[K-Dog]

APNEWS.COM • 2026-01-21

House Republicans vote to lift 20-year ban on mining near pristine Boundary Waters Canoe Area

Minnesota's Boundary Waters is one of our nation's most iconic wilderness areas.  This push by the Trump administration and their Congressional allies to allow toxic mining in the Boundary Waters watershed puts this fragile ecosystem at risk.

[TDoS]

APNEWS.COM • 2026-01-21

House Republicans vote to lift 20-year ban on mining near pristine Boundary Waters Canoe Area

Minnesota's Boundary Waters is one of our nation's most iconic wilderness areas.  This push by the Trump administration and their Congressional allies to allow toxic mining in the Boundary Waters watershed puts this fragile ecosystem at risk.

I was up in the Boundary Waters area about 4-5 years ago while on walkabout, it was a wonderfully wooded area, reminded me of home except with more water. I was headed for Grand Marais coming in from the west, there were some random fires around and whatnot. I drove the edge of the lake when I was done, heading down to Duluth. The whole place was a little flat for me. Much nicer than the northern prairie from International Falls through Plentywood Montana. You get a great appreciation for "The Great American Desert" on that drive though.

[K-Dog]

The drive along the lake edge is something I'll never forget.  Been from Duluth to Grand Portage a few times.  Family trips growing up.  Before I saw the real thing, Lake Superior was the ocean.  Water under a full moon as far as the eye can see.  Mostly flat yes, but there is a point miles north of Duluth where the road rises on cliffs high enough where my young eyes could see the curvature of the earth.

[TDoS]

The drive along the lake edge is something I'll never forget.  Been from Duluth to Grand Portage a few times.  Family trips growing up.  Before I saw the real thing, Lake Superior was the ocean.  Water under a full moon as far as the eye can see.  Mostly flat yes, but there is a point miles north of Duluth where the road rises on cliffs high enough where my young eyes could see the curvature of the earth.

I love the UP of Michigan. I discovered that a decade before I began roaming around any part of Minnesota. Stopped when I got to Eagle River....liked it so much I took my mother through it on a visit to see her stepson in Duluth.  I ended up in Minnesota the first time leaving from the Fort Peck Indian Reservation and running the US/Canadian border to International Falls. I liked its woods. Isn't there a Jolly Green Giant statue down in the southern end of the state along a big road? I thought that was cool when I found it randomly.

[K-Dog]

Don't know about that, but I have been here.

Smokey Bear Park

[TDoS]

Blue Earth Minnesota.

[K-Dog]

I have traveled I-90 from Seattle to Chicago, but not since this statue was built.

[TDoS]

I have traveled I-90 from Seattle to Chicago, but not since this statue was built.

I found it through sheer luck. Got off I-90 looking for a rest stop and there was this figureen a couple stories tall. Nice bathrooms.

My next road trip is Great Basin and Range NP and The Loneliest Highway in America. I've had a few bouts with weird infections in the past year, and I want to see the Redwoods again before I die. And the Grand Coulee Damn. Wouldn't mind doing the Alcan again either.