Caribou

Two Rivers
Lake Bronson MN

  No not the deer like creature that roams the arctic regions of the world or the Minnesota based coffee house, but rather Caribou Minnesota.  Where is that you ask?... Well, let me tell you! Look to the top of a Minnesota map, find the part that extends into Canada... turn west along the border about 60 miles or so and there is Caribou.  What you can't see it, here some help... The town doesn't exist any longer but for a house or two and an old Church.

Garter snake

This past weekend, Trish and I took a road trip north 86 miles into Minnesota territory that the deer out number the people that live there.. actually the garter snake out numbered the actual people that we saw.  The Garter snake is a friendly sort and is very beneficial to have around.  We saw many snakes on the roads warming themselves in the sun.  This mornings temperature started off in the uppper 20's.



St Nicholas Church
Caribou MN

 So, what was this road trip all about?  Well, we went looking for three very old buildings; a church, a 1860 trappers cabin, a school house with chalkboard still attached to wall.  Unfortunately we found only one.  The church was easy enough to find.  A small bright white church nestled amongst the tree just south of the Roseau river.  The roof has three dome peeks with crosses attached.  Next to the church, immediately to the south by just a few feet, the cemetery lies.  Within the cemetery are some very old head stones dating back into the 1800's and the most recent of 1983.  To my understand, most the of parishioners are living in Canada; http://56755.blogspot.com/2010/09/caribou-pilgrimage.html .

Rusty away!

After signing the guestbook, we were off to find the trappers cabin.  The directions that were given gave us the sense that finding the old cabin was going to be some what easy too do, but after a few hours beating the bush and driving down old roads and passing through a few gated pastures... we found nothing but empty stomachs and an old Chevy truck rusting away in the Minnesota weather. 



Back to the church for a picnic lunch, which Trish was so kind to prepare the night prior.  We talked over the directions for the school house and headed out!  Again, what we thought were easy directions turned into miles of driving and talking for the only living people we saw in the Caribou area.  Two young men working on putting up a new barred wire fence.  A mire 800 hand pounded T-post were set the day prior, and now they were working on the wire.  My arms immediately started aching when the 800 T-post were mentioned... I have pounded my share of fence post, but never 800 in a day.  I still ache today as I write this blog and thinking about the possibility. Now, in the process of looking for this old school house, we wandered up onto an old falling down hunting camp, a shack and an old wagon of some sort, that was used at one time as a bunk house.   Both had seen better days.  Check out the old axles...



Old Wagon



We ended the day slight disappointed about not finding the school house and cabin, but the day was not a total loss.  We did find the old church.  I posted the images I took of the church yesterday morning and today I find a request to have them added to a worldwide organization that is trying to find and document all churches name St. Nicholas.  If you would like to read the request and see their web pages... Click on St. Nicholas.