The Angle

The Northwest Angle, known as the Angle, is an isolated nub of Minnesota that is part water or ice-locked depending on the season and part Canada-locked. It is the only part of the United States outside of Alaska north of the 49th parallel and is 100 miles north of the main Minnesota-Canada border. To get to the Angle, you leave the US, enter Canada, exit Canada, and enter back in the US. You can take a boat, a floatplane, or drive overland (or over ice in the winter) to get there, checking in via a border patrol phonebooth when you arrive (and leave, if you leave).

There are 120ish residents. They are some of the most delightful, warm, inviting, entertaining, character-rich humans I have ever met. And even though I was living in Minnesota, if it weren't for my friend Amelia hiring me to scout and shoot footage for a sizzle reel, I may have never heard of the Angle, or…

Met Jerry, who owned the bar, where I met David, who lived next to the dump and transformed into Miss Nicole Annie when at home. I wouldn't have pulled over en route to the Sheriff's, also the owner of a resort and father to 8 children, to take a picture of Marilyn Monroe and met "Dirty John." There would have never been the occasion to win Wade's trust and approval, he was suspicious of the production company's intentions, which led to an evening of Molotov cocktails on ice. Never would I have met Joe, Lake of the Woods Guide Extraordinaire, and have my mind blown by musky tales. And I wouldn't have been invited for chili and jello with Dale & Grace to hear more about the hermit that carved all the intricate scenes in their home and blew himself upon a rock.

I want to leave it at that. I want you to experience it for yourself. I also don't want you to visit or tell anyone. I want it to stay frozen in time—so to speak.

Thanks, Amelia, for putting the Angle on my radar and to the community for letting me in and inviting me back.

Rest in Peace, Jon & Dale