"You've got to see the fire station," my mom, Lyn Meyers, said as we drove toward Park Rapids. While our spouses happily headed to golf greens, we were eager to enjoy the Minnesota town's unofficial seasonal flower show.
"The fire station?" I thought skeptically, but kept quiet. Mom knows her flowers. We've always been alike in admiring blooming meadows, every kind of garden, and window boxes like the ones you see waterfalling from European chalets.
Along Hwy. 34, a riot of red, yellow and purple flowers spill out of 48 boxes along the Cwikla Ace Hardware fence. Red and white flowers also ring around the first and second floors of Rocky's Pizza.
But for visitors from the south, it's the fire station that grabs attention. Columns of petunias cascade down the front of the fire station from roof to ground — another project of the local Hafner's Greenhouse.
Even without the flower displays that seem to expand every year, we'd happily gravitate to Park Rapids, a resort town surrounded by about 300 lakes. Downtown bustles with enough visitors to line the curbs with cars, and fill up Main Avenue's unusual middle-of-the-street parking.
They come for the mix of longtime landmarks and smattering of newcomers, from 3rd Street Market's sandwiches and nut-crust pies to Revel Brewing's pils and sourdough pizzas. They pause to check out new sculptures on street corners, find the outlines of popular lakes decoratively embedded into sidewalks, and snap photos in front of the Pioneer Park mural depicting an Up North scene with paddlers, anglers and wildlife.
My mom favors stylish boutiques with home decor, jewelry and clothing that ranges from cozy flannels to vintage Dayton's T-shirts. My daughters seek spicy chips at a Mexican grocer, sweet treats from three candy shops and cones at the old-fashioned MinnesodaFountain, with its illuminated jukebox, chrome stools and soft drink memorabilia.
I head to Monika's for fabrics and yarn, and the still-thriving Ben Franklin variety store that evokes childhood memories scented by SweeTarts, Bazooka bubble gum and watermelon Jolly Ranchers. This Ben Franklin lures us with rainbow aisles of art supplies, snarky pop-culture socks, every imaginable shape of cookie-cutter and textured rolling pin, Minnesota-themed puzzles, inflatable loon floaties and Bigfoot tchotchkes.
An afternoon trip to the town's A&W triggered another wave of nostalgia as we parked under the awning and ordered from the drive-up menu.
"What's that?" my daughter Katie asked as a server delivered root beer and sandwiches. She pointed to the silver cylindrical coin carriers on their waistband.
My mom and aunt and I doled out a history lesson between bites of fried cheese curds. We talked about carhops that came long before credit cards, and we recalled their Wisconsin hometown where you could watch deer while you ate at the root beer stand.
While we missed drinking from frosted glass mugs, we didn't have to wait for dishes to be cleared. We simply cleaned up our wrappers and headed home with our clutch of souvenirs, and the lingering joy of strolling through a classic town, among its many flowers.
Where to go
Itasca State Park with its Mississippi headwaters and more than 100 lakes draws many of the area's visitors. Get oriented at the Jacob V. Brower Visitor Center, rock-hop across the humble start of the more than 2,300-mile river, cruise the 10-mile Wildlife Drive and climb the 100-foot Aiton fire tower to get above the canopy of maples and basswoods when fall colors peak. Douglas Lodge serves hearty Minnesota cuisine during peak season (dnr.state.mn.us).
The paved Heartland State Trail appeals to families, who can bike 6 miles to Dorset for meals, treats and souvenirs. Bikes can be rented at Northern Cycle (northerncyclemn.com). Serious cyclists can tackle the 40-plus miles to Cass Lake or connect in Walker to the 123-mile Paul Bunyan State Trail. Mountain-bikers and horseback riders can follow the path paralleling the Heartland Trail, while hikers catch segments of the North Country Trail (dnr.state.mn.us/state_trails).
Where to eat
Good Life Cafe taps regional foods and Nordic influences for Red Lake walleye fried in a Summit beer batter, a wild rice bison meatball Philly, wild rice casserole or vegetarian sandwiches and salads (thegoodlifecafepr.com).
Dine inside or on the patio at Necce's Ristorante, which serves bubbly browned crocks of manicotti or lasagna and chicken piccata. Seasonal variations include walleye, seafood and salads (necces.net).
Where to sleep
You can find rooms upstairs at Itasca State Park's 1905 Douglas Lodge (open seasonally for dining), in a historic log fourplex or in its one-, two- and three-bedroom cabins that open from Memorial Day weekend through early October.
The state park's 1920s Headwaters Inn, which has been converted to visitor lodging with six rooms that sleep two, and the modern Four-Season Suites stay open year-round. The suites include Wi-Fi, TVs and kitchenettes (866-857-2757; dnr.state.mn.us).
C'mon Inn, AmericInn and Super 8 sit in the hub of Park Rapids, but dozens of family-run resorts, such as Timberlane Resort on Long Lake, Mantrap Lodge on Big Mantrap Lake and Brookside Resort on Two Inlet Lake are what keep families coming back for lakeside vacations (parkrapids.com/where-to-stay).
More information
Get a map and coupon books and check out webcams downtown and at Itasca State Park on the Downtown Park Rapids website (parkrapidsdowntown.com).
St. Cloud-based freelance writer Lisa Meyers McClintick has written more than 130 travel features for the Star Tribune since 2001.
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