Because we are reading Minn of the Mississippi, we thought it would be fun to plan our family vacation around a trip to Lake Itasca where the headwaters of the Mississippi River are found.
That is, 2552 miles before the kinks in the river were straightened out. Now it's about 2,340 miles.
There is a little dam built of boulders at the edge of the lake where kids and big kids love to walk across and play in the water.
The river first flows north before turning around to make journey south to the Gulf of Mexico.
This area that the Ojibwa "Ozawindib" helped Henry Schoolcraft find in 1832 is Minnesota's oldest state park and a popular destination. Schoolcraft gets most of the historical credit, however, and this seems to be a bone of contention with the locals.
The name "Itasca" comes from "true head" in Latin bty: (ver)itas, truth + ca(put), head.
Our first visit was later in the day and we pretty much had the place to ourselves. The second time it was a sunny afternoon and a bit more crowded.
Can you believe that Jamie's family was there the same day? Neither can we. We must have crossed paths, or maybe we didn't recognize each other in swimsuits!
We stayed in a state park cabin built by the CCC circa 1910. These boys of that generation did great work on the buildings with the materials and tools they had at the time.
our cabin
The display at the visitor's center said that the guys got $30 a month for their labor and $25 of it was automatically sent home to their families who were on relief. Doesn't sound like a bad solution for today's times.
Our cabin was quaint and cozy. I imagined I was the mother in Snow White and Rose Red and that The Bear would knock on the door any moment.
On the downside, the beds were so squeaky that my husband and I woke each other up every time we rolled over, which was frequently. There were noises in the night. Noises in our grocery bags. Mice! EEEEEK!
On the up side, we were eternally grateful to be in a cabin the first night when thunderstorms were ruining camper's tents.
Our fridge was a cooler (free ice provided), our stove was the campfire and a picnic table under Norway pines was our dining room.
See Rachelle, we really did bring the baby ; )
We wish we had had a way of transporting enough bikes there for everyone. We thought about renting but it was a little pricey and one whole day of our stay was lost to rain. Almost a whole day. It cleared up long enough for the boat cruise but rained for the last half of it.
The sunny day we spent seeing the other points of interest and taking a loooong hike to the fire tower. It seemed long because it was hot, muggy, and we forgot to use the mosquito repellent. Anyone who knows anything about Minnesota woods in the summer knows that was a big mistake!
The view 100 feet up was fantastic and refreshingly cool & breezy. The height also afforded the only cell phone coverage around and I confess to returning one phone call and downloading email while I was up there!
In spite of the bugs we managed to admire some cool and colorful fungi -
That's all about Lake Itasca. Next stop:
