Long Description:Welcome to the Beltrami County Waymark Tour and History Puzzle
Trail! This is an adventurous trek for the whole family. You will
journey to ten points of historical interest in Beltrami County,
all of which are registered on the National Register of Historic
Places.
At each location, you will be asked to collect a clue , answer a
question, or solve a math or number problem. You will end up with a
one-letter or one- number clue at each stop, and at the last stop
at the end of the puzzle trail, you will find a key for solving the
final history puzzle. (The last stop is located at the Beltrami
History Center's Depot Museum.) Once your final is solved, show the
answer to the museum receptionist, and claim your prize!
While supplies last, puzzle-solvers will receive a gold-toned
medallion with a design featuring an image from Beltrami County or
American History. And the very first puzzle-trail solvers will
receive a very special “First-To-Find” Prize!
In addition to receiving a Puzzle Trail prize, Waymarkers can
receive Waymarking credit for this tour by following the Waymark
guidlines for submitting photos to this site. Please show yourself
visiting at least one of the stops along the tour, but try not to
show any visual cues that answer puzzle questions!
For those who would like to have clues in hand while doing this
Waymark Tour, borchures will be available at the Bemidji Tourist
Information Center, The Beltrami Hisotry Center Depot Musuem, Lake
Bemidji State Park, and other public locations in the Bemidji
area.
For those who do not have GPS units or who are not yet geocachers
or waymarkers, this puzzle trail can also be solved using maps and
standard street addresses. Good luck!
BELTRAMI COUNTY PUZZLE TRAIL
STOP ONE: Paul Bunyan and Babe the Blue Ox
GPS : N 47° 28.226, W 094 ° 52.738
Located at 3rd Street and Bemidji Ave., by the Tourist
Information Center at the Lake Bemidji Waterfront in downtown
Bemidji.
Clue: These are historic statues of the famous lumberjack and
his pal, which were constructed in 1937. There are 5 plaques at the
base of the statues. What is the first letter of the name that is
listed on the southwestern-most plaque?
STOP TWO: Bemidji Community Art Center
GPS : N 47° 28.362, W 094 ° 52.768
Located at 426 Bemidji Ave. in Bemdiji
Clue: This building was Bemidji’s first library, built in
1908with a donation from a famous philanthropist . The building was
named for this man, whose name is engraved on the front of the
building. How many words are engraved on the front of the building,
and how many letters are in the donor’s last name? Take the number
of those letters, minus the number of the total engraved words.
Clue answer is:
(# of letters in donors last name)
- (number of engraved words)
= answer for Stop Two
STOP THREE: Park House
GPS : N 47° 28.987, W 094 ° 52.544
Located at 1501 Birchmont Drive in Bemdiji
Clue: This famous house exemplifies the “Moderne” architecture
of the Art-Deco period, and was built in 1936. There is a plaque at
the base of the tree on the main front walk way, which compares the
BSU alumni to a certain kind of tree. What type is tree is it? Your
clue at this stop is the 4th letter of this tree’s name:
STOP FOUR: CCC Shelter on the beach at
Lake Bemidji State Park
GPS : N 47° 32.027, W 094 ° 49.590
Located at 3401 State Park Road NE in Bemidji
Clue: This is one of two recreational structures built for the
park during the Great Depression. An information plaque on the
beach side of the shelter tells the year in which it was finished.
Take the four numbers of that year and add them together
___+ ___+___+___ = ___
then divide that number by 2 to get the number clue for this
stop
STOP FIVE: Rabideau CCC Camp
GPS : N 47° 38.448, W 094 ° 33.014
Located in the Chippewa National Forest northeast of Bemidji,
off Co. Hwy 39, near Benjamin Lake in Taylor Township
Clue: This is one of two surviving historic camps of the
Civilian Conservation Corps, established in 1935. Near the main
parking lot is the trailhead for guided tours of the camp. There is
also an information sign which features a portrait of an important
historical figure from that time. What is the first letter of that
man’s name?
STOP SIX: Saum School
GPS : N 47° 58.577, W 094 ° 40.563
Located north of Quiring and west of Kelliher, in the hamlet of
Saum , on Co. Hwy 23
Clue: This site features a one room historic schoolhouse built
in 1903, next to Minnesota’s first consolidated school built in
1912. Adjacent to the school buildings sits a fanciful new log
outhouse with Scandanavian names on the doors What is the last
letter of the word for the girls side of the outhouse?
STOP SEVEN: Buena Vista Historical Site
GPS : N 47° 39.354, W 094 ° 53.169
Located near the Buena Vista Ski area on the west side of Co.
Hwy 15 (Irvine Ave) ,12 miles north of Bemidji
Clue: This is the site of an old logging town established in the
late 1800’s. You will also see a monument sign to Count Beltrami,
who explored this area in the early 1800’s. The sign denotes the
elevation here, which is at __ __ __ __ feet above sea level. Your
answer is the first two numbers of this elevation
STOP EIGHT: Beltrami County Court House
GPS : N 47° 28.439, W 094 ° 52.896
Located at 619 Beltrami Ave. in Bemidji
Clue: The original courthouse building was constructed in 1902,
and exemplifies typical “Beaux Arts” style architecture. In the
gardens on the southeast side of the courthouse, there are a number
of RED park benches. How many red benches are there?
STOP NINE: Nymore Bridge
GPS : N 47° 28.006, W 094 ° 52.674
Located behind and to the southwest of the
Pamida store, 200 Paul Bunyan Dr in Bemidji
Clue: This is a unique historic bridge built over the
Mississippi River in 1917. It is a reinforced concrete bridge built
in typical barrel-vault style. How many arches support this
bridge?
STOP TEN: Great Northern Depot
GPS : N 47° 28.064, W 094 ° 52.945
Located at 130 Minnesota Ave. in Bemidji
Clue: This was the last of the train depots built by James J.
Hill for the Great Northern Railroad. How many sets of doors are at
the entrance? This is your answer for the last stop.
Now go inside the lobby of the depot for a “key” to decipher your
clues. What is spelled out when you de-code all your answers from
your stops on the history trail? If you solved the puzzle
correctly, you should come up with the right answer! Check with the
receptionist to be sure, and then claim your prize!
__ __ __ __ __ __ __ __ __ __
Note: In order to solve the puzzle and claim your prize, you
must visit the Depot Museum (which is the last stop) during
business hours, which are Monday through Saturday, from 10 am to 4
pm.