-Jenni
Between the national park closures, unpredictable weather, and the excellent advice of other travelers we meet, it seems our plans are ever evolving. Itasca State Park in Minnesota was one of those “Plan B” locations last year when we were listing all the things we wanted to see. Sure, Lake Itasca is the headwaters of the mighty Mississippi River and that makes for a great geography lesson, but is it worth driving out of the way? We can now answer that question with a resounding, “Yes!” We arrived here Monday afternoon, knowing the weather forecast for Tuesday and Wednesday did not look promising for hiking or biking. With that in mind we chose to get out and see the headwaters right away. It was late afternoon as we hit the trail so the light was just perfect for photos and the air was warm enough that getting our feet wet crossing the river was not painful. You can cross the very beginning of the Mississippi on a small rock path, a log bridge, or just wade across it. So we did. A few times. We have heard that a drop of water that falls into Lake Itasca will be in the Gulf of Mexico about ninety days later. I poured out some water from my bottle and Joel hocked a small loogie (boys) and set a timer on his phone to remind us on January 13, 2014. In all likelihood, we will beat it to the Gulf. On Tuesday, despite the gloomy skies, we took a drive along the Wilderness Road through the park. The oak, aspen, and maples are in the midst of their fall fashion show and the clouds created a nice filter allowing me to get some good shots at midday when the light is normally just too harsh and flat for good photography. We walked on a couple of short trails and climbed the 100-foot tall Aiton Tower for a great view of the autumn color. The rain began to fall around 2:00 and was predicted to continue unabated through tomorrow afternoon so we checked out the visitors center then headed home to cozy up indoors for the rest of the day. Kevin has modified our space so that it is much easier to keep warm in cold weather. He added window insulation panels, a space heater (the propane heater is very inefficient), and a heated mattress pad for our bed. The result? I can blog without my hands freezing (computer is by a large window) and I have actually had to kick the covers off in the middle of the night more than once. This is all great and just in time, as we will head north from here and the temperatures are only dropping.
-Jenni
Jeff
10/17/2013 02:12:38 am
That would be a cool place to release a message in a botlle.
Aaron
10/17/2013 02:55:33 am
This is great! We have a cabin not too far away from there. Almost every summer I visit Lake Itasca, and it's so cool to see it in its full-on fall beauty. WOW!
Janet Bridgers
10/17/2013 03:18:34 am
Ditto Aaron- next time you are there look us up! Don and Janet Bridgers
Carmen
10/17/2013 07:24:32 am
I dunno...looks like it's still pretty peakish to me! Gorgeous color! Doesn't it feel like your eyes can't eat enough?! So glad you're enjoying one of our favorite spots on earth. Blessings on all of you! Comments are closed.
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