Land of 10,000 Lakes

Olmsted County, where I live, is the only county in Minnesota with no natural lakes. So, to see the lake country, a couple of friends, Kate and Maurita, and I drove up north to Itasca State Park.

We went hiking and kayaking and just enjoyed lots of time together. I saw a loon for the first time! For some reason, I have always been fascinated with this northern bird that lives on and in the water. Most loons cannot take off from land and are not good at walking, but swim and dive they can. They have very distinct calls and a unique plumage. I didn't take this photo, but it gives you an idea of what they look like.

Itasca State Park is also where the headwaters of the Mississippi are found! It officially starts where water drains out of lake Itasca, the lake where we were kayaking. Below, my friends are crossing the headwaters of the mighty Mississippi.

Fire towers such as this one were used in the early 1900's to spot and locate fires. The person in the lookout had a wheel to use in order to get the direction of the fire. Using the direction reported from another tower, coordinates could be determined in order to identify the exact location of the fire. Around 1950, airplanes mostly took over the job of locating fires, though a few towers are still in use. Early towers were simply in the tops of trees, but those such as this one were designed like windmills in order to tower above the tree tops.

Photos of Paul Bunyon and I are coming...