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| My pee will reach the Gulf of Mexico right around Thanksgiving* |
Although I have been very close to the headwaters of the Hudson River, I have always wanted to check out Lake Tear of the Clouds. I've hiked along the Opalescent River and the Feldspar Brook amazed that the water will end up in the Hudson River passing through the Hudson Valley on its way to New York City and then into the Atlantic Ocean.
On my way across Minnesota to North Dakota I noticed the headwaters of the Mississippi is along the way. I had to stop. I crossed the Mississippi a couple hours before I reached the park. Was I really west of the Mississippi? The Mississippi flows north before making its way south to the Gulf of Mexico. I was in one of the few regions where you can be both west of the Mississippi and east of the Mississippi!!!
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| West (and East) of the Mississippi |
Itasca State Park's main attraction without doubt are the headwaters. There were hundreds of people at the visitor center and made the short walk to the headwaters. But Itasca State Park is a beautiful park in and of itself. There are so many wonderful ponds and lakes. It's Minnesota, the Land of 10,000 Lakes.
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| The headwaters |
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| Lake Itasca |
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| The "mighty" Mississippi |
There is also a nice little climb to a fire tower with sweeping views of the park. As I climbed the tower, I thought to myself, "Damn, this must be the highest fire tower I've been on." Most fire towers are around 60 feet. The tallest in the Adirondacks (and I think NY State) is at 80 feet. This fire tower climbs to 100 feet.
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| Largest White Pine in the Park |
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| One of 15,000 |
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| Looking out towards the headwaters |
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| That is one tall fire tower |
*It takes around 90 days for these waters to reach the Gulf of Mexico. Chris Hiker does not advocating peeing at the headwaters of streams or rivers, but he does advocate taking photos making believe.
The trees look like they go on for ever. The water looks nice and pure. How were the mosquitoes there?
ReplyDeleteLove the white pine. Back in the 1700s, white pines like that were sought after in the northeast to make masts for large sailing vessels. White pine grows tall and straight. I've always liked white pines. There was a nice one in the backyard of my childhood home. My father slung a heavy rope around one of its branches to make a tire swing. My brothers and I had fun on that tire swing. The soles of our sneakers scuffed away the grass and word a nice little ditch in the beige soil. Even as we got older and heavier, the branch never broke.