Mississippi River in Minnesota

And you ask "Where is it?"  We have crossed the river over 80 times in our travels this year!

Itasca State Park

 We are at the top of a fire tower.

 This is the largest white spruce!

This is the fire tower we climbed.  It is over a hundred feet high and it was quite scary coming down as it is all open...even the stairs are not solid.

This is the view from the top of the tower looking out over many lakes.

Lake Itasca

 We took a boat tour o1n the  lake.  We went to check it out and we were just in time for the next tour!

 We really were there!

 We saw several bald eagles.  One was in flight, two perched in a tree, and aother one who was watching us.

 We saw a red deer.

 and two pairs of loons!

We also saw several immature eagles.  What a great tour!

Bemidji, Minnesota Headwaters of the Mississippi

 Our goal was to see the headwaters and walk across the Mississippi!

 I needed  little help because the rocks were slippery and I didn't want to drop my camera or phone!

 It was easier to walk back in the water.  We crossed the Mississippi twice!

Proof!!!

Bemidji

 This is supposedly  the home town of Paul Bunyon and Babe!

 It is also  where lake Bemidji starts the Mississippi River.

 This is another view of the lake....

and another view of the Mississippi near the headwaters!

La Salle State Recreation Area

We are camped near this lake.  One evening we walked down after dinner.  No one else was there and the lske was so calm.

Brainerd

 Another view of the lake!

 Beer tasting...they did this as often as they could.  Their favorite brewery is in Potosi Wisconsin!

This is the water tower that is in the middle of Brainerd.  It has been restored and is next to a title company and a law firm.

Brainerd ...Lum City Park

 The last 2 nights we stayed here, the Brainerd Ski Loons were practicing.  We brought our chairs down to watch them.

 They were doing some amazing waterskiing.

 This group had 3 male skiers with 3 female skiers doing all sorts of tricks.

This young man did a series of jumps that were quite impressive.

Brainerd

 After much positive encouragement, I got on my bike and we rode for 10 miles.

We rode on a beautiful trail that took us through shaded areas and through more populated areas.

Our bike ride ended at the Mississippi River.  The farther north we go, the smaller it gets!

Brainerd, Minnesota

 We were camped at Lum Park, a fabulous city park, that was right on the lake!  A local Elk recommended this park and we stayed here for 8 days and toured the area from here.

One of our day trips was to a local arboretum where we hiked the entire grounds.

Wabasha Caves, Minneapolis

 These caves had a most interesting history.

 Gangsters had their speakeasies inside during prohibition.

 But the first use was to grow mushrooms in these boxes.

Now it is used for weddings and big receptions.

St. Paul, MN

This is the capital building in St. Paul.  It is very impressive.  St. Paul's cathedral is close by and is on higher ground because the priest that built St. Paul wanted the religious building  to tower over the secular building!

St. Paul's Cathedral

 What a beautiful building.  We could not go in because a homeless man had set a fire in the cathedral and the police were investigating because a mosque had been bombed.

After we learned why we couldn't enter the cathedral, we understood why the police were outside too!

St. Paul, MN

 We took a Gangster tour of St. Paul.  One of the places we visited was the Hamm home, which is on the same street as the old brewery.  Hamm was kidnapped by one of the gangsters who lived in the town.

 David is holding a really Tommy Gun, the favored weapon of the gangsters.  The police chief of St. Paul had an agreement with the gangsters.  If they registered with him, paid him, and made sure there was no crime committed in St. Paul, he would leave them alone.

This is St. Paul from the tour.

Minneapolis

 Everywhere we went we ran into these signs. Our poor GPS was on overload.  We have never seen so much construction anywhere.

Minneapolis

Another view of Stone Arch Bridge without the yellow filter.

Minneapolis

St. Anthony Falls, the only falls on the Mississippi, and the lock and dam are right in the middle of downtown Minneapolis.  The Mississippi is so blue and narrow!

Minnehaha Park

 This beautiful planted fountain was in the middle of the park in the middle of the city.

Here we are at Minnehaha Falls in a fabulous park in the middle of Minneapolis!

Mall of America Minneapolis

 This is the largest mall in America.  We walked the entire mall...10,000 steps on the Fidbit and were exhausted.  It is divided into 4 sections and many stores are in more than one sections.  The entire center is an amusement park with rides, a lego center, and aquarium, and a theater.

These are giant legos on display at the mall!