Northwestern Minnesota Photos

Photos are links to larger images

We have stowed our gear and ambled west a bit into northwestern Minnesota.

This leg of our journey gave us the opportunity to pay our respects to Paul Bunyan and his buddy Babe. Paul seems to play a "large role" in this area, for example in Bemidji, MN where we saw this statue in his honor.

There have been numerous requests for pictures of "us" on our adventures.

By far the most photogenic of our crew is Misser. Here he is, surveying his realm and watching over the printer and other office equipment.

A not-to-be-missed attraction in northwest Minnesota is the headwaters of the Mississippi River.

Numerous "explorers" claimed they had located the headwaters, some in error, some with fraudulent intentions. Finally, one man, Henry Rowe Schoolcraft, asked the people who lived in the region, the Anishinaabe (also called Chippewa or Ojibwa), where the headwaters of the river were located. Schoolcraft was guided to this area which he renamed Itasca.

Eventually (1891) the area was made into a Minnesota State Park, but not before the headwaters themselves were nearly destroyed by logging operations. The area was "restored" to something approaching the original headwaters. This is the area we visited.

William decided this was an excellent opportunity to "walk across the Mississippi".

Mari stayed on the bank to record his successful journey!

The newly born river (left) is a gentle creek that quickly becomes a large waterway bisecting the US.

Mississippi in southern Minnesota

Perhaps one day our travels will take us south, more than 2500 miles from it's source, to see the Mississippi flow into the Gulf of Mexico.