A rose by any other name...

There is a place on the border of Minnesota and Canada called International Falls. My husband saw International Falls on the map and was instantly excited to go there to visit falls that would rival Niagra. We stayed the night in Two Harbor, MN on Lake Superior. Knowing we were going to see giant falls in International Falls, we skipped Gooseberrry Falls and instead toured two lighthouses. They were absolutely gorgeous and offered us an opportunity to do a little rock scampering. At about 1:00, we set out on the road for International Falls. Five hours later, as I snoozed we pulled into our hotel. International Falls was far from the large town we expected. We set out to find the local Chinese Restaurant, one of maybe six restaurants in town. Naturally, we when couldn't find it we drove to see the monumental falls. First, the border gate came into sight, no passports, no Canada for us. As we turned around, surrounding us were industrial buildings. In fact, the buildings lined the river. There was a little green trailer on the side of the road which was labeled "tourist info." It was closed, but a little board gave the history of the town. It turns out we were 106 years too late. There had been a 35 foot waterfall prior to 1905, after which a factory built a reservoir on the river and the falls were immersed underwater. I found our situation deliriously hilarious. We found ourselves in a town whose only claim to fame was a giant smokey bear. International Falls would still be disappointing by another name, but perhaps less misleading.