Itasca Lake State Park

Mya making the "walk"

Jade put her finger in - wouldn't
take off her shoes!

We made it!  And such a great park center too. They had a gift shop (Mya was happy!) and a cafe (we all were happy).  But most importantly we got to walk across the headwaters of the Mississippi and dabble our toes in the water.
There were a bunch of people there, everyone splashing in the water. Made for a festive atmosphere. Saw a few little fish and a crawdad (or something like that) in the water.  So clear, not like the other end that's so muddy and brown. The drive to Itasca SP was a little hazy. There are a bunch of fires burning in Canada and the smoke it drifting down to us. Makes the sun look like a giant red ball in the sky.

He stuck his fingers in - and then splashed us all!

Minnesota is really a beautiful place and the weather is so temperate. None of us miss the humidity that's for sure.  We can sleep with the windows open listening to the birds and breathing the fresh air - so pleasant.

After leaving the headwaters we headed northwest to Grand Forks, MN. right on the border between MN and ND.  We stayed at a state recreation area and it was beautiful.  It's located right on the banks of the Red River.

Caretaker Woman at Itasca

Story of the "Caretaker Woman" and her turtles.

 I went for a stroll to stretch my legs and found that the area has a tragic story.  In 1997 they had a HUGE flood and it wiped out thousands of homes and businesses.  When they rebuilt the area they put in levees and dikes to try to control massive amounts of water in the future and they didn't rebuild the houses downriver from that area - they turned it into this
State Recreation Area. The place is called Sherlock Park after the neighborhood that was wiped out.  They have a map showing the streets and the names of the families that used to live there.  Such a sad story but such a beautiful restoration of a place.  When Jeff and I were out walking after dinner we saw a number of police in boats and on the banks.  Looked like they

Story of the headwaters - Oh, there is Jade in the background.

were looking for something or someone.  Then when we get parked last night and were watching the news we find out that they were searching for a missing person and that they had found him, drowned!!  Yikes!  That's what we thought but to hear it confirmed was kind of creepy since we were right there.

Monday - North Dakota.  I haven't heard anyone say anything positive about North Dakota so I'm wondering what we are headed into.  We are traveling highway 2 - supposedly one of the most scenic drives in America.  Stay tuned!