Monday, July 20, 2009

Sunday, July 19







#1 Jerry at the Headwaters signpost
#2 The beginning of the mighty Mississippi River
#3 Not the might muddy at this end...water is clear and shallow! AND COLD!
#4 Jerry in the headwaters
#5 Getting the gravel and pebbles out of my water shoes
#6 The humble beginnings of a big river!
#7 Bob and Don at the concert at the lodge


Our time in Duluth is at an end. After packing up we headed out for Lake Itasca and the headwaters of the MS River. We were able to secure a campsite in the state park, but it took a bit of jockeying to get Rover in the slot….the trees were a bit close, so Jerry did some trimming and we finally got set up. After that, we headed to the headwaters. Jerry was here many years ago and says it is nothing like he remembers. Of course things do change in the course of several decades!!! At any rate, water flows out of Lake Itasca over some rocks and into a stream which is the Mississippi River - not an impressive river at this end.

There were many interesting exhibits at the visitor’s center and we enjoyed that very much. There were lots of people here from all over the world. Kids especially enjoyed playing in the water. We both waded in and got pictures and walked over the first "bridge" over the river - a split log wide enough to walk across. It is very shallow with kind of a rough sandy bottom. It is amazing to think what the river is at the other end from such a humble beginning. We decided to return here early in the morning to maybe avoid the crowds.

Next stop was the boat rental place and we plan to rent a small motorboat to cruise the lake tomorrow morning and wanted to be sure boats were available. Back to camp and I actually cooked dinner tonite - well sort of. We re-heated the rest of my meal from Friday night and I cooked some of the fresh corn and some fresh spinach. It really hit the spot.

After dinner we attended a concert here in the park. One of the singers, Bob Bilden, performed songs he had written throughout his life and he is a prolific songwriter/singer. The songs are folk songs and ballads, some about his family and others about different places. The other performer, Don Fradenburgh had a great voice and, although not a songwriter, did sing many Gene Autry and John Denver songs. Both men had wonderful voices and it was a really good time. If anyone plans to come to this area, a good time might be the Lake Itasca Pioneer Farmers Show. Lots of entertainment and antique farm equipment, etc. Bob and
Don will be part of the entertainment at this fair….

Jerry trying again to finish Fiddler tonite, but it is not working tonite either…..this is only the 5th night he has tried to watch it. He was snoring a minute ago! No surprise there.

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