It's Day 464...It's Also August 12, 2020...and we are in Mahnomen Minnesota

It's Day 464...It's Also August 12, 2020...and we are in Mahnomen Minnesota

We left our spot along the Red River early this morning... highway US 59..... stretched before me, a quiet ribbon of asphalt cutting through the flat, open farmland of the Red River Valley. To my left and right, endless fields of corn and soybeans swayed under the late summer sun, their deep greens beginning to hint at the golden hues of harvest.

I had just left Fargo, a place I had hoped would give me answers—but instead, I left with more questions. I came searching for pieces of a man I would never truly know, my biological father, hoping to at least understand something about him. But Fargo had been silent, offering little more than echoes of a past I couldn’t grasp.

Now, as I drove, the landscape slowly shifting from farmland to stretches of open prairie and scattered groves of trees....all the while my thoughts...reflections...back and forth.... between disappointment and possibility.

Maybe I had been looking in the wrong place.

Maybe the answers weren’t behind me, but ahead. And maybe—just maybe—the future holds more than Fargo did.

Driving into Minnesota from this side....gave me an entirely different perspective of the state I had so long thought of as “A frozen Wasteland”.

While the area is still very agricultural in nature…the locals refer to the area to the north and east as “The Bush”.

It is an area in which rolling hills and thick forests overtake the land and is extremely popular year round with the local hunters, campers and fisherman. With such fertile lands to hunt, fish, and farm it makes sense that such a large indigenous population were attracted to the area... all those years ago.

And Why a place called Mahnomen...in Minnesota? No reason...random really....We'd had good luck with finding good RV parking....at reasonable rates....and a quick search told me Mahnomen just happened to have one. The Shooting Star Casino. It had been closed for several months...like so many others we had seen....but was just opening back up. And in a park with over 50 RV and camping spots.....there would be only three of us....so space? Wide open....and at 20 bucks a night....seemed like as good a spot as any to hang out for a few days...and enjoy walks around another small town....this one....in Minnesota.

The town of Mahnomen, Minnesota, sits quietly in the heart of wild rice country, nestled along the banks of the Wild Rice River. It’s a place I'm guessing most of us....have never heard of, a small dot on the map in northwestern Minnesota, where the prairie begins to give way to forests and lakes. Driving into Mahnomen, the fields and open farmland of the Red River Valley start to fade, replaced by patches of dense woods and the rolling landscape that signals the edge of Minnesota’s lake country. It’s a transition zone, where two distinct ecosystems meet, and it has been a gathering place for centuries.

The name Mahnomen itself is Ojibwe for “wild rice,” a grain that has sustained Native people in this region for generations.

Long before European settlers arrived, the Ojibwe had already established deep roots here, drawn by the rivers, lakes, and the abundant rice beds that still flourish today. This land remains part of the White Earth Indian Reservation, home to the White Earth Nation—one of the largest Ojibwe bands in Minnesota. The Ojibwe tribe is actually the largest tribe, by population, in North America. The fact that a large portion of the population resides in Canada leaves the tribe ranked in 4th when measured in the United States, and 2nd when ranked in Canada. And the Ojibwe....are yet one more example of an incredibly resiliant people. And while the reservation may not have been the site of major battles...it's seen it's fair share of conflict...it's also lived through it's fair share of treaties signed...promises made....and promises broken....and land...taken back.

The history of Mahnomen is inseparable from the story of the reservation, as the town grew out of the waves of settlement and land policies that reshaped Native life in the late 19th century.

By the early 1900s, Mahnomen had become a small but vital hub in the region, attracting settlers looking to farm the fertile soil and take part in the timber industry that thrived in northern Minnesota. The arrival of the railroad spurred growth, connecting the town to larger markets and making it easier for settlers to move in. Like so many small towns in the Midwest, Mahnomen’s population rose and fell with the fortunes of agriculture and industry. Today, it remains a small but resilient community, with a population of around 1,200 people, a number that has held steady for decades despite the decline seen in many other rural towns.

While quiet on the surface, Mahnomen has its share of stories. The White Earth Nation plays a central role in the town’s identity, and one of its most significant developments came in 1986 with the opening of the Shooting Star Casino, owned and operated by the tribe. The casino transformed the local economy, providing jobs and bringing a steady stream of visitors to an area that had never been a tourist destination before....without this casino...we wouldn't have stopped. And this casino remains one of the largest employers in the region, a bright neon-lit contrast to the otherwise subdued rhythm of rural life.

Mahnomen is a place where time moves a little slower. It’s the kind of town where you’ll find a mix of farmers, tribal members, and local business owners swapping stories over coffee at the café. Where the history of Native resilience is woven into daily life. Where the scent of damp earth lingers after a summer rain, and the rivers continue to whisper the stories of those who came before. And we know that scent very well...Mahnomen would treat us to our second example of a late summer storm up here.....torrential rains mid day would send sheets of water cascading down the windshield of Vacilando as the entire parking lot seemed to take the form of a lake....waters shimmering across during each downpour.....and as quickly as it had come....it passed.....followed by an 80 degree afternoon....walks along the Wild Rice River...and yes...that scent.....of damp earth.

For those who have never been here—and perhaps never even heard of it—Mahnomen is more than just a town. It’s a crossroads of history, culture, and survival. And for me, driving those 70 miles from Fargo, maybe it wasn't just another random destination.....maybe it was just one more stop....on a journey filled with questions, the kind that small towns like this sometimes answer in unexpected ways.

It would also be a space for a bit of catch up...on the internet...and this pandemic thing.

I did'nt want to loose site of just how lucky we are...out here on our own. It had been days since I had even thought about the news. There were signs of the pandemic all around us...here and there...but interesting how in some places...things felt like...almost nearly like business as usual...but yet...just not quite right...or normal...while in others...the opposite...shut down....desolate.

Masks...Government and Federal businesses shutterred with nothing more than a sign on the door telling us so.....but at the same time...rodeos..happening...mask free folks wandering about all around us....so...

Easy....easy to forget about....(insert video August 4th news in news video file)

The last time I gave things around us a hard look....was probably way back there in Mississippi...still remember what that cashier at the gas station had to say.....and it wasn't much....much more than confusion.

And here we are...Thousands of miles and hundreds of towns later...

And it just keeps getting worse.

So what are we to make of it all? While our life...our adventure has simply...continued....the rest of the world has continued to lose...lives...

Wrapping my head around the fact that while I reminisced about winning a contest and meeting Reba....Millions of Americans are wrapping their heads around living the rest of their lives...without someone they loved...cared about...cherished....because a virus...got out of control....in the year 2020

I drifted off to sleep tonight contemplating the irony...the insanity of it all.....45 days ago...on the news..... the folks in North Dakota were proud of the fact that they were defying the pandemic....and the silliness of wearing a mask...then on August 4th....the Director of public health for the state stood in front of cameras...in tears...mourning the loss of over 100 North Dakotans....and over 148,000 Americans....gone.

Dang...humans...we are so weird....so ironic....without comparison I spose...sentient beings that have defined logical thinking....but at the very same time...denying it? How does one make sense of that?

I... can't...even try...

So instead....it was one last walk along the Wild Rice River...behind that casino....in Mahnomen Minnesota...

And callin it a night as I considered the 150 miles between us...and a place called North Branch Minnesota. A place where I had spent nearly 4 years of my life....and hadnt seen .... in 38 years....

I wonder what we'll learn there...