Tuesday, December 1, 2015

TUESDAY TRAVELS

Two solemn young men at the headwaters of the Mississippi River.


I can nearly hear it now.

"Go stand on that wet rock in the middle of that creek. 
And don't fall in!"

Ah, yes, got to get that picture for posterity.

Dad was beaming.

Mom was nervous to the point of panic.

The scene is Lake Itasca, in northern Minnesota, generally believed to be the origin of the Mississippi River.

From here it grows and flows 2,340 miles (3,770 kilometers) to the Gulf of Mexico.

Wikipedia states: The channel of the Mississippi as it emerges from the lake was bulldozed in the 1930's by the Civilian Conservation Corps to create a more "pleasant experience" for visitors. The project included the draining of the surrounding swamp, the digging of a new channel, and the installation of a man-made rock rapids. Wading across the rapids in bare feet is a popular recreational activity for summer tourists.

So there were my brother and I enjoying our "pleasant experience".