We enjoyed a quiet, dark, and cool night last night at the free camping area of the town park of Hurdsfield, ND. We continued east under partly cloudy skies to the town of Jamestown, ND. We went by the historic Stutsman County Courthouse, North Dakota’s oldest surviving courthouse. Built in 1883, it is a beautiful brick structure with a tall clock tower. It is presently not in use and is not open to the public but we were able to peak through windows at the interior. The walls and ceiling are covered with stamped metal ornamentation.
We then continued east and soon entered Minnesota, the 48th state that we have now visited. We stopped at the state visitors center and then drove first north then east. This area of the country is very flat and is farmed extensively. Geologists believe that the area was once a large glacial lake.
As we passed through the White Earth Indian Reservation the land became rolling, forested, and dotted with small lakes. Our first stop in Minnesota was at the large Itasca State Park established in 1891. Lake Itasca, in the state park, is generally recognized as the source of the Mississippi River. We stopped at the visitor center where they have a very nice interpretive center about the Native Americans in the area as well as the history of determining the source of the Mississippi River. When the United States became its own country the western boundary was said to be the Mississippi River. However the northern extreme and source of the river was unknown and thus in the early 1800s several expeditions were launched in attempt to find the beginning of the river. Although the precise source remained controversial, in 1832 the stream draining out of Lake Itasca was designated the beginning of the Mississippi River. From the visitors center we walked the trail to the these headwaters where Liz waded and Ed rock hopped across the Mississippi River – another special moment in our journey. From this point it is 2552 river miles to the Gulf of Mexico. We had considered canoeing the river for several days but it is too late in the season and the water is too low. We then went to an outdoor program on wolves, coyotes, and foxes of the area which was quite interesting. Next we drove the park’s one way Wilderness Drive that circles Lake Itasca. We saw several deer and two beaver lodges though no beaver. We stopped to walk and then climb the Aiton Heights Fire Tower. The view from the top was nice looking out over the hilly forest land and we could see in all directions.
From the state park we drove south to the town of Park Rapids, MN. There we enjoyed a pasta dinner at Pizza Hut and then found a good spot to park the van in the parking lot of a large vacant building.
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