotic fat quarters and a pair of scissors. Much to our surprise we each have different fat quarters so we can pool them together and create something special.

Our hotel destination is Crookston. My dad's family is from the extreme Northwest part of the state and this is a flat, flat region. My Aunt Sophie's favorite view is the golden wheat fields waving in the wind. The family farms raise sugar beets, wheat and barley. Sunflower, oats and a little corn can be grown here. We saw great fields of russet potatoes along the way. Did you know they bloom white?

As you know my mom has the menu planned but last night when we arrived at the hotel the smell of french fries tempted us. Now if McDonald's had been even a street away our menu would have been on for the evening but McDonald's was in the same parking lot. First, we thought we would just get some fries to go with our hot dog dinner. Then we decided after six hours in the car we should just walk across the lot and stretch our legs. We enjoyed a nice McDonald's dinner with a chocolate shake. I think it's been more than a decade since I had a shake. For my mom it was at least 5 years. We are not a family of eater outers.

After our nightly show and tell and sorting of the charm square, crosswords, cross stitch and knitting rounded out the evening. This morning Alyssa is practicing and I am writing this blog before we head out. Over 500 miles traveled yesterday and today 260ish miles are scheduled. We are traveling into the lakes area of the state. Coming from a family of fishers, I have been in these parts and I am looking forward to todays travels.

Be sure to tune in for the Marcia and Joy show today. I believe Kendra will be sharing the screen with Marcia and see what the shop has been up to this past week. If you are not a Facebook user, you can always click on the video feed later on our main page at www.pnqs.net. 

Happy Hopping! Joy

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