Itasca hike

There was some great scenery on the first part of our hike!

How Gemma hikes

You can't just walk, can you?

How busy am I?

I am slowing working through my reading pile. This national geographic just made it to the top of the reading pile.

After the headwaters

It seemed to be a shame to only stop at the headwaters when there was a whole state park to explore!

We found a short 1.6 mile trail and set off after resting our feet on the front step of the lodge.

Itasca state park

The kids loved this area. Even though 2 of our 3 ended up falling in the water, they loved wading in the water, squishing their feet in the sand, chasing little minnows and examining bugs/rocks. Amelia, in particular, was in love. We finally had to drag her out of the water. She spent most of the rest of the week asking to go back.

We ended up crossing at the rocky divide, crossing the small steam and again on a wooden plank bridge.

Itasca state park

It was a very short walk and we were at the beginning of the Mississippi River. The last picture shows lake Itasca on the left and the Mississippi River on the right.

1st stop: Itasca

It is embarrassing really. John and I were born and raised in Minnesota, yet neither of us had ever been to the headwaters of the Mississippi River. While looking at a map the day before, I spied Itasca state park and realized it wasn't terribly far out of our way. We weren't really in a hurry, so we decided to check it out.