Last Monday – a crisp, sunny day in all of its October glory – was a celebration of public lands and their importance to all of us who spend time outdoors.

The day started by meeting up with Kristi Coughlon, an information officer for the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources in Bemidji, and her hunting dogs Cokie and Bennett.

Cokie, a yellow Lab, is named after Cokie Roberts, the American journalist, author and commentator who died in 2019; Bennett, a griffon, is so-named for Detective Joan Bennett from the “Bosch” TV crime series.

The first leg of this October celebration brought us to a couple of Hunter Walking Trails in Beltrami Island State Forest to try and flush up a ruffed grouse or two. The second leg – and the real reason for our Northwoods rendezvous – was to venture even

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