Monthly Archives: January 2018

Looking at the headwaters of the mighty Mississippi River as it flows out of Lake Itasca in northern MN

Itasca State Park, MN

To start off the year 2018, Chris and I have returned to the headwaters of the mighty Mississippi River found in Itasca State Park near Park Rapids MN. 230 miles north of Saint Paul, we drove a slightly different stretch, one more westward than the usual U.S. route 10. I-94 took us to Sauk Rapids, scene of the Sinclair Lewis novel “Main Street”. U.S. 71, goes from Ely at the Canadian border to the Iowa border by Jackson MN and Spirit Lake IA. Our stretch took us through agricultural fields used for potato growing and turkey raising. In this stretch, we saw three Amish horse and buggy combos.

Along US 71 north of Sauk Centre MN

Towns like Wadena, Long Prairie, and Park Rapids have about 4,000 people each with thriving downtowns that support the smaller towns of 200-800 people. The agricultural lands closer to I-94 gave way to mixed hardwood fields and forests as we traveled north, with snowmobiles riding the roadside ditches instead of the buggies. In Long Prairie, we had a late breakfast at the Countryside Restaurant, a staple in town. Other than us, everyone seemed to know at least one other customer. The woman with the walker due to a broken pelvis took longer to leave the restaurant as she talked with people than it took her to eat her meal.

In Park Rapids, we stopped at the “Beagle and Wolf” bookstore. Family and friends were helping take inventory with newfangled optical scanners used here even in a small store. As visitors, we had numerous discussions with the staff as we purchased several books, just for the heck of it. We did already bring books to read along with us.

Last year about this time we spent two nights at Itasca. The all-season suites are heated, with well equipped kitchens and with linens. We are staying three nights this year and brought an extra blanket and slippers since last year the concrete floors, even with carpet, were cool to the touch. Wouldn’t you know it, the heaters were replaced this past summer so the cabin was toasty warm right off the bat.

The weather is cooperating. Last week, the temperatures at night were in the minus 30 to minus 40 degree range. Today the temperature during the day was in the mid to high twenties (F) with just a mild wind. Sunny, blue skies set off the snow. We had planned to do some snowshoeing but the snow amount is meager and better just for hiking. Last year the snow was much deeper.

Views from our morning hike at Itasca State Park

Our Monday morning hike was on a trail along Lake Itasca. The visitor center gave us a map since trails here during the winter are specified specifically for snowmobiling, hiking, skate cross-country skiing, or classic cross-country skiing. Our four mile hike took us about two hours, it is slow going on the uneven terrain. The park is quiet, some birds, a few snowmobiles, and periodic wind rustling the remaining leaves on bushes. The loudest noise has been the crunching of the packed snow under our boots.

Soup and crackers for lunch re-invigorated us and we went to the Headwaters of the Mississippi River for our afternoon hike. The Mississippi begins as a small stream leaving under the ice-covered lake at its northern end. The clear water ripples over the rocks as it heads northward before eventually beginning its southward trek. It is a much different river than what we are used to.

Back in St. Paul the Mississippi is already running strong and deep through the gorge area between Minneapolis and St. Paul. The river widens as new tributaries add muscle to its flow. We have viewed the river from locks and dams along the Wisconsin border; from a canoe south of St. Paul; from a 30’ x 100’ long car ferry with its deck just a few feet above the river south of St. Louis; from the painted murals along the levees at Vicksburg; and from the walkway along the river at New Orleans where it is 200 feet deep. Here the slight stream with the clear water seems a mystery from that which it becomes later.

Schoolcraft Island in Lake Itasca

Henry Schoolcraft is credited with the “discovery” of the headwaters. Before him, other European explorers believed sources south of here were the beginning of the river. Unlike those earlier explorers, Schoolcraft was humble enough to ask the Native Americans for assistance and an Anishinabe Indian named Ozaawindib led Schoolcraft’s team to the source of the river.

Our brief moment of fame on the Internet

The headwaters area has a web cam available for viewing over the Internet. We texted our daughters and Sarah was able to log in and view us at the site. Our two minutes of fame over, we headed out on the trail to visit Schoolcraft Island. The trail was snow packed but pleasant as we hiked through the woods along the western edge of Lake Itasca. It was another two mile hike out and back and we returned to our cabin around 4 PM, tired but satisfied and glad that we brought our crockpot to have dinner ready for us.

Ed and Chris Monday Jan. 8, 2018